As a public body, we are legally bound to a range of duties and responsibility. These are designed to ensure fairness, inclusion and long-term wellbeing across Wales.

Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems

The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 requires us to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote resilient ecosystems. We must embed biodiversity considerations into policies, plans, projects and day-to-day operations.  

Child poverty

The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 requires us to contribute to ending child poverty in Wales. The Welsh Government’s Child Poverty Strategy emphasises that public bodies should help tackle child poverty across Wales.

Health impact

The Health Impact Assessment (Wales) Regulations 2025 requires us to assess health impact when making strategic decisions. From April 2027, for any strategic decision, we must:

  • assess the likely short- and long-term effects on the physical and mental health of people in Wales
  • identify affected population groups
  • plan actions to reduce risks or enhance benefits to health

Public sector equality

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), under the Equality Act 2010, requires us to contribute to:

  • eliminating discrimination
  • providing equal opportunities
  • building good relations between people with protected characteristics  

In Wales, this duty is supported by additional specific requirements. These include:

  • assessing the impact of policies on equality
  • collecting and publishing equality information
  • setting and reviewing equality objectives at least every 4 years  

These duties ensure that we embed equality, fairness and inclusion in all of our decisions and practices.

Social partnership and public procurement  

The Social Partnership Duty was introduced by the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. It requires us to work with trade unions or other staff representatives when setting wellbeing objectives. We need to get consensus about objectives and how to achieve them.  

This ensures that staff are:

  • fully involved in the decision-making process
  • consulted early and throughout the process
  • given enough information to consider and contribute

We are also required to carry out socially responsible procurement. Our purchasing decisions must:

  • promote fair work
  • support wellbeing
  • deliver wider social, economic and environmental benefits for Wales

Welsh language standards

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 requires us to treat Welsh and English the same. This includes people being able to use Welsh when they engage with our services. These duties cover:

  • service delivery
  • policy making
  • operations
  • record keeping
  • language promotion

These standards set clear expectations for providing bilingual services, communications and public information. They are designed to promote and facilitate the Welsh language across all aspects of our work.

Wellbeing of future generations

As a public body named in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, we are required to carry out sustainable development. This means acting in a way that improves Wales’s economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing.  

To do this, we must set, publish and achieve wellbeing objectives. These objectives must maximise our contribution to the Act’s 7 national goals. These goals aim to create a Wales that is:

  • healthier
  • more equal
  • resilient
  • globally responsible

We must also apply the Act’s five ways of working, which involve:

  • taking a long-term view
  • focusing on prevention
  • integrating our work across goals
  • collaborating with partners
  • involving people in decisions that affect them

These duties ensure that decisions we make today do not compromise the wellbeing of future generations.

Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public the right to access any information we hold. This means that we must:

  • handle requests transparently
  • provide access to recorded information, unless an exemption applies

Environmental information may also be requested under the Environmental Regulations 2004. These regulations sit alongside the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

You can find out how to make a freedom of information request, and see previous requests.