The Framework is not an action plan or strategy to deliver sustainable development in the West Midlands. For public policy-making and service delivery to contribute successfully to a sustainable future, all areas of work need to contribute to the sustainable development objectives. This section of the Framework sets out a process to help this happen. The process is targeted towards public policy and service delivery but we hope that it will help people working in other sectors to think about how their work can reflect and contribute to the Region's sustainable development goals. The Framework is designed to be used from the beginning and throughout the process of development or review to consider the strategy, policy or plan in relation to the Region's sustainable development objectives.
Some strategies and plans will be subject to statutory Sustainability Appraisal. This process is an extensive and exhaustive approach to ensuring that sustainability issues are incorporated throughout the process of policy development, and it is not the intention that the Framework should add a further layer of complexity to this process. However, other strategies, policies and plans are not subject to this level of appraisal. This section is therefore divided into recommendations for using the Framework to inform statutory Sustainability Appraisal, and a more extensive process of scoping and identifying measures for strategies, policies and plans for which statutory Sustainability Appraisal is not required.
This Framework aims to establish a process whereby the principles of sustainable development are already central to all policy thinking prior to the commencement of development or review, and are therefore embedded throughout the process. Guidance and advice is available at each stage of the process from the Assembly and Sustainability West Midlands. SWM have identified Policy Ambassadors to work with Regional Policy Partnerships and Concordat Partners, who provide knowledge and guidance on sustainable development issues from a particular policy perspective, while remaining an independent voice to ensure sustainable development objectives are treated with appropriate priority. The Framework also encourages Policy Partnerships and policy steering groups to identify a sustainable development champion from within their membership, who should be actively involved in the process of scoping policy to ensure the Region's sustainable development objectives are explicitly and systematically considered.
Email: admin@swm.org.uk | Tel: 0121 449 4406