No.

Ultimately, funding for this activity comes out of the public purse. The Taxpayers’ Alliance found that, in 2014, unions were provided with over 273,000 sq ft of office space by public sector organisations in the UK. The market value of such office space in Cardiff would be over £6.2 million, yet unions were charged just £307,000, meaning the taxpayer is actually subsidising union activity by millions of pounds. The UK Act required greater transparency on information relating to facility time, simply extending those requirements that already apply to the civil service. I believe that it is right that the Government monitor this to ensure it is a sensible use of taxpayers’ money, and that levels of facility time remain appropriate and necessary. Clearly, the intention is that efficiency savings will be made simply by virtue of the requirement to publish this information. The first relevant period starts on 1 April. Therefore, the first reports will be due by 31 July. It is concerning that the Welsh Labour Government do not think it would be prudent to wait to see the initial results of this element of the UK Act. Instead, here the Welsh Labour Government seem to be pushing ahead with little statistical evidence. The Cabinet Secretary is concerned that the 40 per cent threshold creates the potential for wildcat strikes—