Frequently Asked Questions

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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 Commissioner, finished her term in January 2023.

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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. To provide further detail of the vision of well-being in Wales, the law also introduces the seven well-being goals, which frame the social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions. The Act includes a detailed description of each well-being. Their definition is part of the law and it cannot be changed. The goals are a holistic set of seven and should not be considered in isolation.

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

• Involvement – The importance of involving people with an interest in achieving the well-being goals and ensuring that those people reflect the diversity of the area which the body serves.
• Long Term – The importance of balancing short-term needs with the need to safeguard the ability to also meet long-term needs.
• Prevention – How acting to prevent problems occurring or getting worse may help public bodies meet their objectives.
• Integration – Considering how the public body’s well-being objectives may impact upon each of the well-being goals, on their other objectives, or on the objectives of other public bodies.
• Collaboration – Acting in collaboration with any other person (or different parts of the body itself) that could help the body to meet its well-being objectives.

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.

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The Commissioner’s main role is to help public bodies change their behaviours and follow the new 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 (which states that public bodies should try to make sure that the needs of current generations are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs). The Commissioner must act as the guardian of future generations needs and help public bodies to think long term.  To do this, he can give advice to the public bodies listed in the Act, the Auditor General for Wales (who must conduct at least one examination per 5-year cycle on how each public body has acted in accordance with the sustainable development principle), groups of public bodies called Public Services Boards, or to any other person who can contribute to the seven well-being goals or help improve well-being in. The Act applies to specific public bodies, which have to set and publish their own well-being objectives that maximise contribution to the seven well-being goals.  The Commissioner has to monitor and assess the extent to which public bodies meet these well-being objectives.

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The Commissioner 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.

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 him with insight on how public bodies apply the Act. However, it is important to note that conducting a review does not allow the Commissioner 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, the Commissioner can make recommendations to advice on how the public body should apply the Act in the future.

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Section 6 of the legislation lists 48 public bodies. These are:

• The Welsh Government;
• County Councils;
• Local Health Boards;
• Public Health Wales;
• Velindre NHS Trust;

• National Park authorities in Wales;
• Welsh fire and rescue authorities;
• Natural Resources Wales;
• the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales;
• the Arts Council of Wales;
• the Sports Council for Wales;
• the National Library of Wales;
• the National Museum of Wales.

The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act (2021) introduced Corporate Joint Committees, also subject to the Act. There are currently four Corporate Joint Committees. Under the Act, these public bodies must carry out sustainable development , which includes, amongst other things, setting and publishing well-being objectives. These well-being objectives must be designed to maximise contribution to the 7 well-being goals  and public bodies must take all reasonable steps to meet those objectives. The Act also requires some Community Councils to take all reasonable steps towards meeting the local objectives included in the local well-being plan published by the local Public Services Board. This duty only applies to Community Councils who have had a gross income or expenditure of over £200,000 for three years prior to the publication of the local well-being plan. The Act may, in some cases, extend to other public bodies depending on the level of delegation and the functions they are carrying out.

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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. Under the Act, Public Services Boards have a duty to improve the cultural, economic, social and environmental well-being of their area by contributing to the achievement of the well-being goals. 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] Some local authorities have chosen to merge the Public Services Boards for their area and this is why there are only 15 Public Services Boards in Wales:

• Anglesey and Gwynedd Public Services Board
• Bridgend Public Services Board
• Cardiff Public Services Board
• Carmarthenshire Public Services Board
• Ceredigion Public Services Board
• Conwy and Denbighshire Public Services Board
• Cwm Taf Public Services Board
• Gwent Public Services Board
• Flintshire Public Services Board
• Neath Port Talbot Public Services Board
• Pembrokeshire Public Services Board
• Powys Public Services Board
• Swansea Public Services Board
• Vale of Glamorgan Public Services Board
• Wrexham Public Services Board

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. Each member of the Board must do everything they can to meet those objectives. The Commissioner gave advice to each Public Services Board on the setting of the well-being plans and objectives for their areas. You can read more about the office’s work with Public Services Boards here.

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The Commissioner’s duty is to promote the Act and help improve well-being in Wales. This can cover almost every possible policy area and decision made in Wales. The Commissioner decided to select these  several big issues, challenges and opportunities facing future generations to concentrate her actions in order to have a real and deep impact. The areas of focus were chosen after a rigorous process involving over 1,300 people. You can find more information about the process in the document ‘Developing Priorities for the Future Generations Commissioner’. The areas of focus that were identified as having the greatest potential to improve all four dimensions of well-being (environmental, cultural, social and economic) are:

• Creating the right infrastructure for future generations, with a focus on:

o Planning o Transport  o Housing stock

• Equipping people for the future, with a focus on

o Skills for the future o Living well o Preventing and addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

• Cross-cutting areas of corporate change:
• Decarbonisation
• Strategic budget
• Procurement

Environmental considerations were carefully taken into account and that the priorities selected were also those which can have the biggest positive impact on the environment, as well as the other three dimensions which cannot be separated.

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The Commissioner’s duty can cover almost every possible policy area and decision made in Wales. Given the limits of his remit and budget, the Commissioner decided to select several big issues, challenges and opportunities facing future generations to concentrate his 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. He, therefore, works at a strategic level to challenge and influence policy which impacts decisions across all of Wales. The areas of focus that were identified as having the greatest potential to improve all four pillars of well-being (environmental, cultural, social and economic) are detailed above in ‘What are the Commissioner’s areas of focus?’. Every year, with his team, the Commissioner designs a roadmap to focus his team's and his effort. Our workplans are structured around four purposes which were set out at the beginning of the first Commissioner’s term of office. They are:

• Highlighting and acting upon the big issues and challenges facing future generations.
• Supporting and challenging public bodies to use the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
• Being part of and helping to build a movement for change around the Act.
• Walking the talk – being the change that we want to see in others.

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

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There are different types of commissioners in Wales and throughout the world. Each are given specific powers in the legislation which creates them. The role of a Commissioner is also different from the role of an Ombudsman, who investigates specific complaints against particular bodies. 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 includes the second and third of these elements. Her role is to tell people why children’s rights are so important, and to look at how the decisions made by public bodies in Wales, including Welsh Government, affect children’s rights. Her role includes listening to children and young people to find out what’s important to them, influencing government and other organisations who say they’re going to make a difference to children’s lives to make sure they keep their promises; and speaking up for children and young people nationally on important issues – being the children’s champion in Wales. The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales also includes the second and third of these elements. The Commissioner is an independent voice and champion for older people across Wales, standing up and speaking out on their behalf. The Commissioner promotes awareness of the rights and interests of older people in Wales, challenges discrimination against older people in Wales, encourages best practice in the treatment of older people in Wales and reviews the law affecting the interests of older people in Wales. In order to deliver these functions, the Commissioner influences policy and practice at both a national and local level, works in partnership with older people and stakeholders to drive change and promote good practice, and undertakes formal reviews and issues formal guidance using her unique legal powers. The Welsh Language Commissioner includes all three elements listed above – a regulator, a champion for Welsh speakers and a promoter, providing advice and making recommendations to policy makers. Her role includes promoting and facilitating the use of the Welsh language, working to ensure that the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than the English language, and investigating interference with the individual’s freedom to use the Welsh language. The Future Generation 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.

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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. His role is not established in law as an extra layer of appeal on specific issues and, in particular, in planning. 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. He is actively seeking to identify common problems in the many letters he receives. This is why, the Commissioner has devised criteria to help her identify common problems, and to see if and how he can help when these problems are within our areas of focus. This includes the following questions:

• Does it involve bodies covered by the Act?
• Can the process still be influenced? 
• What is the scale of the project/decision?
• Does it affect more than one part of Wales or a significant section of the population?
• Is it a cross cutting issue?
• Are there precedents?  
• Does it come within our priority areas?
• Is there potential for transferable knowledge?
• Have we done work on this issue before?
• Can we resource action?

This is how the Commissioner decided to use her powers in planning and environmental permitting.

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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. His role is not established in law as an extra layer of appeal on specific issues and, in particular, in planning. In terms of decisions in planning alone, there are over 25,000 planning decisions in Wales each year, which the Commissioner could be asked to consider, which is why it is impossible for him to consider individual applications and decisions. 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 Commissioner does not have the powers to sanction public bodies and cannot overturn decisions that have already been taken. The Commissioner can conduct formal reviews to provide him with insight on how public bodies apply the Act, but it is important to note that conducting a review does not allow the Commissioner 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, the Commissioner can make recommendations to advice on how the public body should apply the Act in the future.

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In terms of decisions in planning alone, there are over 25,000 planning decisions in Wales each year, which the Commissioner could be asked to consider, which is why it is impossible for him to consider individual applications. 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. His 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. He, therefore, works at a strategic level to challenge and influence policy which impacts decisions across all of Wales. For more information on the work we’ve done around planning, visit our Planning page. However, all of the issues raised with us are considered regularly and inform the Commissioner's decisions on where to intervene strategically. It was as a result of concerns being raised about the planning process that the Commissioner decided to focus on work 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 to national planning policy to trickle down to individual decisions.

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The Commissioner cannot investigate complaints, hear appeals, support individuals in seeking legal remedies. This was decided by the Welsh Government and the Welsh Parliament when they created the office and as they passed the Well-being of Future Generations Act. The Commissioner’s duty, as set up in law, is to promote the sustainable development principle. He must act as the guardian of future generations and encourage public bodies to think long-term. His powers are focused on public bodies in Wales. He can advise and assist them, so they improve the well-being of the people of Wales. 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. He publishes 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. As part of the partnership programme, The Art of the Possible, the Commissioner has published Journeys to each of the seven well-being goals. These provide practical actions (from Simple Changes to more ambitious steps) that can help public bodies maximise their contribution to the goals. The Commissioner can also provide people with information about the Act and its provisions and he 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 her priority areas to affect change in the future.

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Public bodies are under a duty ‘to carry out sustainable development’. There are three main elements to the duty:

• improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales;
• acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle (not compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, taking account of the five ways of working);
• aiming at achieving the well-being goals, which includes setting well-being objectives.

There are two main avenues people can take to challenge decisions: they can challenge the public body directly; or challenge them through the normal legal procedures. Firstly, based on the Commissioner’s Future Generations Framework for projects,, people may want to ask the relevant public body some questions based on the 5 ways of working set out in the Act:   Involvement – The importance of involving people with an interest in achieving the well-being goals and ensuring that those people reflect the diversity of the area which the body serves.   For example, how have the public bodies and their partners involved the people who would be affected in discussing the different options for the decision/proposal (e.g. with young people, residents, businesses and other stakeholders)? How have they evidenced that they have responded to what people have told them and has the process been transparent? Have they made sure that the people involved reflect the diversity of the area which the body serves?  Long Term – The importance of balancing short-term needs with the need to safeguard the ability to also meet long-term needs.   For example, how will the proposed approach improve the well-being of the people of the local area and wider region in the long term? How will it affect what the area looks and feels like in the year 2040 (a generation’s time)? How have public bodies identified the long-term trends that are most relevant to this project? Are the underlying assumptions about future trends that the development is based on realistic? What impact does this development have on these trends? Does the investment needed for the scheme represent good value for money for future generations? Has the Welsh Government’s future trends report been taken under consideration?  Prevention – How acting to prevent problems occurring or getting worse may help public bodies meet their objectives.  For example, how will the decision/proposal prevent problems that Wales faces – social, economic, cultural, environmental? Does this scheme support breaking negative cycles such as poverty, poor health, environmental damage and loss of biodiversity? How could this project minimise or remove its own negative impacts? What are the conflicts emerging between different aspects of well-being and sustainability and how have these been resolved?   Integration – Considering how the public body’s well-being objectives may impact upon each of the well-being goals, on their other objectives, or on the objectives of other public bodies.   For example, how will the decision impact on economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being – it cannot focus on one of these areas, at the expense of the others! Has the project connected different areas of public policy agendas to generate multiple benefits?  How does the decision constitute a reasonable step to meet one or more of their objectives? How does it impact both the Council’s well-being objectives and the work of the public services board so far?  Collaboration – Acting in collaboration with any other person (or different parts of the body itself) that could help the body to meet its well-being objectives.  For example, have the public bodies thought about how it could work in collaboration with other organisations – including public, private and third sector organisations in making this decision?  There is a plethora of other questions related to the all  elements of the Act (goals, objectives, and the ways of working) in the Frameworks and people can pick and choose, which ones are the most applicable in specific cases. Secondly, breach of the duty in the Act can be considered by any court or body in charge of applying the law in Wales. The Act can also be a material consideration in existing statutory systems, such as planning, permitting etc. For example: formal complaints can be made to the Public Services Ombudsman; a judicial review could be initiated; or non-compliance with the Act can be a basis for an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The Commissioner seeks to flag these potential avenues to people. People should also check with their lawyers, law centres or the Citizen Advice Bureau what avenues are opened to them in each case.