Public procurement in Wales is evolving quickly, bringing with it ambitious changes designed to shape a fairer, stronger and more resilient Wales. Whilst the pace of change can sometimes feel relentless, the good news is this: the direction of travel is clear, the expectations are manageable, and support is already in place to help us get there.
One excellent source of support recently came from a session I attended on Setting Socially Responsible Procurement (SRP) objectives, held as part of preparations for the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. With new duties coming into force from 25 March 2026 the session, led by Alice Horn, Sustainable Development Advisor at the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office and Sue Hurrell, Head of Fair Work Procurement at the Welsh Government, offered practical and timely guidance on what organisations needs to consider when shaping SRP objectives that align with the Act’s requirements.( Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 | Law Wales)
What stood out most was how practical and straightforward the approach to SRP can be. At its core, SRP is simply about doing procurement well by using our purchasing power to improve economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being in ways that genuinely benefit Wales.
Clear objectives, simple principles
A key theme of the session was the importance of developing SRP objectives that are:
- focused on maximising contribution to the national well-being goals
- action‑orientated, using clear “change language” such as increase, reduce, strengthen
- specific and measurable
- aligned to the five ways of working: long term, prevention, integration, collaboration and involvement
These aren’t complex requirements, they’re familiar principles that help make our work more intentional and impactful.
Turning intention into action
The Act will require contracting authorities to take “all reasonable steps” to deliver their SRP objectives for certain categories of procurement including large construction projects and outsourced services. The message here is encouraging: it’s not about perfection or burden but more it’s about demonstrating thoughtful, evidence‑based action.
The session also outlined new strategic reporting requirements, including development of a Procurement Strategy and Annual Reports. These documents will help organisations stay on track, show progress and identify next steps. With objectives expected to be set soon after the legislation comes into force, the session made one thing clear: beginning this work now puts us all in a strong position for when the Act goes comes into effect from 25 March 2026.
Learning from what works
One of the most insightful reflections came from the Future Generations Report 2025, which highlighted that well-being objectives are not always used consistently across organisations. This serves as a helpful reminder of why embedding SRP in planning, finance, resource decisions, and performance management matters to ensure our objectives drive real outcomes rather than stay on the page.
We were also shown examples of organisations already putting this into practice, such as:
- Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s mission‑based approach in their Management Plan – Y-Bannau-The-Future-1-1.pdf
- Sport Wales’ integrated reporting model – Sport Wales Annual Report 2024-2025
- The Future Generations Commissioner’s Office and their sustainable procurement objectives – Future-Generations-Cymru-Dec-2024-Procurement-strategy.pdf
These examples demonstrate that setting strong, aligned, purposeful objectives is entirely achievable and already underway across Wales.
Looking ahead with confidence
Overall, the session was both reassuring and motivating. It clarified what’s expected, demonstrated that the building blocks are already available, and showed how SRP can strengthen the positive change we’re all striving for. With the tools, guidance and frameworks already emerging, we have a solid foundation to begin shaping objectives that are realistic, future‑focused and wholly aligned with the Wales we want to build.
For further support on embedding the requirements of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 please refer to the Welsh Governments e-Learning modules and the guidance available on the GOV.WALES website – Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act | GOV.WALES
For further information on the Well-Being of Future Generations Act (2015) please refer to the Future Generations Commission’s website Supporting you – Future Generations Wales and the Future Generations Report – Future Generations Report 2025 – Future Generations Wales
If you would like any further information, please contact the Cyd team – Cyd@gov.wales