Welsh Government
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Sustainable development at the heart of the Welsh Government
The latest Sustainable Development Annual Report outlines how in the past year Ministers have continued to work to make Wales a truly sustainable country.
Policies across the Welsh Government aim to make sure the choices we all made recently lead toward a fairer and more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.
Examples in the report include:
- The transition to a low carbon economy - continuing to develop a marine energy industry in Wales, including granting a marine license to the Marine Current Turbines’ Skerries project for their tidal energy array and £1.6 million for Tidal Energy Limited’s Deltastream.
- Reducing fuel poverty and making our homes more energy efficient - providing 21,500 households with support to help them use less energy and reduce their fuel bills through the Nest scheme.
- Regenerating our communities - the Valleys Regional Park has seen the completion of more than 80 miles of road walking and cycling routes, with over 400 individuals achieving a tourism qualification and 400,000 extra visits to the Valleys boosting economic prosperity.
- Sustainable procurement to make the most of the Welsh public purse - the Community Benefits Programme ensures the Welsh public sector uses the £4.3 billion annual public procurement budget to optimise its social, economic and environmental impact.
- Improving the skills of the workforce - reducing the number of working people with low levels of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills is a key long term priority to produce a more confident and effective workforce. This includes the Essential Skills in the Workforce programme launched in April 2012 which supports employers to identify and address low literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in the workplace. By December 2012 more than 4,000 workers had become involved with the programme.
Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister Jeff Cuthbert said:
"The report reflects a growing body of evidence that supports not only the Welsh Government’s, but also Wales’s efforts to become a more sustainable and fairer nation.
“Sustainable development remains central to everything we do. This is as true for the our efforts to create growth and jobs as it is in addressing the health and social justice challenges facing Wales, tackling climate change and sustaining our cultural legacy.
“We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but we recognise that in order to continue to make progress we must constantly drive for improvement.
“That is why we are developing a Future Generations Bill to help tackle the generational challenges we face in a more joined up way, ensuring Welsh public services make key decisions with the long term wellbeing of the country in mind.
“The Bill will place a duty on us and other public service organisations, to strengthen the framework for sustainable development in Wales. The Bill is our opportunity to ensure that our public services work together to achieve our long term goals.”
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