“It’s got to matter to people and it’s got to be making a difference,” says Walker.
“In my 10-year assessment of progress, the headline was effectively that there have been important changes that have taken place because of this legislation, but we haven’t gone far enough. So there’s a lot more to do.”
Walker tells the Big Issue that the role has helped drive progress on transport policy and spending with more investment in public transport and active travel.
The future generations law has also had an impact on education, offering a greater focus on climate change in classrooms to prepare youngsters for the years ahead.
But the legislation lacks teeth – Walker doesn’t have the power to take forceful action if public bodies are not adequately planning for the future.
Big Issue founder Lord John Bird tried to introduce a future generations commissioner in England with more robust legal powers through a private member’s bill. There was also talk of future generations commissioner being appointed in Scotland in the days of the Bute House Agreement and Patrick Harvie.
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Both attempts fell short but that hasn’t stopped Wales’ model being eyed by the rest of the world.
Walker says there has been interest from Ireland from Belfast to Dublin as well as India, while there is legislation ongoing in Australia.
The United Nations also agreed a declaration on future generations while the European Union has a commissioner for intergenerational fairness inspired by Wales’ work.
“Actually, there is quite a lot of interest in the legislation. It’s very much a soft superpower for Wales,” says Walker.
“I was bowled over by the level of interest in this legislation when I came in. People will take it in different ways so they might not end up with a commissioner, or they might not end up with a Future Generations Act, but they will learn from the Welsh model and understand how it could be implemented in their context. And that’s good to see. There needs to be a future generations commissioner in every country, in my view, and we’re not there yet.
“It’s flattering, of course, that people are interested around the world but it’s got to make a difference here. That’s the most important thing. We’ve got to make it work here so we can share our learning. It’s not working perfectly here so we need to do all we can to make sure it makes a difference for people here as well as for the long-term and that’s got to be where my focus is.”
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Walker is calling on the Welsh government to carry out a post-legislative review into how the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act functions now it is a decade old.
He wants to make it easier for individuals and community groups in Wales to challenge public bodies’ decisions to make sure they look to the future adequately.
The commissioner’s report calls for every public body to lay out how it will achieve real Living Wage accreditation in a bid to tackle poverty. Ring-fenced prevention funding should be introduced and a national food resilience plan has also been proposed.
His performance will be judged by an unusual audience.
“I mean, clearly you can’t ask people who are not yet born,” says Walker with a smile, when asked how he ensures he is acting in their best interest. “But you do it in a number of ways. One of the ways is you seek to involve everyone because one of the five ways of working in the legislation is the involvement principle.
He adds: “I have a stake in the future. I want the right thing for my kids and my grandkids. Young people clearly have a longer trajectory, but we’ve all got a stake in the future. Young people are at the heart of this agenda but it’s not a young person’s agenda so involving everyone to understand the Wales we want for tomorrow is what I do on a day-to-day basis.”
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In the short-term, Walker’s focus is on next year’s Senedd elections.
The role is meant to stand against the short-termism that has dominated UK politics in recent times.
Wales has gone through three first ministers in the space of a couple of years while Westminster’s revolving door and inter-party squabbling has also had an impact.
The future generations commissioner produced the report ahead of the elections to advise parties to look to the long-term in their manifestos rather than looking to score quick political points.
“A big part of my job this year is to speak to political parties, share my advice and hopefully they pick it up and it will be represented in their manifestos and subsequently in whoever forms the government,” says Walker.
“My experience is politicians of all parties get the need to act for the long term and understand this clearly. It’s not without controversy. It’s common sense that we want to avoid sticking plaster solutions, that we want to make the right decision and it’s going to be the right decision for years to come because that’s going to be cheaper and more effective if we do that. We’ve got to keep finding ways of achieving that.”
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