If the Member would let me get to the end of my speech, he might find out.

We have already led the way across the UK by introducing procurement policy that supports the Welsh public sector to address unacceptable employment practices such as blacklisting and the use of umbrella agencies, as I just said.

Working with partners across the Welsh public sector, we are finalising a code of practice on ethical employment in supply chains, which the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will launch at next week’s workforce partnership council. This will ensure that all public sector organisations are taking action to work with their suppliers to eradicate unlawful and unethical employment practices in public sector contracts, and to ensure that all workers at every stage of the supply chain are treated fairly.

In November of last year, we published public sector guidance on the appropriate use of non-guaranteed-hours contracts. This was developed and agreed through the work of the workforce partnership council and the Public Services Staff Commission. The guidance and principles set out clear expectations on practices that all public sector employers should adopt in order to ensure that non-guaranteed-hours arrangements are only used in clearly and narrowly defined circumstances in ways that benefit people as well as organisations. I thank Julie Morgan for highlighting a potential implementation issue in this regard, which I will certainly pursue.

Such contracts should ensure that people are able to accept or decline the work with no detriment. They should have access to the same pay and progression as full-time employees and to induction and training, as well as the opportunity to apply for internal vacancies as they arise. Our guidance makes clear that the use of such contracts should not be open ended. Staff must be able to request that their working arrangements are reviewed if they have been undertaking regular hours over a continuous period of time. We will keep these measures under review to ensure that our approach strikes the right balance between flexibility and protection of services.

I note the motion from UKIP today and the strong statements they have made condemning the impact that zero-hours contracts can have on individuals and their families. I also note their reprehensible connection of that with what they referred to as ‘mass uncontrolled immigration’. In fact, immigration in Wales at this time is just under 3 per cent, and I for one very much value the contribution that all the people who have come to Wales to live and make their lives can make, including, for example, the oncologist who saved my life during the last Assembly, and to whom I’m extremely grateful. I’m very glad that he came here to Wales to live and work.

I do think it’s important to point out that this is the same party that has voted against measures to combat precarious employment practices in the European Parliament and that this is the same party that has campaigned vigorously against the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, through which many of the most vital workers’ rights and protections have been secured. Despite today’s motion, I would remind everyone in this Chamber and across Wales that this is emphatically not the position they have taken in recent times.

We do agree with Plaid Cymru that there is a very particular issue in social care. Last year’s Plaid Cymru amendment to the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Bill sought to provide an outright ban on the use of zero-hours contracts in the provision of regulated services in social care. But, in reality, it would have fatally compromised the Bill, meaning its important reforms were lost for Wales. And making unnecessary challenges available is not a good strategy for Government. Any law relating to social care workers’ terms and conditions must have the clear intention of improving social welfare, which means there needs to be an evidence-based relationship between zero-hours contracts and the quality of social care provision. That is why the Government commissioned research from Manchester Metropolitan University on this issue, followed by a consultation on terms and conditions of employment in social care. There is a clear need to drive forward a change in behaviour away from those who see these contracts as the norm.

We have already made it clear that we will use regulations under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 to influence the use of zero-hours contracts in domiciliary care. These will require domiciliary care providers to publish details of their use of zero-hours within the public annual returns required by the 2016 Act. Such an approach is likely to galvanise influence from the workforce, commissioners, service users and their families, allowing the use of zero-hours contracts only in ways that harmonise with the needs of workers and clients. However, requiring transparency does not in itself guarantee a change of behaviour, and some providers may continue to use zero-hours contracts in ways detrimental to staff and quality of care.

We are currently examining the case for other regulations through which we could reduce the use of zero-hours contracts, by limiting the proportion of care that can be provided through zero-hours contracts, or requiring providers to give workers a choice as to whether they’re employed on zero-hours contracts or fixed-hours contracts. We are also looking at how we can employ other measures to help improve the terms and conditions of the workforce, including increasing the separation between travel and call time, and reinforcing absolute compliance with the national minimum wage, all of which pursue further opportunities to establish domiciliary care as an attractive, supported and rewarding long-term career for the people of Wales.

Fairness is at the heart of the Welsh Government, and we are committed to building a prosperous and balanced economy that delivers social justice and opportunity for all the people of Wales. I welcome the opportunity to reiterate that, as a Government, we will continue to work tirelessly to eliminate poor employment practice in every part of Wales. Diolch.