"NHS Wales"

If Wales wants to rise to the challenge of improving public services, we have to change how we design and deliver them. That means putting people first, adopting modern and open ways of working, drawing on the best digital practices to build services that are simple, efficient, and designed around real life-needs.

Transforming public service requires clear, bold leadership. Leadership that understands the scale of the change we need that’s prepared to challenge and be challenged. Leadership with the vision, authority and staying power to drive lasting change.

The government has committed to creating a National Care and Support Service over the next decade, with full implementation from 2029. But a rigid, long-term plan risks being overtaken by events. A better way is to accelerate delivery by combining clear political intent with practical, test and learn reform.

Transforming how government works also means transforming how it funds and delivers work. Across the Welsh public sector, the default model is still large, time-limited programmes that rely on cumbersome, multi-stage business cases. This process is slow, expensive and based on guesswork. It forces teams to commit upfront to fixed plans rather than testing risky assumptions or responding to real-world feedback.

The way we design and deliver public services is broken. For over a decade, we’ve failed to increase our state capacity as Welsh public services have faced growing pressures: rising demand alongside reduced funding. People need and expect more, but public services have failed to keep up….

This report outlines a strategy for transforming Welsh public services, not only to meet the urgent demands of the present but to deliver on the vision of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. We can ensure a prosperous, resilient, healthier, and more equal Wales for current and future generations.

Welsh public services haven’t kept up. Technology has transformed how we live, work, and connect with the world. People expect public services to be simple, fast, and user-friendly – just like everything else in their lives. But too often, government services are slow, clunky, and frustrating.