I move amendment 2 in my name, but when I do so, I do it on behalf, actually, of the Welsh Conservative group here today. This amendment refers to the powers to require the publication of information on facility time and to impose requirements on public sector employers in relation to paid facility time. To clarify, this amendment does not seek to remove or stop facility time, or the benefits it is purported to bring. And I have real concerns in relation to how this has been misrepresented in the explanatory memorandum. Facility time may indeed result in a reduction in employment tribunals, a reduction in days lost to workplace injury and illness, and a reduction in dismissals and early exits, and we do not dispute that. And we're not stopping facility time or time spent by an organisation's staff on trade union duties and activities during working hours. What we are aiming to promote here is a culture of openness and transparency in relation to how much staff time is spent in this area. There are several reasons for doing so and a number of benefits.

During evidence sessions, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government noted his belief that successful use of facility time means that there are savings to the employer and to the Treasury, therefore, as a result of a reduction in employment tribunals. Yet, without further scrutiny, further evidence and transparency, we are unable to back this up in a quantifiable manner. Of course, there must also be a balance with the use of taxpayers’ money, and without knowing how many working hours are being spent on facility time, it is impossible to be able to assess the true value of it. What Government passes legislation when they cannot evidence their own argument?

Yes, this is an agreement entered into voluntarily between employers and unions, but the role is paid in so much as it is undertaken during paid working hours. So, questions to need answering as to why the Welsh Labour Government is so reluctant to ask public organisations to publish this information. Llywydd, this information is not private; any one of us could request it by freedom of information at any time, yet a Government—the Welsh Labour Government—fails to even do this. However, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires every public authority to have a publication scheme and, crucially, to publish information proactively.

The key point here is openness, transparency and accountability to the public, our electorate, as to how public money is spent. Why, then, the reluctance with regard to facility time? Surely, this would be less of a burden to provide than multiple freedom of information requests. The indicative cost for such publication given in the regulatory impact assessment is £171,000—almost a third of the cost of check-off—yet here the Cabinet Secretary has decided the cost is simply not worth it, despite the inherent increase in transparency and openness it would bring. All we are asking for here is provisions for public sector bodies to publish this information clearly and to act quite clearly in the public interest and in line with the intentions of the Freedom of Information Act. I move.