Thank you, Llywydd. I want to start by recognising that I understand the drivers behind the amendment, and I understand the goodwill that exists across a range of committees to try and make sure that retailers do not seek to make excess profits from introducing minimum unit pricing. However, the Government won't be able to support the amendment before us today. It's worth while starting with the Supreme Court decision, which, in acknowledging that the Scottish Bill was within their competence, they also acknowledged that the minimum unit pricing regime is novel and innovative, and that there are acknowledged uncertainties by a range of people about any potential increase in revenue for retailers and where in the supply chain that increase in revenue might fall. But it's also part of a challenge, because we hope to see some innovation from industry in response to the Bill. For example, one consequence may be that we see more producers going back to having slightly less high-strength alcohol in a range of their products. So, legislating on this matter before that time may not be appropriate. But more than that, I have to go back to remind Members about my initial comments.

This is a piece of public health legislation. What this amendment seeks to do is to essentially have a way to look at the business operation of a range of alcohol retailers and to take what must be, to be effective, you would assume, financial measures, by introducing a form of compulsory levy. The risk there is that I believe that that would guarantee a challenge to the competence of the Bill. We are being asked as an Assembly to consider the policy, and the public health basis as our competence to pass it, and I do not wish to see the potential health gains that we believe will be made by introducing this piece of legislation delayed by further court battles.

Not only that, though—I think we need to consider the wording of the amendment itself, when it talks about inhibiting the ability to make profits. It doesn't set out how Welsh Ministers should deal with that. There would be a challenge, therefore, about how it introduced effective regulation to do so, if the evidence were there that alcohol retailers in different sectors had done so. The other problem, of course is—. We had an earlier amendment that talked about the importance of the pub sector and the reality that this may actually mean that the pub sector makes more profit as a result of the introduction of a minimum unit price. The amendment we have before us does not say which retailers we should prevent from making additional profits; it talks about alcohol retailers, which would include the pub sector as well. If Members wish to try and provide a way to only go after a certain element of alcohol retailers, then you'd need to have a differently drafted amendment to do so. This simply doesn't do it. Every single alcohol retailer covered will be covered by the amendment before us, and I do not believe that that is the intention of Rhun ap Iorwerth in moving the amendment.

What I do want to reiterate to Members across parties is that the Welsh Government continues to engage with the industry, as Angela Burns recognised, in having a conversation about the potential for voluntary action, to understand where profits have been made and to understand where those retailers have a continuing responsibility to act. I also believe this will be an area where different retailers will want to make positive and anticipatory choices about the way in which they act in this particular area.

So, I do recognise the need for the Government to continue to report back to the Assembly through committee on the work that we are doing with alcohol retailers, in particular through the retail consortium, but I would ask Members, bearing in mind the challenges around competence, that indirect and, I'm sure, unintended consequence on some alcohol retailers, including pubs, and I'd ask Members not to support the amendment before us, but to take in good faith that the Government will continue to report back on the area of the potential for a voluntary contribution.