UK Open Government National Action Plan 2022 to 2024: Welsh Government end of term self-assessment report

In February 2022 the Welsh Government published our commitments that we would will deliver so that government is more open and responsive to citizens, accountable and collaborative. They were our contribution to t the 5^th UK Open Government Action Plan 2021-2023. The 7 commitments covered the period January 2022 to January 2024.

The following records the progress made on the Welsh Government’s commitments between 2022 to 2024.

Our commitments

Our commitments for 2022 to 2024 are:

1. Digital & Data Collaboration

We will work with a wide spectrum of stakeholders to create digital solutions to deliver better public services, develop the economy and reduce inequalities in Wales.

2. Welsh Language Technology

We will work collaboratively with the translation community to develop technologies that enables Welsh to be used in a wide variety of contexts.

3. Diversity in Welsh Government recruitment

We will work towards a more diverse, equal, and inclusive Welsh Government workforce.

4. Disability rights and equality

We will establish a taskforce to work collaboratively to address the findings from the Locked out: liberating disabled people’s lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19 report.

5. Climate change and carbon reduction

We will work collaboratively to tackle climate change and reaching our 2050 net zero carbon target.

6. Historic environment

We will work with citizens and communities to use, enjoy and value the historic environment around them.

7. Well-being of Future Generations

We will work openly and collaboratively to increase awareness and support further integration of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

Summary of progress

Further details on the progress made against each of the commitments and their milestones are provided below.

Commitment

We will work with a wide spectrum of stakeholders to create digital solutions to deliver better public services, develop the economy and reduce inequalities in Wales.

Objective

To increase, encourage and support engagement and collaboration in the development and delivery of digital public services in Wales.

Status quo

The Digital Strategy for Wales was published in March 2021 and has a focus on collaboration and building partnerships.

There are a number of excellent examples where partnership working is currently delivering digital services, such as the SAIL Databank. This commitment aims to build upon this ethos of collaborative working.

Ambition

To create an ongoing active partnership that works collectively to develop and deliver better digital public services in Wales.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2024

Open Government Partnership values

Access to information, co-production

Other actors involved

Public authorities, academia, community councils, health boards and trusts, education providers, fire and rescue bodies, arms-length bodies, third sector and social partnerships, civil society, the Data Sharing Review Board for Wales.

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

The Digital & Data commitments are all long-term projects, which is reflected in their status being recorded as ongoing, however, significant progress has been made in many areas.

Milestones progress

Milestone 1.1: To work openly during the implementation the Digital Strategy for Wales, including the publication of progress updates

Working openly, collaboratively and putting the user at the heart of all we do is fundamental to the Digital Strategy for Wales. The Welsh Government publishes regular blog posts about digital, data and technology activity on the Chief Digital Officer’s Digital and Data blog page. The blog is written in an accessible way to inform people about digital activities including, for example, the launch of electronic prescriptions in Wales, research on the Minimum Digital Living Standard, Cyber in Wales and developments on DataMapWales.

On the first anniversary of the publication of the Digital Strategy for Wales, in March 2022, the then Minister with cross-government responsibility for digital and data, gave an oral statement to the Senedd on progress made since the publication of the strategy. The Welsh Government has since provided responses to oral and written questions, as well as information in response to scrutiny by Senedd Committees.

In November 2022, we published the second iteration of the Delivery Plan which sets out the actions we will take the achieve the vision of the Digital Strategy for Wales. The Delivery Plan included updates on action that would be taken in the short, medium and longer terms. Discussions are underway to develop the next iteration of the Delivery Plan.

In March 2023, we published a short report which detailed the high-level impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on delivery of the Digital Strategy for Wales Mission areas.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.2: To engage with people and communities to design accessible and inclusive digital and data services that are based upon their needs

The Digital Strategy for Wales is about changing our culture and behaviour to focus on designing services around the needs of users so that they are modern, accessible and safe.

The Welsh Government established the Centre for Digital Public Services in 2020 to work alongside the public sector in Wales to encourage collaboration, build skills and demonstrate the benefits of using digital and data to improve public services.

The centre has worked with Welsh public sector organisations to develop Service Standards which set out what is expected from a new or redeveloped service. The Standards include how services should, for example, be focused on the current and future wellbeing of people in Wales, based on user needs as well as being inclusive and accessible. To help embed these, it has established a Digital and Data Standards Working Group, developed a Service Manual and designed a Service Assessment process. The Centre also runs Communities of Practice to support the public sector in designing services.

The Centre has been working with public sector organisations to prove the value of putting users at the heart services in the design, development and test stages. It has been working with Digital Health and Care Wales, for example, on the Digital Maternity Cymru programme aimed at improving maternity services in Wales. The Centre led research with users of maternity services to understand their experiences and how they used services in order to develop and test digital approaches.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.3: To work collaboratively to create a shared ambition for the ethical use of data across public services

Officials within Data and Geography have been reviewing existing data ethics frameworks from within the UK and wider, with a view to making recommendations to adopt an existing framework with additional content to address specifically Welsh concerns, such as the Welsh language and the well-being of future generations. This will initially be for the Welsh Government, but work is also underway to consider how best to share this across the wider public sector. Officials are also in contact with their counterparts in Scotland and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation.

While the Welsh Government recognises that data driven innovation, including Artificial Intelligence, creates a massive opportunity to improve service delivery, we know that it must be used ethically and safely. That is why we are taking a social partnership approach to ensuring public services use AI technologies in ways that create mutual benefits for the employer, workers and users of public services. We are working closely with the Workforce Partnership Council AI Working Group to discuss implications of AI on the public sector workforce. We are advocating how equality, inclusivity, safety and social justice need to be central to the use of data and digital across all sectors.

The Algorithmic Transparency Standard from Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation is being considered by the cross sectoral Digital and Data Standards Working Group for use in the Welsh public sector. The Centre for Digital Public Services has also been working with the Welsh Government to deliver a series of webinars on AI, the most recent being ‘Managing bias in AI’ with The Alan Turing Institute.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.4: To work collaboratively to develop approaches that enable public services to undertake user research with different population groups

User research is essential in ensuring that users are at the centre of the design and delivery of Welsh public services. Following a discovery exercise undertaken by the Centre for Digital Public Services, a new community was established to connect and support people working in public services in Wales with a shared interest in user research. There are now over 100 members within the community who meet online and face-to-face to share experiences and learning.

The Welsh Government is seeking to work more collaboratively and put users at the heart of policy making and legislation. For example, to develop proposals for new legislation on Taxi and Private Hire the Welsh Government worked with the centre to approach explore the issues in a user-centred way. The centre brought relevant passenger, driver, and local authority stakeholders together to understand safety concerns. Involving people and working in the open has helped to gather valuable feedback and make better policy decisions.

The Welsh Government has also established a user experience lab which comprises a team of user researchers who provide a service within the Welsh Government to ensure new or existing services, tools and guidance are fit for purpose and designed with the user in mind. The team is responsible for designing and carrying out the research, along with analysing the data to provide actionable insights, which are then reported back to the commissioning department to inform their policy development or project delivery. User Research has been completed with departments across the Welsh Government including Traffic Wales, Cadw and the Marine and Fisheries team.

Status: Completed

Milestone 1.5: To work collaboratively to develop and facilitate an active data community across public and third sector services in Wales

The Wales Data Leaders Network was established in November 2021, chaired by the Welsh Government’s Chief Digital Officer. Created as a forum of data leaders from across the public sector in Wales, it aimed to improve how data is managed, used and shared for both analytical and operational purposes.

Due to increased work pressures on data leads from across the Welsh public sector it was difficult to maintain regular meetings. Following a review in early 2023 it was agreed to put formal meetings on hold and draw on the network of leads as issues arose.

Alongside the Wales Data Leaders Network, Data Cymru looked to support collaborative working by establishing data communities on specific areas. To date they have set up communities focussed on ‘Power BI’ and ‘Improving access to data’.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.6: Develop consistency by agreeing and adopting common data and digital standards

Welsh Government continues to feed into work being led by UK government on developing and agreeing data standards.

As outlined under milestone 2, the Centre for Digital Public Services has published a set of service standards setting out what’s expected from new or redesigned digital services funded by Welsh public sector organisations(see link). The standards include how services should, for example, be focused on the current and future wellbeing of people in Wales, based on user needs as well as being inclusive and accessible. To help embed these, it has established a Digital, Data and Technology Standards Working Group, the Centre has been developing a Service Manual and designed a Service Assessment process. The centre also runs Communities of Practice to support the public sector in designing services.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.7: To encourage the use of platforms, standards and formats that will support the re-use of data

Welsh Government has been developing an Open Data guide for the public sector which will be published in 2024. See progress in relation to commitment 6 on the Digital, Data and Technology Standards Group.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.8: To publish coding suitable for re-use that has been created by the Welsh Government’s Data Science Unit

Work to publish code has been delayed due to the Data Science Unit (DScU) supporting the Homes for Ukraine scheme and other priority work such as internal transformation. A process has been introduced for publication of code internally through Azure DevOps which is now active. This allows the sharing and collaboration of code with colleagues within Welsh Government.

The DScU have also develop guidelines and standards for external code publication on GitHub to ensure that the products are of a consistently high quality.

The DScU plan to begin publishing code externally in the first quarter of 2024 to GitHub which is widely used across Government and the private sector. A publication plan has recently been approved by the CDO that outlines how code publications are supported by other promotional content.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.9: To publish information relating the work of the Data Sharing Review Board for Wales including the minutes of meetings

Establishment of the Review Board for Wales has been delayed due to the resourcing impacts of priority work, including supporting the Nation of Sanctuary response to the war in Ukraine. Work has recommenced in January 2024 and advice will be sent to the minister in early February, with the expectation that the Review Board will be established shortly afterwards.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 1.10: Openly publish information around data sharing proposals approved by the new Data Sharing Review Board for Wales

No update to provide as dependent on the outcome of commitment 9.

Status: Ongoing

Commitment

We will work collaboratively with the translation community to develop technologies that enables Welsh to be used in a wide variety of contexts.

Objective

To support, advise and collaborate with the translation community in Wales. Areas for collaboration include computer-assisted translation technology, the adoption of open standards and the release of legacy translations for reuse.

Status quo

Our Welsh language technology action plan supports our ambitions for the Welsh language described in our strategy Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers (2017). A key principal of the technology action plan is building partnerships and we will continue to work collaboratively with the translation community, towards developing technologies to ensure that Welsh can be used in a wide variety of contexts.

There is a thriving translation community in Wales covering a range of activities from terminology and discussion forums through to the provision of open source software portals. This commitment will build upon the foundations already laid by volunteer technologists, by large enterprises and by the public sector.

Ambition

To enable more use of Welsh and to increase the amount of Welsh in the linguistic landscape in Wales.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2024

Open Government Partnership values

Access to information, open data, co-production, working with citizens, collaboration

Other actors involved

Civil society, Welsh translation community, technology companies, the public sector.

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

Our Welsh language technology action plan (2018) comes to an end in 2023/2024 and we are in the process of drafting its final report. During this plan, work has been completed against many of the milestones as detailed below. Work now continues as we prepare for a new plan for Welsh language technology, which will likely include further progress on many of these points.

Milestones progress

Milestone 2.1 Continue to support and encourage developments for computer-assisted translation, including machine translation and sharing translation data

We’ve funded Bangor University to create domain-specific machine translation engines for Health and Care and Legislation. When focusing on a specific domain, results tend to improve compared to more general machine translation engines.

Bangor University has now made the translation engines available within Wordfast, a popular professional translation memory software package, and they are currently being tested by the University’s Translation Unit.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 2.2 Encourage the use of open standards in computer-assisted translation

The Welsh Government Translation Service has so far shared 144 translation memories on the BydTermCymru website. Translators at any organisation can upload these memories to their own translation memory systems and use them for free.

In addition to this, the resources on BydTermCymru include a complete version of the TermCymru terminology and titles database which can be downloaded and used within any translation memory system.

Bangor University has also created the Open Translation Memories resource, which is a way to search for a word in translation memory databases as well.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 2.3: Continue with our engagement with the translation community in Wales

We continue to engage with the translation community both internally in Welsh Government and with external partners in the open sharing of translation memories, see milestone updates 1 and 2 above.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 2.4 Encourage parallel English<>Welsh language legacy translations to be released under a suitably permissive licence, so they can be made available for re-use, thereby increasing the amount of Welsh in the linguistic landscape in Wales

We’ve explored how to facilitate the sharing of translation resources between different organisations. Some bodies have raised concerns about confidential and sensitive data. We are therefore currently researching ‘scraping’, tagging and aligning parallel Welsh/English public texts, and using the data to create translation memories and new domain-specific translation engines. Since we are talking about public data in this regard, it would alleviate these concerns about confidentiality.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 2.5: Continue working towards delivering the Work Packages that are described in our Welsh Language Technology Action Plan

The Welsh language technology action plan (2018) came to an end in 2023/24 and we are in the process of drafting its final report.

Status: Completed

Commitment

We will work towards a more diverse, equal and inclusive Welsh Government workforce.

Objective

To increase diversity in the Welsh Government’s workforce.

Status quo

We have recognised that some groups are within our workforce are under-represented. This commitment aims to address this situation.

Ambition

To ensure that ours is an organisation that fully reflects the diversity of Wales and that we encourage a rich and diverse workplace, where everyone feels able to be themselves, and no one feels discriminated against.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2024

Open Government Partnership values

Access to information, diversity, inclusion

Other actors involved

Diversity organisations and networks

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

The Welsh Government continues to take forward action towards our vision of an organisation that fully reflects the diversity of Wales at every level, is anti-racist and anti-discrimination of all types. Key strategy documents, such as the Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2026 and the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, identify relevant objectives.

Our published aims have underpinned a number of organisational commitments and processes, including our approach to recruitment and resourcing, our ways of working and our leadership objectives. We continue to strive to increase the diversity of our workforce and ensure the Welsh Government civil service is representative of the communities it serves. We have published a number of updates on our relevant actions, in line with our statutory obligations and the principles of open government.

Milestones progress

Milestone 3.1: To implement our Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2026, which sets out our vision to become an organisation which fully reflects the diversity of Wales at every level, is anti-racist and anti-discrimination of all types

The Welsh Government’s Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2026 is operationally taken forward by delivery plans, which are published annually and for which designated teams are held accountable. The Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group meets regularly to oversee developments.

Strategy priorities delivered since January 2022 include the following.

Over 200 individuals have utilitsed our recruitment adjustment process. This process ensures that people with impairments, health conditions, who are neurodivergent or use BSL are assessed fairly during the recruitment process. Adjustments can include additional time in interviews or receiving the questions in advance, for example. Our approach to recruitment adjustments won the CIPD Wales Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Award in 2023. We have also strengthened outreach guidance and support, ensuring we recruit from the widest pool of talent possible and raising awareness of the Welsh Government as an employer among schools and communities.

We have developed a range of equality diversity and inclusion training that is available for all staff. The training includes detail on ant-racism, inclusive workplace culture, the social model of disability and identifying & responding to micro-aggressions. We have delivered on our commitment to have a Shadow Board. The board assists the Welsh Government Board in its role to oversee the governance and organisational strategy for the Welsh Government. The Shadow Board brings a range of different perspectives and views drawn from members’ lived experience and the feedback they have been given from others who share their protected characteristics and experience.

We have required our senior leaders to have a measurable corporate objective relating to anti-racism or the social model of disability, enabling them to drive the culture we want to see and ensuring that they can be held to account as part of the performance management process.

We have also introduced a new HR recruitment system, which includes the operation of ‘name free’ recruitment for internal and external campaigns, minimising the risk of unconscious bias within the recruitment process. The new system has updated equality monitoring questions, following good practice.

We have appointed an external consultancy with appropriate lived experience to review HR policies and processes through an anti-racist lens. A key Anti-racist Wales Action Plan commitment, the review will result in a series of recommendations for the Welsh Government to take forward, with a view to removing barriers and improving outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff.

Status: ongoing

Milestone 3.2 To publish annual diversity data in the Employer’s Equality Reports

The Welsh Government has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 to publish organisational equality data annually. The Welsh Government Employer Equality Reports for 2020-2021 and 2021- 2022 have been published, with the 2022/2023 report to be published by March 31, 2024.

The reports include information on the diversity of our workforce, recruitment practices, and learning and development, as well as detail on our pay gaps and an overview of our staff networks. The information collected in relation to employees is broken down into sub-categories, according to their declared protected characteristics.

The purpose of gathering and reporting this information is to ensure that we have a clear overview of the equality issues we face; can monitor progress and bring about positive change to ensure on-going compliance with the public sector equality duty. For example, our most recent report states that our gender pay gap has decreased, together with a slight narrowing of both our disability and ethnicity pay gaps. In our most recent report, we’ve also published our minority sexual orientation pay gap for the first time.

Our Employer reports aim to not only publish relevant data, but also to highlight the work we are doing to ensure that everyone at all levels of the organisation can develop to their full potential and further their careers in the way that’s right for them.

Status: Ongoing

Commitment

We will establish a taskforce to work collaboratively to address the findings from the Locked out: liberating disabled people’s lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19 report.

Objective

To establish a taskforce that will be co-chaired by a minister and a representative of disabled people/disabled people’s organisations.

The taskforce will work collaboratively to address the inequalities highlighted by the Locked Out report, oversee the implementation of actions arising and include disabled people in decisions that affect their lives.

Status quo

The Locked Out report has highlighted the disproportionate and adverse impacts of Covid pandemic on disabled people.

Ambition

To improve the lives of disabled people in Wales.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

December 2022 to March 2026

Open Government Partnership values

Co-production, collaboration, civic participation, diversity

Other actors involved

Disabled people in Wales, disabled people’s organisations, Welsh public services, Welsh Commissioners

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

In July 2021, the Disability Equality Forum published the ‘Locked Out: Liberating Disabled People’s Lives and Rights in Wales beyond COVID-19’ report. A part of the Welsh Government’s response to the report was to establish the Disability Rights Taskforce.

To address the issues highlighted in the report, the Taskforce is working collaboratively with people with lived experience and expertise, disabled people’s organisations, Welsh Government policy leads and other interested bodies/organisations.

Milestones progress

Milestone 4.1: Establishment of a Disability Rights Taskforce

The Taskforce has established ten thematic working groups, where people with lived experience, disabled people’s organisations and Welsh Government policy leads are working together to co-produce recommendations to improve the outcomes for disabled people in Wales. These are:

• embedding and understanding of the Social Model of Disability (across Wales)
• access to services (including communications and technology)
• independent living: social care
• independent living: health
• travel
• employment and income
• affordable and accessible housing
• children and young people
• access to justice
• wellbeing (as a workshop)

The taskforce works in co-production with members, co-production is an asset-based approach to the creation and delivery and review of policy implementation and public services that enables people providing, and people receiving services, to share power and responsibility, and to work together in equal, and reciprocal relationships.

The working groups’ co-produced recommendations will support many of the principles set out in the articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. Welsh Government, disabled people and representative organisations will work together to deliver on these recommendations.

Status: Completed

Milestone 4.2: Identification and development of actions to address inequalities and strengthen and advance rights of disabled people

The taskforce has completed a number of its working groups, these are:

• Embedding and Understanding of the Social Model of Disability (across Wales)
• Access to Services (including Communications and Technology)
• Independent Living: Social Care
• Independent Living: Health
• Employment and Income
• Travel

The ‘Wellbeing workshop’ has been designed to consider barriers and access to wellbeing enhancing activities for disabled people. Areas for discussion include access to sport, culture, tourism and green spaces, play areas, and more.

The last of the working groups due to finish by April 2024 are:

• Children and Young People
• Accessible and Affordable Housing
• Access to Justice
• Wellbeing workshop

We are working with parents and carers, and children and young people to ensure their voices are influential in our work. Engagement with children and young people has taken place in the form of workshops with schools, and rights-based events with the organisation ‘Children in Wales’. The taskforce has set up bespoke meetings with parents and carers of disabled children and young people.

The taskforce will consider the key recommendations required to achieve improvements for disabled children and adults in Wales, which the Welsh Government, wider public services and disabled people will work together to deliver on.

Throughout the co-production process, working group members have called for the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Disabled People to be incorporated into Welsh legislation. While there is a separate arm of Welsh Government applying their attention to this, the Taskforce has commissioned a piece of work to reflect how the co-produced working groups’ recommendations could support the principles of the articles set out in the convention.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 4.3: Implementation of actions to address inequalities and strengthen and advance rights of disabled people

The taskforce’s work is based firmly on a common understanding of the Social Model of Disability. The Social Model of Disability adopts the view that people with impairments are disabled by societal attitudes, discrimination, and the built environment. The model emphasises a shift to access to social justice and the removal of barriers to inclusion, leading to a more equitable and accessible world for all people regardless of ability.

The taskforce is supporting the commitment by Welsh Government to embed the Social Model of Disability. The taskforce has worked with Welsh Government’s Disability Awareness and Support Group (DAAS) to provide Social Model of Disability training to civil servants, including Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Care Inspectorate Wales, and Welsh Government’s Legal Service’s Department.

The taskforce has commissioned bespoke training on the Social Model of Disability for Taskforce and working group members. Taskforce and working group members also have access to co-production training.

Status: Ongoing

Commitment

We will work collaboratively to tackle climate change and reaching our 2050 net zero carbon target

Objective

To work collaboratively with citizens, communities, businesses, the public sector and other stakeholders towards tackling climate change, achieving our net-zero ambitions and to deliver a greener and fairer future in Wales.

Status quo

Welsh Government has been working collaboratively to develop plans to address climate change. This commitment will build upon this work.

Ambition

To transition towards a low carbon society, which is vital to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales and to meet international obligations.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2026

Open Government Partnership values

Civic participation, co-production, collaboration, access to information

Other actors involved

Educational establishments, public sector, businesses, citizens, communities, environmental organisations

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

The Well-being of Future Generations Act places a legal obligation on Welsh public bodies to consider and involve people of all ages and diversity in decision-making. This obligation is reflected through the Welsh Government’s Team Wales approach to shaping climate solutions. The focal point of this collaborative approach is the annual Wales Climate Week event where citizens, communities, businesses, the public sector and other stakeholders come together for a national conversation on climate change.

In terms of citizen engagement, Net Zero Wales underlined the Welsh Government’s commitment to involving people in decisions that will affect them. This led to the publication of a Public Engagement Strategy in July 2023, setting out how it will encourage people to make green choices, and involve them in shaping policies. It conveys a vision driven by improved well-being and ‘leaving no-one behind’.

This is reinforced in the new draft Just Transition framework focusing on how Wales will move to net zero in a fair way. It is also reflected in the on-going delivery of programmes to support businesses through the transition, and publication of a Net Zero Skills action plan in February 2023.

For children and young people, the Welsh Government continues to ensure opportunities through education programmes and supporting a range of engagement initiatives to ensure their voices are heard.

Milestones progress

Milestone 5.1: To build upon our citizen, community and stakeholder engagement activities that will be described in a new Engagement Plan on the delivery of Net Zero Wales to be published in early 2022

The ‘Welsh Government Engagement Approach 2022-26’ was published in June 2022 setting out how it will work with climate stakeholders and delivery partners using a Team Wales approach to shape and deliver climate solutions.

This was followed by a consultation and publication of a new Public Engagement Strategy in July 2023. The Strategy provides a framework and guiding principles describing how the Welsh Government will work with Team Wales delivery partners to involve the general public (including communities) in:

• Decision-making (including policy-making) about how to tackle climate change.
• Action necessary to tackle climate change.

It also commits to delivering Government-led policy and infrastructure solutions that will make green choices easier, more convenient and more affordable for people, prioritising support where it is needed most to ensure no-one is left behind.

The scope of the public engagement programme covers 4 green choices themes:

1. Green home energy choices
2. Green transport choices
3. Green food choices
4. Green consumption choices

The strategy also describes the important links between tackling the climate and nature emergencies, and how the programme will support other related policy areas from climate risk and adaptation, to public health, environmental protection (air, land and water quality), and green education, skills and careers.

The delivery approach is explained using a 5 ‘E’s’ framework:

• Exemplify (Lead by example)
• Enable (Make it easier)
• Engage (Get people involved)
• Encourage (Give the right signals)
• Evaluate (Share the impact of actions)

Against each of these ‘E’s’, the Strategy lists actions that have been undertaken to date and makes a number of programme commitments.

Publication of the Strategy was an important indication of the Welsh Government’s commitment to engaging the Welsh public in climate change solutions. This aligns with the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) advice (see May 2019 report, page 155, figure 5.6) that the majority (~62%) of emission reductions will require some form of societal and behavioural change. This CCC report acknowledged that Wales is a step ahead of the UK in this vital delivery area and must now press forward with the commitments made in the strategy.

The programme is a Welsh Government priority because it draws together a range of cross-Government policy areas with a focus on policies and communications to promote green home energy, transport, food and consumption behaviours. It also links closely with other government priorities such as improving people’s health and tackling the cost-of-living and energy crises.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 5.2: To develop new innovative digital engagement tools to help us reach a wide range of stakeholders in order to help in the co-production of climate change strategies, plans and actions and to improve carbon literacy and support behavioural change

Through on-going engagement with Team Wales partners, findings from research such as the National Survey 2022, and supporting desk research – it was evident that there was a gap and demand for government-led digital information on climate change and related topics. This included information on actions the general public can take to reduce carbon emissions, evidence on what the public sector and businesses are doing to lead by example, and lack of visibility on what the Welsh Government is doing to support public action. The digital landscape on the topic was broad and fractured and the general public were finding it difficult to identify reliable and actionable information online.

In response to these findings, and to support the commitment made in the Public Engagement Strategy to encourage people to make everyday changes to the way they live their lives, a ‘Climate Action Wales’ Digital Hub (promoted through a new national campaign) was launched in summer 2023. 

The aims of the Digital Hub are to:

• Show why – educate people on the climate emergency, what we all need to do.
• Exemplify how – inspire based on what others are doing, and how Government will enable action.
• Drive action – trigger and facilitate individual action on green home energy, transport, food and consumption
• behaviours, leading to a change in societal norms and behaviours.

The content mission is as follows:

“We are Climate Action Wales. Our mission is to empower people in Wales to take meaningful action against the climate emergency, to reach of goal of net zero by 2050.

We’re here for anyone who is curious about how they can be part of the change that will help make our lives, and those of future generations, more sustainable.

Our hub provides accessible information about the climate emergency and actionable advice on how to make green choices every day, that will benefit us individually and collectively as a future-looking nation.

We celebrate individuals, communities and projects leading the way by creating sustainable ways of living, and show you how the Welsh Government is enabling action.

Tackling climate change can feel overwhelming, but taking small steps together now will make the bigger shifts we need to make as a nation a lot easier.

Together we can and will make a difference”.

Governance for the website is provided by an Editorial Panel including representatives from the Welsh Government and key national delivery partners.

Status: Completed

Milestone 5.3: Hold on-going stakeholder engagement events including an annual Wales Climate Week event in 2022, 2023 and 2024

Held annually to coincide with the Conference of the Parties (COP) global climate summit, Wales Climate Week strengthens the Team Wales approach by bringing together the Welsh Government and other climate stakeholders and delivery organisations, to discuss solutions for tackling climate change. Established by the Welsh Government in 2019 in response to feedback from climate stakeholders that "talking about climate change is important”, the event forms part of a broader programme of year round engagement activity set out in Climate Change – Welsh Government’s Engagement Approach 2022-2026.

The week involves public sector organisations, industry bodies and businesses, environmental groups, academic institutions, charities, third sector networks, community groups, marginalised groups and young people - to share best practice and consider how to collectively deliver climate policies and programmes.

Organised by the Welsh Government, the emphasis is on providing a platform for others to host events and share experiences. This promotes the cross-fertilisation of ideas amongst stakeholders who might not normally join together in climate conversation and to bring forward different perspectives.

Wales Climate Week 2022 coincided with a consultation on the new Public Engagement Strategy so the focus of the virtual conference was on the role of society in contributing towards the net zero goal.

Wales Climate Week 2023 coincided with a consultation on the new Just Transition Framework, so the focus of the virtual conference discussions was around the question ‘how do we tackle climate change in a fair way’? To build further evidence for the consultation, the Welsh Government opened a community engagement fund which enabled 39 organisations to hold outreach Climate Conversations events with members of the public and community groups across Wales between December 2023 and January 2024.

Wales Climate Week 2024 is scheduled to take place week commencing 11^th November to coincide with COP29.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 5.4: Continue to work closely with children and young people to develop our climate change strategies, plans and actions and to create educational resources, which enable learning about environment and climate change

The commitment in Net Zero Wales to a two-way dialogue on climate change highlights the importance of providing children and young people with the opportunity to have their voices heard and to participate and influence solutions for tackling climate change.

The Public Engagement Strategy

A new Climate Digital Hub which was introduced in July 2023 as a national digital resource to provide the general public with information on climate change, and includes useful information for parents and teachers to share with children. A Resources section is due to be published including toolkits for schools to help educate children on climate change.

The Welsh Government also continues to support a range of education initiatives and programmes delivered through Eco-Schools and Size of Wales (who are the leading environmental organisations working with over 90% of schools across Wales). Their educational, pupil-led, real-world programmes get schools, young people, families and the wider community involved in hands-on environmental projects and climate action.

In terms of equipping young people with the green skills needed to enable the transition to net zero, the Welsh Government continues to work with key partners, Careers Wales and industry to prepare the future workforce for new green job opportunities, including help with apprenticeships.

The Net Zero Skills Plan published in February 2023 highlights how young people and people in early years of their careers will be supported to understand career opportunities and options through the transition. It also commits to sharing good practice models for school and employer programmes.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 5.5: Engage across all areas of society in Wales to ensure that the positive and negative impacts of our journey to net zero carbon emissions and a greener, stronger, fairer Wales are distributed fairly to our citizens and communities

In Net Zero Wales, the Welsh Government re-stated its commitment to affect a ‘just transition’ away from the fossil-fuelled economy of the past to a new low carbon future. In December 2022, a call for evidence was issued to help inform the development of Wales’ decarbonisation pathway to Net Zero by 2050 and inform the development of a new Just Transition Framework for Wales.

In December 2023, the Welsh Government published the Just Transition Framework for consultation. This was supported by extended engagement during Wales Climate Week 2023, the theme for which was ‘how do we tackle climate change in a fair way?’. To encourage further outreach community engagement, particularly with young people, the vulnerable, older people and marginalised groups, the Welsh Government also opened a community engagement fund during the week for organisations to hold outreach Climate Conversations events, leading to 39 events being held during December 2023 and January 2024. The results of these conversations will feed into the evidence gathered and analysed as part of the consultation on the new framework.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 5.6: Work with key stakeholders to improve understanding of climate change and effect behavioural change amongst businesses, communities and society

In 2023 the Welsh Government launched a national Climate Action Wales campaign to encourage people to make everyday changes to cut household level carbon emissions. The programme methodology was developed by a panel of behavioural scientists, led by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), who identified the role of communications in encouraging green choices, both directly – asking people to make greener choices now; and indirectly – ‘warm ups’ in readiness for future changes. A summary of findings was published in this report.

The campaign strategy is described under 4 key blocks described using the 4 of the 5 ‘E’s detailed in the public engagement strategy:

1. Exemplify: Communicate what Wales is doing to tackle climate change.
2. Engage: Communicate a series of asks of the public that are easier and affordable for most.
3. Enable: Target specific behaviours towards those who are able to and can more likely afford to take action.
4. Encourage: Work with Team Wales stakeholders and partners to encourage a ‘community of campaigns’ approach’ and shared use of a communications media toolkit to ensuring a consistent narrative and movement to encourage people and communities to adopt green behaviours. This includes identifying appropriate messengers with potential to broaden reach and exert greater influence amongst different target audiences.
5. To continue to deepen understanding of people’s attitudes and behaviours linked to climate change, in 2023 the Welsh Government introduced a new 3-year Net Zero Behaviours and Attitudes Survey as a repeatable method for tracking results and informing the direction of the campaign.
6. To encourage behavioural change amongst businesses, Net Zero Wales provides a breakdown of the sectors where the emissions come from, a summary of progress being made to date, and a series of policies and proposals for the continued decarbonisation of industry and businesses in Wales. The creation of Net Zero Industry Wales (NZIW) in March 2022 focuses on providing the essential collaboration between industry, academia and government to accelerate the journey towards net zero. Support and funding for innovation is available at Business Wales SMART FIS and Circular Economy Fund for Business, and Business Wales continues to supports SMEs on their Net Zero activity with initiatives such as the Green Business Loan Scheme and Green Growth Ambition. Larger manufacturing companies are supported by dedicated Welsh Government regional managers and are also provided with access to Business Wales services as appropriate.

Status: Ongoing

Commitment

We will work with citizens and communities to use, enjoy and value the historic environment around them.

Objective

To work collaboratively with citizens and communities to connect them with and to enjoy their local monuments, landscapes and historic buildings.

Status quo

Cadw (Welsh Government’s historic environment service) has established many partnerships with citizens and communities to help care for and enjoy the historic environment. This commitment will continue with, and enhance this way of working.

Ambition

A Wales where our historic places are cared for, understood and shared by everyone.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2024

Open Government Partnership values

Civic participation, co-production, collaboration and diversity

New or ongoing commitment

Ongoing

Other actors involved

The Welsh Archaeological Trusts, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, other heritage bodies, citizens, community groups.

Overall commitment status

Ongoing

Overall progress against commitment

This ongoing commitment is being met through a variety of initiatives carried out by Cadw directly, and through targeted grant funding to third parties.

Better access to, and information about, the historic environment is being provided online as well as physically, and we, and our grant-funded bodies, are working with a variety of communities and individuals to share different perspectives on heritage sites.

By ensuring that the historic environment is being used appropriately for education, enjoyment and wellbeing we are also ensuring that it remains relevant and important to the communities of Wales, and maximising its potential to contribute to the goals in the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.

Milestones progress

Milestone 6.1 To work towards widening citizen and community access to heritage and the historic environment

We continue to be committed to improving access to the historic environment, both remotely, via the web, and physically through our sites. We have made improvements to the Cadw website, including more diverse and representative content, widening community access to information about the historic environment and reflecting different interests.

A wider range of groups are now entitled to free educational access to Cadw sites, (list of groups available here) and accessibility information about our sites has been made available so people can check suitability of sites in advance. Alongside this, we have carried out research into the barriers people face when contemplating visiting heritage sites, in order that we can improve the experience for those people who are currently not engaged with Cadw sites. Capital investment at our sites has improved not just the conservation of the monuments but the visitor experiences there, ensuring people have every opportunity to engage with, understand and enjoy the sites in state care.

More broadly, historic environment data relating to designated and registered sites and areas is hosted on the online platform DataMap Wales, and exchanged with other public sector bodies. This makes accurate data accessible to all, and means data layers can be viewed spatially, both in isolation and in combination with other factors. Up to date information about designated sites and those included in statutory registers can also be viewed online via Cof Cymru - Search Cadw records. This is consistently one of the most visited parts of the Cadw website, reflecting the levels of public interest in the historic environment. We also provide funding to the Welsh Archaeological Trusts (now the Trust for Welsh Archaeology) to aid them in maintaining Archwilio, the online database of archaeological and historical information, and public access point into the Historic Environment Records for Wales (HERs). These HERs are maintained by the Welsh Archaeological Trusts on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 6.2 To work with citizens and communities to understand their views, values and relationships with the historic environment and to undertake partnership projects with them

We regularly work with a wide variety of individuals and community groups. Our Young Custodians project has been expanded to cover more monuments, allowing young people from the local areas to work in partnership with us, developing ideas for interpreting monuments and helping to look after and promote them.

Open Doors, Wales’ largest heritage festival, continues to be immensely successful. A partnership of the public, private and voluntary sectors, the festival is arranged by Cadw’s events team and in September 2022 welcomed almost 42,000 visitors to a Welsh heritage site. This enables sites which are not normally open to the public to welcome visitors, developing stronger relationships between communities and their historic places.

Our guidance document – Public Commemoration in Wales: Guidance for Public Bodies has been out for public consultation and will be published in Spring 2024. Its purpose is to help local authorities, town and community councils and other public bodies reach well-informed decisions about existing and future public commemorations, and by doing so contribute to an anti-racist Wales. The guidance focuses on inclusive decision making and was developed following a series of workshops which broad together a broad spectrum of stakeholders. It aims to ensure that future decision-making about public commemoration of historical events and figures is based upon shared values.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 6.3 To provide funding for projects across Wales to enable citizens to engage with heritage and the historic environment

In 2022-2023 Cadw provided £2,831,000 in capital grants and £1,910,000 in revenue grants to historic environment projects, initiatives and organisations across Wales. These ranged from grants to conserve individual monuments and buildings to those which specifically supported longer-term programmes of community activity. The majority specifically included elements of both.

Our grants included provision for the Welsh Archaeological Trusts to undertake works to enhance our understanding of the historic environment. These projects included rescue excavations, with opportunities for volunteers to participate in the process of discovery and learning. Among others, volunteers investigated internal features at the promontory forts of Dinas Dinlle, Gwynedd and Porth yr Rhaw, Pembrokeshire. At Dinas Dinlle, one of the largest roundhouses ever recorded in Wales was discovered and the excavations at Porth y Rhaw revealed occupation over a 1,000-year period.

We are also partners in external projects, helping achieve the maximum benefits for available funding from – for example – the National Lottery Heritage Fund. By providing a variety of opportunities - access to our sites, supported visits and more general expertise and advice - we can enable a wider variety of people and groups to engage with their heritage and help their projects succeed.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 6.4 Encouraging and enabling the appropriate use of Cadw sites, making them more accessible and relevant to citizens and communities as valued spaces

Following the disruption to visitor attractions and services over Covid, visitor numbers to Cadw monuments have now risen to 92% of pre-Covid levels. 2022-2023 saw 1,136,103 visits to Cadw’s staffed sites.

The use of, and enjoyment of, Cadw sites has been encouraged through a varied and diverse programme of activities, both paid-for and free. Overall, 160,000 people attended one of 270 events held at a Cadw site.

Cadw offer free use of the sites for community events (details here: Community Event Guidelines, recognising the central place which many of our sites occupy within local communities. However, ensuring that a wider range of citizens, beyond the immediate locality, also value, use and appreciate the sites is a priority and Cadw have made it possible for 3,854 visitors from refugee and asylum-seeker groups to visit the sites for free. We are also actively exploring and promoting the wellbeing benefits of heritage sites.

Status: Ongoing

Commitment

We will work openly and collaboratively to increase awareness and support further integration of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

Objective

To lead the next phase of embedding the Well-being of Future Generations legislation in Wales.

Status quo

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 continues to shape how Government and the public sector in Wales meets the needs of current generations, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Welsh Government and public bodies have been integrating Well-being of Future Generations Act into the work that they do, since its introduction in 2015. This commitment will build upon and continue this work.

Ambition

To realise the benefits of the Well-being of Future Generations Act in what Government and public bodies do, and how they work.

Leading implementing organisation

Welsh Government

Timeline

January 2022 to January 2024

Open Government Partnership values

Civic participation, access to information, civil participation, collaborations, co-production

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved

Future Generations Commissioner, local authorities, academia, community councils, health boards and trusts, education providers, fire and rescue bodies, arms-length bodies, third sector and social partnerships, civil society.

Overall commitment status

Completed

Overall progress against commitment

Significant progress has been made across the 4 milestones within this commitment.

Milestone 7.1 To continue to engage the Well-being of Future Generations multi-sector stakeholder forum to drive forward the next phase of embedding the Well-being of Future Generations approach across Wales

We continue to engage the Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum to drive forward the next phase of embedding the Well-being of Future Generations approach across Wales. We have improved the transparency of the Forum's activities by uploading the full set of meeting topics and resources onto our Welsh Government website. We have refreshed the Forum's terms of reference and extended the membership to bring in further expertise.

The membership now includes: a Public Services Board representative from North Wales; a Public Health Wales representative, as one of the largest public bodies subject to the Act’s well-being duty; a representative from SDCC+ (Sustainable Development Coordinators Cymru Plus) – a professional network of policymakers and practitioners embedding sustainable development in our public sector organisations responding to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act; and a representative from the Future Generations Leadership Academy alumni chosen on a rotating basis. These additions will help better reflect the scope and breadth of the sustainable development agenda in Wales.

The Forum is addressed annually by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip as well as the Future Generations Commissioner. Now in its third year, the Forum continues to help shape how we collectively implement the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

Status: Ongoing

Milestone 7.2 To bring together evidence on likely future trends affecting Wales well-being to support decision-making

In December 2021, we published the Future Trends Report Wales 2021. Our aim has been to profile this resource with internal and external stakeholders. To improve awareness of the Future Trends Report and foresight tools, officials have presented at a series of events, including presentations at:

• the Welsh Government’s Analysis in Government seminar series, a cross-government programme, recognising innovative projects within the Analysis Function.
• the Welsh Government’s Research and Innovation Strategic Engagement Group (RISE), an internal structure for supporting research and innovation.
• the UK government’s Heads of Horizon Scanning Network, a group for public servants with a responsibility for or interest in futures, foresight, horizon scanning and strategy.
• the Welsh Government’s Knowledge Exchange platform, established to foster collaboration between the public bodies subject to the Well-being of Future Generations Act’s well-being duty.
• the Futures Group, which includes officials from across leading Welsh public sector organisations.
• the Welsh Government’s Policy Essentials Programme seminar series, which helps build on the organisation’s policy capability.
• multiple Welsh Government team events, including futures sessions with senior civil servants and with the policy team leading on the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill.

In addition, following a year-long research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which looked at the use of futures and foresight practices across the Welsh Government, Dr Laura De Vito published the report Foresight for sustainable development and well-being governance in Wales. This research has been informed by a series of workshops and has been tested widely at conferences internationally. The report also includes results from a series of pilot projects designed to improve futures and foresight capabilities in Welsh Government, detailed responses from officials working in several other national governments and a set of recommendations geared to further develop and embed futures and foresight practices in Wales. Using the findings from this research, we will be able to build on the report’s recommendations to ensure that ongoing work is geared to the long term.

Status: Completed

Milestone 7.3 To review the list of public bodies subject to the Well-being of Future Generations Act

In 2022, the Welsh Government consulted on proposals to add 8 devolved Welsh public bodies to the list of bodies subject to the well-being duty in section 6 of the Act. The 8 devolved public bodies that are proposed to be added to the WFG Act in 2024 are:

• Qualifications Wales
• Social Care Wales
• Health Education and Improvement Wales
• Welsh Revenue Authority
• Transport for Wales
• Centre for Digital Public Services
• Digital Health and Care Wales
• Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

These public bodies were selected on the basis that their remit or functions have the greatest impact on the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales, and those who have the strategic policy and corporate planning functions.

On 19 February 2024 the Minister for Social Justice and Chief made a statement announcing the intention to introduce regulations to extend the well-being duty (Part 2) of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to 8 additional public bodies. Subject to the regulations being made, these public bodies will be subject to the well-being duty from 30 June 2024, bringing the total number of devolved public bodies under the Well-being of Future Generations Act to 5.

The Welsh Government’s Knowledge exchange platform has ensured strong engagement with both the proposed and existing bodies with the aim of sharing learning in preparing new bodies for the well-being duty. It is the Welsh Government’s aim to add the 8 bodies in 2024.

Status: Completed

Milestone 7.4 To continue our activities to raise awareness of the Well-being of Future Generations and to encourage organisations to adopt the ‘five ways of working’ (Sustainable Development Principle)

The Welsh Government’s Sustainable Futures Division, working with a network of Policy Champions across the organisation, have facilitated focused sessions to learn about the Act’s ‘five ways of working’, learn from good practice, understand opportunities, explore what these ways of working might mean in practice, and to provide useful resources and support for further thinking. In 2023, we ran the first of five three-part deep dive sessions on our application of each of the ways of working (we started with Involvement), preliminary sessions of the Policy Essentials Programme designed to provide the knowledge, tools, and networks to understand what policy making looks like in the Welsh Government. Officials also ran a Welsh Government Policy Day as part of the UK Government Policy Festival, which included an address from the First Minister on policymaking. All of these events were open to all Welsh Government staff, whether involved in external (all-Wales) public policy or internal policy and all have been greatly appreciated. Plans are in place to continue the sessions in the coming year.

Officials have worked with the Welsh Government Board and the Welsh Government Executive Committee – 2 key groups within the governance architecture – to better embed the sustainable development principle, creating Well-being of Future Generations Board Champions to drive forward our ambitions on this agenda.

In 2023, we published the Well-being of Future Generations Continuous Learning and Improvement Plan for 2023 to 2025, which brings together over 50 existing and future actions that are designed to deepen the understanding and application of the sustainable development principle in Welsh Government. Through the Plan, and the annual updates we have committed to provide, we are strengthening our sustainable working culture to deliver better outcomes for the people of Wales now and in the future.

Status: Ongoing.