Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill: consultation

Annex I: Strengthening ways of working

We are also considering the case for setting out ‘ways of working’ for sustainable development, following the precedent set by Wales. This would define the ways in which public authorities should embed the principles of wellbeing and sustainable development in their decision-making.

The closest precedent for this approach is the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which sets out that public bodies must follow five ‘Ways of Working’ in enacting the overarching Sustainable Development Principle:

• long-term: balancing the needs of today with those of future generations
• prevention: focusing on early action rather than just reacting to problems
• integration: aligning public bodies’ efforts in relation to well-being goals
• collaboration: working together towards well-being objectives
• involvement: involving the community where the public body operates

Although these broadly align with existing principles in the Scottish Government for how the National Performance Framework should be used in policy development, defining this in law may help to support clearer accountability for any strengthened duties.

It is important that we consider this option, as the model established in Wales is internationally recognised as the leading approach to wellbeing, sustainable development, and future generations.

These requirements may also need to be supported by defining stronger mechanisms for accountability in law, such as auditing and scrutiny of public bodies’ processes and ‘ways of working’ towards sustainable development.

From our engagements, we have heard feedback that the Ways of Working in Wales’ legislation has helped to embed ‘future generations thinking’ in the work of public authorities, though this is also due to the accountability and support provided by their Future Generations Commissioner through a constructive challenge role, backed by statutory powers.

However, we also want to ensure the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill is as focused as possible on its most effective changes – particularly defining sustainable development and strengthening duties. We are therefore considering whether such Ways of Working, and this level of detail on public authorities’ processes, needs to be set out in the legislation itself. This could potentially be set out in statutory guidance supporting a broader Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill, meaning the Ways of Working could be more easily adapted in future, where necessary, without the need to revise the Act itself.