Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
“As I start my term as the new Commissioner, I have set out an ambition for Wales to feel different. I want people to arrive here in Wales and it feel like a breath of fresh air, feel that there’s something unique about this country. And that uniqueness is truly putting the well-being of our people and planet first. I want everyone in Wales to feel the benefits of the Act in their day-to-day and feel like the Well-being of Future Generations Act is working hard for them, and for everyone.”
What is the role of the Commissioner?
As Commissioner, my role is to be the guardian of future generations. This means helping public bodies and those who make policy in Wales to think about the long-term impact their decisions have.
For example, if we know that around 35% of jobs in the UK may disappear as a result of robots, artificial intelligence or computers, what’s that going to mean to you, your children and your grandchildren?
We know that we’ll be living longer, but are we going to be living healthy, active lives or are we going to be living lives with long-term illness and health conditions?
Public bodies really need to be focusing on how their decisions are going to impact in the long-term, and working together to prevent problems occurring, recognising that no single public body can respond to some of the big challenges that need to be addressed.
We’ve all got a part to play in constructing the Wales that we want to see in the future.
Dewch i ni gwrdd â Chomisiynydd Cenedlaethau’r Dyfodol Cymru! / Let’s meet the new Future Generations Commissioner for Wales! 🏴@derekwalker_ 👋 pic.twitter.com/7So8qtUT0h
— Future Gen Cymru (@futuregencymru) March 1, 2023
Who is the current Commissioner?
Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.Wales is the only country in the world with a Well-being of Future Generations Act and the role provides advice and support to government and public bodies to take a longer-term view on policy decisions. The commissioner’s job is to protect and promote the needs of future generations.
Derek Walker is the second ever Future Generations Commissioner, having started the role on March 1, 2023, when he called for ‘urgent and transformational change’ in Wales.
Previously he was chief executive of Cwmpas, the UK’s largest co-operative development agency. Derek spent 12 years as CEO, working to support people and communities to create jobs and strengthen communities, and changed the organisation’s focus to development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.
Derek began his career as policy officer for London Councils, in London and Brussels. He has also worked as Head of External Affairs at the Big Lottery Fund (Wales), as Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Wales TUC and was the first employee of Stonewall Cymru.
Derek grew up on a farm near Cwmbran and is a keen runner and tennis player, loves to read and is a Welsh learner. He now lives in Cardiff with his partner Mike and has two grown-up children.
His ambition while at Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School was to be a journalist and he has a Masters degree in International Journalism from Cardiff University.
He’s happy how life has turned out and says being the guardian of the interests of people not yet born is the greatest privilege.
What are the Commissioner’s powers and duties?
My general duties are to:
“Promote the sustainable development principle, in particular to act as a guardian of the ability of future generations to meet their needs and encourage public bodies to take greater account of the long-term impact of the things they do.”
“Monitor and assess the extent to which well-being objectives set by public bodies are being met.”
I can:
- Provide advice to public bodies and Public Services Boards
- Carry out reviews into how public bodies are taking account of the long-term impact of their decisions
- Make recommendations following a review
The purpose of my organisation has been defined as to:
Highlight Issues
Highlight the big issues, challenges and opportunities facing future generations
Support and Challenge
Support and challenge public bodies to think about the long-term impact of the things they do
Work Together
Work with others to drive the changes needed
Walk the talk
Walk the talk – be the change we want to see in others
What powers does the Commissioner have?
As Commissioner, I must promote the sustainable development principle, act as the guardian of future generations and encourage public bodies to think of the long term effect of their decisions. To do this, the law allows the Commissioner to:
- provide advice or assistance to a public body;
- provide advice to the Auditor General for Wales on the sustainable development principle
- provide advice or assistance to a public services board in relation to the preparation of its local well-being plan;
- provide advice or assistance to any other person who the Commissioner considers is taking (or wishes to take) steps that may contribute to the achievement of the well-being goals;
- encourage best practice amongst public bodies in taking steps to meet their well-being objectives in accordance with the sustainable development principle;
- promote awareness amongst public bodies of the need to take steps to meet their well-being objectives in accordance with the sustainable development principle;
- encourage public bodies to work with each other and with other persons if this could assist them to meet their well-being objectives;
- seek the advice of an advisory panel in relation to the exercise of any of the Commissioner’s functions.
I can also undertake research into the extent to which the well-being goals and national indicators are consistent with the sustainable development principle, as well as the extent to which the sustainable development principle is taken into account in national indicators set out by the Welsh Government.
Finally, I can conduct formal reviews to provide insight on how public bodies apply the Act. However, it is important to note that conducting a review does not allow me to overturn specific decisions that have already been made. It is a mechanism to find out if public bodies are protecting future generations and to check if they have thought of the long-term impact of their actions. At the end of a review, I can make recommendations to advise on how the public body should apply the Act in the future.
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