Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Sustainable development has been at the heart of devolution in Wales right from the start. In 2015, this Parliament made a historic decision to change the course of Wales onto a more sustainable path by passing the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. This reflected the tireless effort by people from across Wales to strengthen the way in which Wales's future is shaped. It remains Welsh society's commitment to a better quality of life for both current and future generations. For people, for the planet, for now and for the future.

Last month, we saw the United Nations, for the very first time, commit to putting in place a range of institutional mechanisms to improve solidarity with future generations. It also recognised the importance of representing future generations as part of any country's approach to improving the lives of citizens and responsibility to the planet. This includes proposals for a declaration on future generations, a United Nations special envoy for future generations and regular mechanisms to consider future trends. Our experience in Wales has encouraged other countries to do the same, and these changes are a strong endorsement of the Senedd's bold decisions to legislate for the future.

The Agenda 2030 declaration, which formed the United Nations sustainable development goals, specifically acknowledges the essential role of national parliaments through their enactment of legislation and adoption of budgets and their role in ensuring accountability for effective implementation. The Senedd is therefore an important and recognised component of the accountability architecture of the well-being of future generations Act. In recognition of this, I wanted to make an early statement in this Senedd term as we start the next cycle of rooting sustainability in how Wales works.

Wales is continuing to show its international leadership on the sustainable development agenda. The independent report launched last week by the First Minister and the climate change Minister shows that Wales's research base is making a significant contribution to the United Nations sustainable development goals. I am proud to see the contribution that our scientific community is making to global issues.

Our action and leadership on the well-being of future generations agenda is accelerating in this Government term. Our programme for government, with the well-being objectives at its heart, demonstrates the central role of the well-being of future generations approach in our thinking and policy making. We've brought public bodies together to discuss how we take forward our sustainable development ambitions for Wales through a well-being of future generations national stakeholder forum. I plan to meet members of the forum shortly to discuss how Welsh Government will continue to provide leadership in the national implementation of the Act, and how we can take forward specific actions in collaboration with the forum and bring these actions together in a plan for this Government term.

Last month I launched a consultation on national milestones for Wales, which will shape future action towards achieving the shared well-being goals. And, at the end of this year, we’ll have the first set of national milestones within the Act, we’ll have updated our national well-being indicators to reflect the impact of the pandemic so far, and updated our report on future trends likely to affect Wales. This work provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the legislation, which is something I know the national forum are keen to work with us on.

We will also be reviewing the list of public bodies subject to the Act, as we recognise that there is value in extending these duties to other public bodies, and that many bodies are already adopting the sustainable development principle voluntarily. We’ll also continue to engage with our international counterparts through our continued membership of Regions4 sustainable development and the Wellbeing Economy Governments network, alongside Scotland, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand.

At the end of the last Senedd term, we saw three significant reports focused on the Act being published. The 'Future Generations Report' provided the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales's assessments of improvements public bodies should make to act in accordance with the sustainable development principle; the Auditor General for Wales reported on the results of their examinations of all public bodies; and the Public Accounts Committee of the fifth Senedd looked into the barriers to implementation. I’ve welcomed these reports because they provide a stock take every Senedd term on how the Act is enabling Government and public bodies to work in a more sustainable way.

Our response to the PAC report has now been published, and we will also shortly publish our responses to the auditor general’s and the future generations commissioner’s reports. Members and the relevant committees will need time to consider both the findings of these reports as well as the responses from Government, the commissioner, the auditor general and the public bodies charged with carrying out sustainable development.

I understand that the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee will be considering the responses to the PAC report tomorrow, and I hope that our response to the recommendations are helpful in their discussions. But I also appreciate that members of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee and, of course, the Equality and Social Justice Committee, whose remit includes the Act, will need time to consider our response, and I’d be happy to respond to any further points that come out of these discussions.

In recognition of this, today’s statement is focused on our continued action on the well-being of future generations agenda in Wales and how the legislation can drive better decision making for current and future generations. The well-being of future generations Act continues to inform and shape what we do, how we work, and how we work with others. We will lead both the message on delivering a sustainable future for Wales, and the changes to how we work, so that sustainable development is reinforced as the central organising principle of Government and public bodies in Wales.