Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I begin my speech by thanking Members for their thoughtful contributions today? It’s been an absolute pleasure to listen to each and every Member. This debate on the foundational economy comes at a very important time because, as Members are aware, I’m currently taking a fresh look at our economic priorities and, as part of this work, I’ve been talking to people, businesses, trade unions and organisations right across Wales.

It’s struck me that the economy does have many strong features. From Airbus and Toyota in the north to BAMC and GE in the south, there is a world-class innovation, knowledge and skills base right across the economy, more than we sometimes actually appreciate.

But also, as I’ve travelled around the country, one thing is very clear. Rhianon Passmore identified it, David Melding identified it and many others have as well. People feel insecure. Communities feel insecure. Beyond the headline of the 150,000 jobs that the Welsh Government supported in the last Assembly term, it’s clear to me that our economy and our economic model needs to be re-engineered to ensure that regional and local economies are more sustainable, to remove the lumpiness of growth across the economy. Indeed, not just to build economies but, as David Melding alluded to, to build places—places that people have pride in and feel secure in. We need an economy that is itself more secure to the shocks of globalisation, technology and political disruption, which will only increase and intensify in the coming years.

The vulnerability that Lee Waters talked of risks intensifying, unless change happens there. That’s where today’s debate makes an important contribution and, indeed, why the cross-party consensus that is so obvious on the importance of the foundational economy will be of enormous assistance in delivering a bolder, more inclusive strategy for a prosperous and secure Wales.

I can confirm to Members that our ‘prosperous and secure’ strategy will within it contain a very strong role for the foundational economy. If we get the approach right, not just within my department in terms of the services that I’m responsible for delivering and the support that I’m responsible for, but right across Government, then the foundational economy can play a hugely significant role in not just helping to grow our economy, but growing our economy with a purpose: reducing inequalities between people and between our communities.

We know the best route out of poverty is work, so we need to help people into work, to stay in work, and, crucially, to progress through work. The foundational economy offers great opportunities in that regard. The foundational economy happens where people live, so offers opportunities to stimulate sustainable, local economic growth—better jobs, closer to home. And I recognise that some parts of the foundational economy are marked for low-paid work, as Members have identified, relatively poor employment conditions and an absence of progression opportunities. That is the reason for the Welsh Government taking a clearer leadership role, when four out of every 10 jobs in Wales are in the foundational economy. By supporting innovation, improving management, filling skills gaps, helping develop new business models and, ultimately, encouraging better pay and conditions, we can develop those more resilient local communities.

An example of this is in the social care sector, which Jeremy Miles and others spoke eloquently of. Here, a new approach, drawing on the breadth of our levers across Government and focused on this national priority sector, can deliver real results and better outcomes for our economy and society. We are under no illusion that there is pressure on the social care sector, arising from factors such as financial constraints and an ageing population. So, we’re looking at ways in which we might be able to better support this sector and the businesses that operate within it. There are things we can do around procurement, around skills support and property that could make a real difference to service delivery and the sustainability of the sector, and the social care sector is, of course, geographically dispersed. Assisting local homes could help with accessibility to employment for people in communities right across the country and, crucially, in the process, driving up the quality of jobs, employment conditions and the sustainability of the businesses within it.

Members also spoke about energy, which isn’t just an essential component of the foundational economy. Arguably, it is, for Wales, our twenty-first century economic hedgehog, demonstrating how we are leading the world in certain energy subsectors. We’ll have much more to say on this and our broader ambitions for the foundational economy as our ‘prosperous and secure’ strategy is presented in the coming months. I am in no doubt that we want to harness the power and opportunities presented by the foundational economy, and so I welcome this debate today and the thoughtful input of Members, which we can factor into our work.