Welsh Government sets out vision for sustainable development bill
Speaking to 100 representatives from Wales’ public, private and the third sectors at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in December, Environment and Sustainable Development Minister John Griffiths outlined plans for a sustainable development bill and asked for contributions to inform the proposed bill.
The Welsh Government committed in its legislative programme to introduce legislation on sustainable development, in order to:
- Make sustainable development the centre of all activities and decisions of the Welsh Government and devolved public bodies in Wales; and
- Create an independent sustainable development body for Wales.
The Welsh Government will now formally consult on the purpose and extent of a Sustainable Development Bill during 2012 and hopes to introduce the Bill to the National Assembly in 2013 or 2014.
The Welsh Government’s sustainable development scheme, One Wales: One Planet, already puts sustainable development at the centre of everything the government does, meaning that its decisions:
- take a long term approach;
- integrate economic, social and environmental issues; and
- use evidence when making decisions so that they provide the best value for the people they serve now and in the future.
The sustainable development bill aims to strengthen this approach and change this commitment to a legal duty.
Inviting discussion
The Welsh Government has published a discussion paper on the proposed bill and is now inviting views to help develop the consultation.
The discussion paper suggests the following key issues for development of the sustainable development bill:
- How should legislation bring about a step change in sustainable development?
- What does the public sector, with sustainable development as its central organising principle, look like and how does it operate?
- What new duties or powers might bring that about?
- What should be the role of the independent sustainable development body?
A detailed summary of the initial comments received in response to these questions is now available on the Welsh Government website.
Commitment to sustainable development
John Griffiths described the Welsh Government’s commitment to sustainable development:
“Wales is one of only a few administrations in the world which has a statutory duty to sustainable development. We now want to strengthen this duty to ensure that sustainable development is absolutely central to our thinking and to that of the broader public sector in Wales. We think it is a vital commitment to make.
“It demonstrates that we will use sustainable development to make better decisions, across all Ministerial portfolios, to help us achieve our ambition of being a truly sustainable nation.
“The Sustainable Development Bill must make a discernable difference to the everyday lives of our citizens, now and in the future. Our approach to sustainability must be relevant to the way in which public services across the board are shaped and delivered in the future.
“To advise, guide and challenge us on this we are also proposing the creation of a new, statutory independent sustainable body to serve Wales. This is a mark of our strong commitment to sustainable development, and this approach helps set us apart as a nation.”
Find out more
To find out more about the Bill and what it means, contact the team at the Welsh Government team via SDBIll@wales.gsi.gov.uk or visit www.wales.gov.uk/sustainabledevelopment for the latest updates on the work.
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