Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2026 [Draft]
I thank the member for that acknowledgement. It is definitely a practical way to create jobs, lower bills and deliver on climate ambitions.
What I was going to say was that I did not anticipate the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body-appointed commissioners review and the conclusions that it came to. I have been absolutely clear from the start that my proposals for a commissioner were not about appointing an advocacy commissioner. In the responses to my consultation and to that of the Scottish Government, there was strong support for having someone who is independent, who can provide guidance to help to implement wellbeing and sustainable development principles and, crucially, who will have the investigatory powers that would be used to hold public sector bodies to account. In the view of many stakeholders, our Parliament needs the capacity to make sure that that happens.
The work of our committees is vital, but colleagues need to reflect on the challenge that we face in the capacity of our committees to carry out the work that was called for in the 2021 election. It also begs the question whether the Scottish Government has been performing that oversight role effectively to date, especially given the failure of the national performance framework to deliver as intended.
The sustainable development goals are meant to be delivered by 2030. There is a real danger that short-termism and the lack of the joined-up thinking that is needed to push wellbeing and sustainable development up the agenda will mean that we miss out on the investment that we need to make now to support future generations. We have the experience of Wales, where the legislation was passed a decade ago and which is now being served by its second future generations commissioner. It is inspiring to hear about the success of its work, the culture shift that it has delivered and its five ways of working.
When the Scottish Government decided not to proceed with its bill, although I was absolutely delighted that the Deputy First Minister said that she would be prepared to work with me constructively on my bill, I did not anticipate that the minister would say that he was not going to support it. I was deeply disappointed by that. We are here today after the Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s extensive consideration of the proposals in my bill. Notwithstanding my disappointment, there are some incredibly helpful recommendations in its report, and I hope that the Scottish Government will respond to them positively and with clarity.
The committee recognises the importance of policy coherence, and my view is that guidance is needed to embed wellbeing and sustainable development in policy making. The committee also questions the Scottish Government on oversight and the measurement of the implementation of national outcomes. I thought that it was significant that the committee specifically asked the Scottish Government to clarify, if there was not to be a commissioner, who would provide guidance, support and oversight, but there was no clear answer in the minister’s response to the committee.
The committee noted the evidence that, in the absence of clear statutory directives linked to a shared long-term national vision, there is no accountability. If the Scottish Government will not back my bill, will it consider strengthening the duties in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015?
As Carnegie UK also stressed, a point was raised in extensive evidence to the Finance and Public Administration Committee about the need to reform the national performance framework so that it works. Will the Scottish Government commit to that, as well as to the committee’s recommendation that it should set a time period to evaluate the impact of a revised national performance framework on the delivery of wellbeing and sustainable development outcomes? The national performance framework is being reviewed, so we do not have the answers in front of us.
I hope that the issues raised in the committee report, which the Scottish Government has not yet given clear commitments to act on, will be reflected in the legacy papers that committees prepare in the final few weeks of the current parliamentary session. What can be done now, without waiting for future legislation? Which committee in the next session of Parliament will be responsible for delivering the wellbeing and sustainable development goals? How will the SPCB deliver the accountability and oversight that we have, for years, consulted on, supported and campaigned for? We urgently need answers to those questions, because we cannot let Scotland fall behind.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill.