Schedule 2 – The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
72.Paragraphs 1 to 5 contain technical provisions in respect of the status, terms, remuneration and other matters relating to the appointment of the Commissioner. Paragraph 3 prescribes that the Commissioner is to be appointed for a period of 7 years.
73.Paragraphs 6 and 7 detail the grounds on which individuals may be disqualified from being appointed as Commissioner and the arrangements for ending the Commissioner’s appointment (other than through disqualification).
74.Paragraph 8 makes provision for the Commissioner to do anything she or he considers appropriate in connection with the Commissioner’s functions, including charging for services, paying third parties for services and accepting gifts. The Commissioner may not provide financial support to acquire or dispose of land without the approval of the Welsh Ministers.
75.Paragraphs 9 and 10 make provision as regards the duty of the Commissioner to appoint a Deputy Commissioner, the powers of the Commissioner to appoint and pay staff and the ability to delegate functions of the Commissioner to any person including a member of their staff.
76.Paragraph 11 makes provision for the Deputy Commissioner to exercise the Commissioner’s functions when the Commissioner’s office is vacant, or if the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that for any reason she or he is unable to exercise those functions.
77.Paragraphs 12, 13 and 14 require the Commissioner to establish a procedure for investigating complaints regarding the exercise of their functions and to create and maintain a register of the Commissioner’s and Deputy Commissioner’s interests, making a copy available for inspection by the public. Paragraph 15 provides that the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner must not exercise a function if she or he has registered an interest which relates to the exercise of that function.
78.Paragraph 16 provides the Welsh Ministers may pay the Commissioner amounts appropriate in respect of expenditure to carry out the functions of the Commissioner.
79.Paragraph 17 requires the Commissioner to produce an annual report covering each financial year; this report must be published no later than 31 August following the end of the financial year that it covers. The Commissioner must send the report to the Welsh Ministers who must lay it before the National Assembly.
80.In preparing this report, the Commissioner must consult the advisory panel (see section 26) and any other person the Commissioner considers appropriate. The annual report is to provide a summary of the Commissioner’s work programme and detail the actions taken by the Commissioner during that financial year, an analysis of the Commissioner’s effectiveness in enabling her or his general duty to be carried out, together with details of their proposed work programme for the following financial year and a summary of any complaints made. The report may include the Commissioner’s assessment of the improvements public bodies should make in order to be more consistent with the sustainable development principle when setting and meeting their well-being objectives.
81.Paragraph 17 also defines the Commissioner’s first financial year for the purposes of the Act as running from the day on which the Commissioner is appointed up until the following 31 March.
82.Paragraphs 18 to 22 set out the responsibilities the Commissioner has as accounting officer and to provide for the preparation of estimates and accounts by the Commissioner, including any directions that can be given by the Welsh Ministers, and the auditing of accounts and the examination into the use of the Commissioner’s resources by the Auditor General for Wales.
83.Paragraph 23 provides that the Commissioner may have a seal and provides that any document executed under this seal or signed by, or on behalf of, the Commissioner is to be received in evidence and, unless otherwise proven, taken to be a document of the Commissioner.