I welcome this report, which represents a constructive and positive approach to making the well-being of future generations Act work better for the people of Wales. And like my colleague, who just spoke earlier about the people who took their time and effort—previous Members who participated in making the report—I appreciate their hard work and dedication, and also that of the clerks as well. Now, being a new member on the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee myself, I know that it really does take a village—also every single Member and not only that but all of the administrative team as well—to create a report like this as well.

This report specifically looks at the barriers to the implementation of the Act, as such, in both a timely and also a relevant manner. It is the first time a comprehensive review of the work carried out under the Act by the various bodies responsible for its implementation has indeed been carried out. But it does raise a number of issues. It is clear that there's a lack of public awareness about the Act and the shift that has taken place towards sustainable development in the governance and delivery of public services here in Wales. The report concludes that public bodies have not done enough to build awareness and understanding amongst their service users. They have not done enough to change the culture of their own organisations to align with the principles of the Act and are yet to take full advantage of the expertise and capacity within the third and private sectors to support their work under the Act.

We cannot look at the issue of implementation without examining the adequacy of funding. The Auditor General for Wales highlighted three main issues that present key barriers for organisations and the majority of witnesses mentioned at least one of them in their evidence. There is the short-term nature of some funding flows, which hamper the ability of public bodies to plan effectively for the long term; a lack of flexibility in how some parts of grant funding can be spent, and the fact that public bodies are only made aware of the availability of funding later on in the financial year. A significant proportion of the funding that public bodies receive from the Welsh Government is determined and awarded annually and it has been a long complaint that these short-term funding cycles are indeed a barrier for implementation. The report is sympathetic to the calls from public bodies for longer term funding cycles and makes the point that legislation that requires public bodies to plan for future generations is more difficult to implement properly if budgets are guaranteed for as little as one year at a time. 

Central to ensuring that sustainable development is at the front and centre of public services is the future generations commissioner. Feedback from public bodies and from wider stakeholders was that the commissioner's public profile was positive and that her office is doing an excellent job in promoting and raising awareness of the Act, which is all great to hear. However, some concerns were raised by public bodies about the lack of sufficient practical support that they received, the length of reports produced and the need to refocus the work of the commissioner's office to support them more effectively in their work. The report recommends that the future generations commissioner and Welsh public bodies work closely together to develop constructive relationships to maximise the impact of their collaboration.

Deputy Presiding Officer, it is good to see that the recommendations made to the Welsh Government in this report have been accepted or accepted in principle, but we all know, and so does the public, that seeing is believing, and the Welsh Government must not just pay lip service by accepting in principle, but ensure that these recommendations are indeed delivered. I believe that this report today indicates the clear determination of the Senedd to remove barriers to implementation of the Act and to ultimately encourage the structural changes and raising of awareness, which is vital in making it a reality. Thank you very much.