10 year anniversary of Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 – report by Ethan Norman
2025 marks the 10th year since the introduction of the Wellbeing for Future Generations (Wales) Act. This revolutionary piece of legislation requires public bodies across Wales to implement sustainability within their actions and consider the impact of their decisions on both the current, and future, generations of Wales.
To mark the 10th year anniversary, and to coincide with the release of the Future Generations Report 2025, Ethan Norman, a Law & Politics student at Cardiff University on placement with us, created a policy report on the Act for WCIA to:
- Help explain what it is;
- Explain the work of the Act;
- Demonstrate where it can be improved; and
- Show where it has already succeeded.
The policy report also includes recommendations that are used as a way to demonstrate how the Act can be improved.
Overall, Ethan found the Act to be successful in promoting sustainability in public bodies, although there are areas that must be improved to ensure its continued success. The most pressing issue of the Act is its lack of accountability and enforceability on Welsh public bodies. To improve, there must be changes to the policy instruments of the Act to be more effective.
You can read the report here.