Diolch, Llywydd. I’m pleased, today, to announce the second year of the Welsh Government’s legislative programme. Before I announce the Bills we’ll be bringing forward in the next 12 months, I want to reflect on the progress made during the first year. Since I made my first statement in June last year, this National Assembly has passed landmark tax legislation, which will enable Wales to raise its own revenue from April 2018—the first time in almost 800 years.

The Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 received Royal Assent last month, becoming the first Act of the fifth Assembly. If the National Assembly agrees to pass the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Bill later this afternoon, we will take a further step on our devolution journey and ensure landfill disposals tax—the second of the two devolved taxes—is in place by April 2018. Llywydd, these two pieces of tax legislation establish a new relationship between the people of Wales, the Welsh Government and the delivery of our public services. From next year, money raised from Welsh taxes will be used to deliver devolved public services in Wales.

Last month, the Assembly also passed the Public Health (Wales) Bill. The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent next week and, once enacted, it will deliver wide-ranging public health improvements, including new restrictions on smoking in certain outdoor public places where children are present, a new licensing regime for special procedures, a ban on intimate piercings for under-18s, and improvements to provision of public toilets and pharmacy services. I announced three other Bills last year, and these continue to progress through the Assembly scrutiny stages.

Llywydd, the Assembly agreed the general principles of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill earlier this month and Stage 2 will take place after the summer recess. We expect to reach the final stages of the Trade Union (Wales) Bill and complete the first stage of the Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill before the summer recess. Each of these Bills has been and will be improved by the scrutiny of Members. Scrutiny is a crucial part of the legislative process. It may not always be comfortable for Government—and it shouldn’t be so—but scrutiny delivers better legislation.

Llywydd, the Government will continue to build on the progress we’ve made during the first year, and our legislative programme continues to be shaped by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and the proposals we will introduce in the coming year reflect our aim to improve Wales now and in the long term.

Dros y 12 mis nesaf, byddwn yn cyflwyno deddfwriaeth yng Nghymru i fynd i’r afael â defnyddio alcohol yn niweidiol drwy godi isafswm pris ar gyfer alcohol, darparu gofal plant am ddim i’r rheini mewn gwaith sydd â phlant rhwng tair a phedair oed, amddiffyn tenantiaid rhag ffioedd annheg, a diwygio llywodraeth leol.

Llywydd, this Government is determined to achieve a healthier and more equal Wales, and it is our long-held aim to use public health measures to target and tackle the harmful and hazardous consumption of alcohol. Evidence has demonstrated the link between drinking at harmful levels and the availability of cheap alcohol. Legislation is an essential component of our wider strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm. We will therefore introduce legislation to enable us to specify a minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales. We have engaged widely about a minimum unit price for alcohol and consulted on a draft Bill at the end of the fourth Assembly. The majority of people who responded to this consultation were in favour of legislating. Members will be aware that the Scottish Parliament passed an Act in 2012 to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol, and, of course, of the Scottish Court of Session’s decision that the legislation is compatible with EU law, following a legal challenge by the Scotch Whisky Association and others. Now, the appeal by that association is due to be heard by the Supreme Court this summer. We look forward to the conclusion of those proceedings and are monitoring developments closely.

Llywydd, this Government will take legislative action to tackle the fees charged to tenants in the private rented sector. A good-quality, affordable home is key to well-being. There is increasing evidence that suggests the current fees, mainly charged by agents, are a barrier to people accessing private rented housing, and, once accessed, that fees can discourage people from moving home. Tenants can face significant upfront costs, which include a month’s rent, a substantial security deposit and agency fees for securing a tenancy. The fee can be made up of multiple charges but is often a fixed charge or based on a percentage of the property’s rental costs. Too often, tenants do not know what these costs cover. So, we will introduce a Bill to prevent unfair fees from being charged to tenants and their prospective tenants. This will provide those in the private rented sector with clarity about the costs involved and ensure the system is fair, equitable and sustainable.

Llywydd, we will also bring forward legislation to reform the regulatory controls for registered social landlords in Wales. In September 2016, the Office for National Statistics reclassified RSLs into the public sector. As a consequence, any private sector borrowing by RSLs will become a charge against the Welsh Government’s capital budget. The reclassification decision follows a precedent set in England, but it’s also one that faces both the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments. If not addressed, the consequences of this change by ONS are potentially significant. It may severely restrict the development of new affordable housing by RSLs and may also restrict our own ability to fund other capital infrastructure projects. We will therefore reform the relevant regulatory controls the Welsh Government and local authorities have on RSLs, and we believe this will enable the ONS to reconsider the classification of RSLs in Wales and return them to the private sector.

Llywydd, childcare is an important issue for all parents. One of our key commitments as a Government is to provide 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds. When fully rolled out, our childcare offer will help to break down the barriers many people face in getting a job. We’re making good progress, and our first childcare pilots will begin in September. To support this and enable the childcare offer to be rolled out in full by 2020, we will introduce legislation to support a national system for applications and eligibility checks. We’re working to develop a system whereby parents can submit their application and information online, which can then be checked against existing data sets to confirm their eligibility. This system will need to be underpinned by legislation. One of the options is to work with HMRC to integrate applications into the existing childcare service.

Llywydd, local authorities are responsible for providing vital services from social care and education to waste collection and management. Our local authorities also provide strategic leadership to their communities. They must be resilient and sustainable if they are to deliver high-quality public services. We have been discussing local government reform for many years in Wales. It’s important we move forward on the basis of consensus. That’s why we’ve engaged extensively with local government colleagues over recent years, culminating in the publication of the White Paper ‘Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed’ earlier this year.

Llywydd, we will now bring forward legislation to reform local government in Wales. The Bill will seek to establish a new relationship between the Welsh Government and local government in Wales. It will provide local authorities with a general power of competence and a new performance framework, and will create greater transparency in decision making. But that’s not enough. It is clear that we need to continue to deliver high-quality services and that local authorities must also work differently. The Bill, then, will provide the basis for greater collaboration through mandatory and systematic regional working arrangements. As a whole, our reform proposals will deliver a new legislative framework within which we will create resilient, renewed, and sustainable local government in Wales.

Llywydd, this Government is committed to seeking cross-party support for legislation to remove the defence of reasonable chastisement. We stand firm in our commitment to pursuing a change in the law, and we are continuing to work through the legal complexities to develop a Bill to make this a reality. It’s important we work with stakeholders to ensure that our legislation delivers the outcomes we want and avoids any unintended consequences. We will therefore be consulting on our proposals to remove the defence of reasonable chastisement over the course of the next 12 months and intend to introduce a Bill in the third year of this Assembly term.

Llywydd, last week the UK Government set out its legislative intentions in the Queen’s Speech. That statement included the repeal Bill and other significant Brexit-related Bills. I have previously set out this Government’s position that the devolution settlement must be respected and that the Assembly must be responsible for legislating in devolved areas. I’ve also been clear that where provisions are not agreed between Governments and they do not respect the devolution settlement, we will consider other options, such as a continuity Bill, to protect our devolved interests.

Leaving the European Union will have a significant impact on the business of this Welsh Government and the National Assembly. So, to accommodate the primary and secondary legislation needed for Brexit, the UK Government has announced a two-year legislative programme. It would be naive to assume that it will not also have an impact on our own legislative programme. But it has not yet been possible to determine what that impact will be and when it will emerge. As the picture develops and the impacts become clearer, I will of course keep Members informed.

Llywydd, the Bills we intend to introduce during the second year of this legislative programme will support our efforts to build a Wales that is healthy and active, prosperous and secure, ambitious and learning, and united and connected.

Llywydd, bydd y Biliau rydym ni’n bwriadu eu cyflwyno yn ystod ail flwyddyn y rhaglen ddeddfwriaethol yn helpu ein hymdrechion i adeiladu Cymru iach ac egnïol, ffyniannus a diogel, uchelgeisiol ac sy’n dysgu, unedig a chysylltiedig.

I look forward to seeing the Bills come forward and to the scrutiny of committees and Members, and I commend this legislative programme to the National Assembly.