Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill: consultation

Annex F: Defining wellbeing and sustainable development

Wellbeing:

The National Performance Framework (NPF) is Scotland's wellbeing framework – “increased wellbeing' is a core part of its stated purpose. The NPF combines measurement of how well Scotland is doing in economic terms with a broader range of wellbeing measures, giving equal importance to economic, social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing, both individually and collectively. The national indicators incorporate many different types of data – from social attitudes and perceptions to economic and environmental statistics – to form this picture of the wellbeing of Scotland’s people.

The NPF recognises that progress towards all National Outcomes is required for Scotland to be a more successful country with opportunities for all to flourish through increased wellbeing.^[25] These National Outcomes are undergoing a statutory review, backed by widespread consultation, to make sure they continue to reflect the type of nation that the people of Scotland want to see, and measure the right aspects of our wellbeing.^[26]

The NPF is a clear and comprehensive vision for national wellbeing, embedded in law through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. The WSD Bill is intended to build on this foundation.

We are keen to hear your views on how we can better embed wellbeing as a concept in legislation.

Sustainable development:

In developing the Bill, we recognise that ‘sustainable development’ is a term widely used in existing policy and legislation in Scotland. Analysis from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) also shows that over 30 Scottish Parliament Acts contain references to sustainable development. However, there is no single definition of sustainable development set out in Scottish legislation.

The Bill therefore presents an important opportunity to ensure that sustainable development is properly defined, to enable it to be fully built into policy and delivery decision making processes.

Sustainable development is commonly defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.^[27] The definition has its origins in the UN World Commission on Environment and Development 1987 report, ‘Our Common Future’.^[28]

Sustainable development is already an important aspect of the NPF which localises the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Scotland by applying them at a national level. The NPF is therefore aligned with the common international framework for the wellbeing of current and future generations. However, several stakeholders have told us that alignment alone is not sufficient, and that without a definition, full implementation and monitoring of sustainable development is not possible.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is a prominent example of how sustainable development can be embedded more clearly in law. The Act states: “any reference to a public body doing something ‘in accordance with the sustainable development principle’ means that the body must act in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs… In order to act in that manner, a public body must take account of… the importance of balancing short-term needs with the need to safeguard the ability to meet long term needs, especially where things done to meet short term needs may have detrimental long-term effect.”^[29]

From widespread engagement and research, we have assessed that the Bill could embed the interests of future generations in law by defining ‘sustainable development’, strengthening the NPF duties, and (if necessary) extending those to whom these apply. This would also bolster the standing of the NPF in law.

We are therefore proposing that the common definition of sustainable development as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ could fulfil the Government’s future generations policy objective. We also recognise that the support of a Future Generations Commissioner may be considered important in securing the full intent of this approach. This aspect, however, remains subject to further policy development.

We also recognise that we need to consider the potential wider effects of a statutory definition of sustainable development on the wider framework of legislation.

We are also considering how a WSD Bill could set out the ‘ways of working’ for public authorities to further embed wellbeing and sustainable development in their decisions. This follows the approach in Wales.

We are seeking your views on how we can best address this matter through the Bill, to ensure sustainability and the interests of future generations are fully considered in all policy and delivery decision making processes.