The well-being of future generations Act that passed through this Senedd has been hailed by many as world-leading legislation. I thank the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee for the opportunity to debate whether the reality of this legislation lives up to its reputation.

Although born from innovation and good faith, as the Act has unfolded over the past few years, it's clear it does not accomplish what it intended. Firstly, it's aspirational without being enforceable. Attempts to rely on the Act have been used in the judicial system on several occasions now, and have been thrown out of court every time for lack of enforceability. Its first attempted use was to challenge a school closure, but the case was dismissed in 2019 by High Court judge Mrs Justice Lambert, who said the Act could not trigger a judicial review. The QC bringing the case, Rhodri Williams, said:

'unless individuals can rely on these rights—if they feel they haven't been upheld—to challenge the decisions of public bodies, the act is virtually useless', despite it being filled with 'fantastic-sounding phrases'.

And doesn't it epitomise the problem? This Act isn't meant to be for the people and for it to empower communities to access the future they wish to see. This Act should have been a gift to communities across Wales, but instead it is toothless. It's clear that its mechanisms and influence need to be strengthened.

Another problem is that the Act isn't used or utilised correctly. The Wales Audit Office, who reviewed the impact of the Act in 2018, found that public bodies must show that they are applying the Act more systematically, prompting the future generations commissioner to call on public bodies to be more ambitious, adventurous and resourceful if the Act is to fulfil its potential. With a lack of capacity and resources to understand and analyse the implications of the Act, I fear public bodies view the Act as a tick-box exercise. One example is the sale of Trecadwgan farm in Pembrokeshire. The farm was put up for public auction in 2018 when the council's tenancy came to an end. Afraid that this would lead to a holiday cottage development, a group of local people planned to purchase the property as a community. Funds were raised and a business plan drawn up for an organic farm that would provide to its community healthy food, education and training in agricultural methods and a social and cultural hub. This would have met the well-being of future generations Act on its goals and principles. But, inevitably, without the council's buy-in to the well-being objectives, the property was sold to the highest bidder from outside Wales. The county council's reasoning for this was that by maximising profit from the sale to spend elsewhere, it was obtaining the best value for its constituents. The local people were powerless to challenge the decision and stuck with nothing but wasted potential and a result that did nothing to serve the local community.

In his evidence to the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee this week, the Rt Hon Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the former chair of the Commission on Justice in Wales, stated that

'one of the problems with the future generations Act is that it is not specific and tight enough.'

It doesn't hold politicians sufficiently to account. I'm pleased that these comments are reiterated in the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee's report that we're discussing today. I completely agree with its recommendations that it's time for post-legislative scrutiny of the Act, and that Welsh Government should carry out a review of the public bodies subject to the Act, echoing the recommendations from the Auditor General for Wales. 

Also, key to all of this is also public engagement. To those who have engaged with the Act since its creation, such as the local group in Pembrokeshire, they saw some hope in the Act to work as a tool to help them build the community they wanted to see. We must empower and nurture that hope so that it isn't extinguished by the paralysis of the legislation. Diolch yn fawr.