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01

Who is the current Future Generations Commissioner?

The current Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is Derek Walker. He was appointed by a cross-party group of the Welsh Parliament and took up the position in March 2023. You can find out more about him here. Sophie Howe, the first Future Generations Commissioner, finished her term in January 2023.

02

What is the vision set out by the Well-being of Future Generations Act?

The Well-being of Future Generations Act sets in law a common national vision for well-being in Wales. It introduces the four dimensions of well-being (environmental, social, cultural and economic) which paint a holistic picture of well-being in Wales. The goals are an interconnected set of seven and should not be considered in isolation.

03

What are the five ways of working?

To ensure that public bodies in Wales have better processes and think differently when making decisions, the Act sets out the five ways of working, which are part of the sustainable development principle. The five ways of working are set out in Section 5(2) of the law.

These ways of working are a very important part of the law and adopting them can help public bodies change their behaviour and improve the well- being of current and future generations in Wales.

Learn more about Ways of Working

04

What is the role of the Future Generations Commissioner?

The Commissioner’s main role is to help public bodies change their behaviours and follow the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of the people of Wales. The duty of the Commissioner, as specified in the law, is to promote the sustainable development principle. The Commissioner must act as the guardian of future generations’ needs and help public bodies to think long term. The Commissioner has to monitor and assess the extent to which public bodies meet these well-being objectives.

05

What powers does the Future Generations Commissioner have?

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.
  • The Commissioner 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, the Commissioner can conduct formal reviews to provide them with insight on how public bodies apply the Act.

06

What are Public Service Boards?

Public Services Boards were created in the Well-Being of Future Generations Act to replace the former Local Service Boards. Their aim is to encourage collaboration and integration in the delivery of public services.

Public Services Boards have statutory members – the local Council, the local health board, the local fire and rescue authority and Natural Resources Wales – but other bodies, such as the Welsh Ministers and relevant voluntary organisations, must be invited to participate. For more information see Part 4, Section 30 of the Act and the statutory guidance for Public Services Boards: SPSF3.

Each Public Services Board must assess the well-being of the population in its areas, and then choose local well-being objectives and prepare a local well-being plan. Read more about Public Services Boards.

07

What are the Commissioner’s areas

Cymru Can sets out the Commissioner’s strategy and areas of focus for 2023 – 2030. It summarises the approach we will take over the next seven years towards achieving our vision and it sets out five missions:

Topics, themes and systems that connect all our missions, such as the food system, artificial intelligence and digital were also identified.

08

Why can’t the Commissioner get involved in other areas of focus?

Given the limits of the Commissioner’s remit and budget, they decide to select several big issues, challenges and opportunities facing future generations to concentrate their actions in order to have a real and deep impact. The Commissioner has to consider where to intervene to secure the best outcomes for future generations in all parts of Wales. They, therefore, work at a strategic level to challenge and influence policy which impacts decisions across all of Wales.

For more information on the Commissioner’s work and achieved impact to date, you can read our annual reports here.

09

How is the role of the Future Generations Commissioner different from the role of other Commissioners?

The term Commissioner is used for three main types of activities:

  • Commissioners who regulate an area of work by setting standards and checking compliance and sanctioning breaches of the standards;
  • Commissioners who champion and help the people they are responsible for, to seek formal remedies, including help with court cases;
  • Commissioners who promote a principle or a policy and help it get implemented by providing advice and making recommendations.
  • The Children’s Commissioner for Wales and Older People’s Commissioner for Wales includes the second and third of these elements and the Welsh Language Commissioner includes all three elements listed above.

 

The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ role includes only the last element, i.e. promoting the sustainable development principle and providing advice and making recommendations to public bodies.

10

Can the Future Generations Commissioner intervene in a decision?

The Commissioner does not have the powers to sanction public bodies and cannot overturn decisions that have already been taken. We have set areas of focus, which we seek to ensure are truly sustainable at all levels (e.g. national policy, behaviours and procedures) and we have been challenging public bodies involved in their delivery. The Commissioner has pledged to listen to the concerns of the public and actively seek to identify common problems in the many letters they receive.

11

Can the Commissioner intervene in planning decisions?

Unlike other Commissioners, the Future Generations Commissioner was not set up investigate complaints or provide legal or financial support to individuals seeking remedy for their specific cases.

Their role is not established in law as an extra layer of appeal on specific issues and, in particular, in planning. Due to limited resources and specific powers, the Commissioner has to consider where to intervene to secure the best outcomes for future generations in all parts of Wales.

They, therefore, work at a strategic level to challenge and influence policywhich impacts decisions across all of Wales. All of the issues raised with usare considered regularly and inform the Commissioner’s decisions onwhere to intervene strategically. It was as a result of concerns being raisedabout the planning process that the first Commissioner decided to focus onwork with Welsh Government to reform planning policy in Wales through Planning Policy Wales, the National Development Framework and the updated Local Development Plan Manual.

We recognise that, unfortunately, it will take time for these changes tonational planning policy to trickle down to individual decisions.

12

How can the Future Generations Commissioner help people?

The Future Generations Commissioner’s duty, as set up in law, is to promote the sustainable development principle. They must act as the guardian of future generations and encourage public bodies and others to think long-term.

The Commissioner is keen to empower people in their understanding of the Act and how the Act can be used to challenge decisions and policies. They publish documents that can help the public use the Act to support and challenge public bodies caught by the law. The Commissioner’s frameworks, including the Future Generations Framework for projects, can be used to question how the Act and its elements are being used in specific projects and decisions. The Commissioner can also provide people with information about the Act and its provisions and they can signpost people to useful organisations, sources and information.

When general and recurring issues emerge, the Commissioner may raise the issue with the relevant public body or try and influence national policy within their priority areas to affect change in the future.