Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to thank members of the Equality and Social Justice Committee for their report on the annual scrutiny of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and for your contributions today. I very much welcome the continuation of the conversation we've been having in the Senedd about how we can use the well-being of future generations legislation to put Wales on a more sustainable path.

Today's debate is about the work of the commissioner and her annual report, and I want to start by saying that I'm immensely grateful for the work of the commissioner and her office in supporting sustainable changes across public bodies in Wales, and thank her and her team for establishing the office in such a powerful and significant way. The well-being of future generations Act challenges and enables us all to think about the long term, as has been said, so that we can collectively leave a better legacy for future generations. And the commissioner role is an essential and now internationally recognised part of the implementation of the Act, as a result of the work and the influence of the commissioner and her team, and I'm encouraged by the commissioner's reports, which highlight good practice across Wales in bringing this Act to life.

Our action and leadership on the well-being of future generations agenda is accelerating in this Government term, and we're maximising every opportunity to deliver on our well-being objectives, identifying areas where we can integrate approaches and contribute to shaping Wales's future. I'm particularly pleased that the committee and the commissioner have welcomed our continued strengthening of political commitment and leadership on this agenda, and it's a cross-Government commitment, clearly, as the improved integration and application of the Act is embedded in the way that has been brought forward, again, by the committee and in the debate today, so that it is brought forward for that application at a strategic-policy level.

Turning to the committee's report, we have, as has been recognised, accepted recommendations 2 and 4. In recommendation 2, we recognise that expanding the list of bodies subject to the Act will increase the number of bodies that the commissioner's general duty and functions apply to. And I want to assure the Chair of the committee and Members that we're in discussions with the commissioner's office on the financial implications on her office. But I've also asked officials to explore the scope and need for evaluation of the Act, which could include an assessment of the role and functions of the commissioner, and I'll provide more information to the committee on this evaluation in due course, and would welcome the committee's engagement in this work.

Recommendation 3 of the report concerns the training and professional development of the Welsh Government civil service. It is a matter for the Permanent Secretary, who has provided a separate response to the committee. But I think we have got examples, and I'll give a couple, of this change of direction and the way in which this is being implemented, the well-being of future generations Act, and has had a huge impact on the policy development and the delivery of policy, and then service development, by our civil service.

On recommendation 4, this concerns plans for embedding the Act. I do want to outline some of the actions we're taking to embed the Act across public life and also to recognise that this is a key point from the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee as well. Our programme for government, with the 10 well-being objectives at its heart, demonstrates the central role of the Act in our thinking and policy making. We now have in place 50 national well-being indicators and nine national milestones and that helps us monitor progress towards our seven well-being goals. Alongside our future trends report, these mechanisms reflect best practice in responding to the sustainable development Bill's agenda and ensuring the well-being of future generations framework remains relevant to Wales in 2022 and into the long term. Our well-being of future generations national stakeholder forum is very important. It continues to advise and support us, and I recently attended a forum session, which was discussing the importance of diversity within the well-being of future generations agenda, to ensure our pursuit of the well-being goals holds no-one back and leaves no-one behind. And this event was important in itself because it was instrumental in getting public bodies to share good practice with each other, not just addressing these from their own perspectives, but to share good practice, so that there's a lot of follow-up from that, and just showing how implementation can be delivered, often, when it's in partnership. So, that was a really good example of how we are embedding the Act. But building on the report's findings, we will, and are, looking at ways in which we can better communicate the actions we're taking to embed the Act further in how we work.

Just a few standout examples of where the Act has underpinned our work at a local level: we've had a couple of examples from Members today, as well as in public services boards and in Welsh Government. And, again, I thank the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee for also recognising those examples of good practice where public bodies have changed the way they work, and the outcomes of that is what we are looking for. Communities and regions across Wales have been inspired by the Valleys Regional Park initiative, and it's a good example, bringing partners together to think about the long-term collaboration with stakeholders, involving communities to get the most out of the unique and valuable Welsh landscapes, combining nature with community spirit, economic development, educating people about climate issues, ensuring skills are taught across the area. And thank you, Chair, for the reference to the NFU in adopting the framework of this Act.

Our public services boards have also used the Act as a catalyst for positive change. One example: the north Wales research and insight partnership, bringing together teams from the four north Wales PSBs, along with the regional partnership board—interesting there how that's come together. Wrexham Glyndŵr University, Data Cymru and Co-production Network for Wales—they're developing innovative approaches to citizen engagement, including the citizen analysis pilot, just demonstrating a firm commitment to involving citizens in their work.

So, finally from me, Deputy Llywydd, we have two examples in the Welsh Government of ways in which we've used the Act very proactively: the anti-racist Wales action plan, the pilot on basic income—I'm making a statement shortly on this—and we do share with the committee and the commissioner an ambition of how we use our well-being of future generations Act to continually learn, improve how Government and the public sector works in Wales. There's much more that we can do, clearly, but I hope my examples of practice in responding to the debate, delivering the key tenets of the Act, will provide encouragement to Members. I welcome collaborative scrutiny and I look forward to continuing to work with the Equality and Social Justice Committee, so that Government and public bodies enabled by the Act can play their part in delivering the seven well-being goals for Wales.