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Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Wales’ Sustainable Development Strategy is determined by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (the Act). This pioneering piece of legislation translates the 17 UN SDGs into 7 national Well-being Goals, which are:
- A Prosperous Wales
- A Resilient Wales
- A Healthier Wales
- A More Equal Wales
- A Wales of Cohesive Communities
- A Wales of Thriving Culture and Welsh Language
- A Globally Responsible Wales.
The Welsh Government and relevant public bodies under the Act have a wellbeing duty to maximise their contribution to each of these goals, with no one goal being more important than the other.
The Act also implemented the Sustainable Development Principle, which requires organisations covered by the Act to ‘act in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs‘.
The Well-being Goals are complemented by 17 National Milestones (set for 2050) and 50 national wellbeing indicators.
The Act also created an independent Future Generations Commissioner, who’s role is to provide advice and support on sustainable development, and be an advocate for future generations.
The Act now covers 56 public bodies, including local authorities and the Welsh Government. It places on them the legal duty to carry out sustainable development. The action a public body takes in carrying out sustainable development must include:
- setting and publishing well-being objectives that are designed to maximise contribution to achieving each of the well-being goals, and
- taking all reasonable steps (in exercising its functions) to meet those objectives.
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: the essentials [HTML] | GOV.WALES
Individual public bodies’ well-being objectives can be found on their websites. The list of public bodies can be found here - https://futuregenerations.wales/discover/about-future-generations-commissioner/public-bodies/
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip is Jane Hutt, Member of Senedd
Sustainable Futures, Welsh Government – Sustainable.Futures@gov.wales.
Deputy Director for Sustainable Futures – Rae Cornish - Rae.Cornish@gov.wales
Head of Sustainable Development – Lloyd Harris – Lloyd.Harris005@gov.wales
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales - contactus@futuregenerations.wales
Within the Sustainable Development Principle of the Well-being of Future Generations Act are the Five Ways of Working. These outline how organisations covered by Act should work internally and externally.
The Five Ways of Working are:
1. Long-term: Balance short-term priorities with long-term sustainability.
2. Prevention: Focus on root causes rather than symptoms.
3. Integration: Avoid siloed thinking by connecting objectives across sectors.
4. Collaboration: Share knowledge, resources, and responsibilities.
5. Involvement: Reflect the diversity of the population in decision-making.
Welsh Government is covered by the Act and therefore all decisions it makes are reviewed in relation to how they would impact the 7 Well-being Goals.
Coordination with public bodies, including Local Authorities, is guided by the Five Ways of Working and engagement on the organisational well-being objectives that Local Authorities are required to produce. The Act established set channels for reporting and accountability of all levels (national, regional, local and community) adherence to the well-being goals and the Sustainable Development Principle.
The Act also established Public Services Boards (PSBs). These were established in 2015 to bring together local public service leaders to assess and address the well-being needs of their areas. There is a PSB covering every local / regional area of Wales and each PSB produces a well-being plan (and assesses this) on a 5 yearly cycle.
Involvement means engaging citizens and stakeholders in decision making, which Welsh Government promotes through citizen participation and co-production initiatives. These can be seen in examples such as the Wales We Want dialogue, the work of the Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and the Innovating Democracy Advisory Group.
Progress against the 7 Well-being Goals and the 17 National Milestones is measured through 50 Indicators, covering topics from health, education, the economy, the environment, community, and infrastructure. For instance, ‘Healthy life expectancy at birth (including gap between least and most deprived)’, ‘Global footprint of Wales‘ and ‚ Number of people who can speak Welsh‘.
Welsh Government publishes an annual Well-being of Wales report, which reviews progress against the National Indicators. The next report is due in October 2025.
Because the provisions in the Act are legal duties, they come under the remit of the Auditor General for Wales. As with financial audits, the Auditor General reviews organisations’ well-being objectives and actions to ensure compliance with the legislation.
The Future Generations Commissioner likewise assists and reviews organisations’ sustainable development objectives and actions, as well as more general promotion of the Act.
Both the Future Generations Commissioner and the Auditor General for Wales produce reports on the state of the Act and its implementation, as well as recommendations for improvement.
The Senedd, or Welsh Parliament, and specifically the Equality and Social Justice Committee, as well as opposition parties also play a crucial role in holding the government to account on the Act.
Additionally, the Welsh Government has a statutory duty to publish a Future Trends Report which explores the current international and national trends which are likely to impact Wales’s future. The next report is due by the end of 2026 / early 2027.