Can I say at the outset that I certainly support the thrust of this motion and also regret that the draft Wales Bill does not provide for the devolution of policing and justice? The UK Tory Government funding cuts to policing in England led to significant reductions in the number of PCSOs there. So, we should congratulate the last Welsh Labour Government on agreeing to fund the employment of additional PCSOs here, despite the cuts enforced on Welsh police authorities by the Home Office. We also suffered the disastrous Westminster-imposed privatisation of the probation services; something that would not have happened here if responsibility for probation had been devolved to Wales. However, I hope, Llywydd, you’ll forgive me if I want to move into one or two other areas of the Bill that I’d like to address, just to get the discussion going on one or two other things perhaps for further debate.

The first is around votes for 16 to 17-year-olds, because I’ve met with a number of young people in my constituency, and I’ve been impressed by their level of engagement and interest in the political process and the work of the National Assembly. And I think it’s vital that we here in the Assembly not only applaud that level of engagement, but also build on it and ensure that it’s fostered and sustained. In the draft Wales Bill, there is the opportunity to take this degree of engagement to new heights, as the Bill gives us the potential to extend the voting rights in Welsh elections to those 16 and 17-year-olds. Some argue that 16 and 17-year-olds don’t have the life experience to take on the responsibility of voting. I’m afraid I don’t agree with that. For example, during this current EU referendum campaign, I’ve witnessed young people coming together to debate the issues. Their discussions have been constructive and have focused on the hopes and aspirations for the UK’s future involvement with Europe, rather than descending into scaremongering and misinformation on issues such as immigration. It would be a massive plus for Wales if we were able to invest that degree of trust in our young people to allow them to participate fully in our democratic, political processes by extending the right to vote to them.

As we know, there are also other areas of the Bill that we need clarification on as we go forward. Colleagues will know that, following the general election last year, the Tory Government in Westminster launched another attack on working people with the publication of the Trade Union Bill—a cynical and vindictive assault on trade unions that particularly targeted those unions like my own, Unison, who organise and represent workers in the public services. So, I want to thank the previous Welsh Government and particularly the former public services Minister for the robust stand taken in not only campaigning against that Bill, but also in making it clear that those parts of this Wales Bill relating to the Trade Union Bill relating to public services would be opposed here in Wales.

Having won the dispute with the UK Government over the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board, I’m confident that this current Assembly will take an equally robust stance when it considers its position on those parts of the Trade Union Bill relating to public services in Wales that still remain, despite the Tory Government’s climbdown on many of its initial proposals. We have strong grounds to remain confident of our legal position in this area, and I hope, therefore, that the Wales Bill will ultimately put this issue to bed and will confirm that employment matters relating to public services in Wales are clearly not reserved and are under the absolute control of a devolved Welsh Government.