The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:56 pm on 15 May 2019.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 3:56, 15 May 2019

I welcome the fact that Suzy Davies has commented on the advice that was given by the future generations commissioner—advice and guidance in terms of her powers, and the opportunities particularly to engage with those affected by those decisions about those particular school closures. I think we have to recognise that whatever the situation is, this legislation was never set up to bypass existing regulations in terms of change—difficult decisions such as school reorganisation. The school organisation code, which obviously the people and the communities you were involved with would have to have responded to, as indeed in the case that's set out as a result of this question, sets a very high standard of consultation, and it is a public consultation. The Act was never designed to bypass consultation processes such as those laid down in that particular code, which are difficult decisions. So, this Act was never set up in order to bypass or even set the stage for those kinds of legal challenges.

Now, what is clear is that we have to see how the impact of the legislation, what the outcomes of that are in terms of—. I think Llyr Gruffydd made an important point—does this make a difference to our sustainable development principle in terms of social, environmental and cultural well-being making a difference? Will it make a difference to the long-term decision making of not just this Welsh Government, but all those public bodies who are willingly engaging in the new ways of working, looking at the seven well-being goals, and seeing that this actually provides them with a backdrop for a new way of working to look towards our future generations, as well as the well-being of Wales today?