The full text of the Wellbeing of Future Generations bill is long and dense, and the op-eds and articles I found on it were generally quite vague.
How would you summarize the practical impact you would expect the bill to have, if it were to be implemented?
Also, have there been bills with similar implications (requiring the government to publish impact assessments or companies to “consider” their impact) that seem to have made a difference in how the UK government operated?
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Bird (Crossbench). It aims to ensure UK policymaking takes into account the interests of future generations. It sets out a series of steps to achieve this, including:
Defining the concepts of “sustainable development”, a “future generations principle” and “wellbeing goals”.
Requiring the Government to devise, publish and report on a set of indicators on progress towards the wellbeing goals.
That any proposed change in public expenditure, taxation or policy should be accompanied by a “future generations impact assessment”.
Establishing a “future generations commissioner” for the UK to act as a guardian of the interests of future generations.
Setting up a parliamentary joint committee on future generations.
Requiring certain companies to include in their directors’ reports a statement of the impact of their activities on the wellbeing goals.
Requiring public bodies to consider the wellbeing goals in their procurement exercises.
Thanks for sharing this summary!
The full text of the Wellbeing of Future Generations bill is long and dense, and the op-eds and articles I found on it were generally quite vague.
How would you summarize the practical impact you would expect the bill to have, if it were to be implemented?
Also, have there been bills with similar implications (requiring the government to publish impact assessments or companies to “consider” their impact) that seem to have made a difference in how the UK government operated?
The House of Lords Library has published an overview: https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/lln-2020-0070/
The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Bird (Crossbench). It aims to ensure UK policymaking takes into account the interests of future generations. It sets out a series of steps to achieve this, including:
Defining the concepts of “sustainable development”, a “future generations principle” and “wellbeing goals”.
Requiring the Government to devise, publish and report on a set of indicators on progress towards the wellbeing goals.
That any proposed change in public expenditure, taxation or policy should be accompanied by a “future generations impact assessment”.
Establishing a “future generations commissioner” for the UK to act as a guardian of the interests of future generations.
Setting up a parliamentary joint committee on future generations.
Requiring certain companies to include in their directors’ reports a statement of the impact of their activities on the wellbeing goals.
Requiring public bodies to consider the wellbeing goals in their procurement exercises.