7. Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government policy in relation to the criteria for the awarding of grants to companies? OAQ52385

Yes, the financial support we provide to businesses plays a vital role in helping them to start, to sustain and grow, and of course to enable them to deliver wider economic benefit. But businesses receiving such support must satisfy grant terms and conditions, and any breaches may result in the recovery of that grant.

Thank you for that answer. You will know that Celtic Wealth Management had a grant from your Government for financial services, but instead decided to use that money to rip off steelworkers in the Port Talbot area, and other people with defined pension benefits. This effectively amounts to cold calling and is something that is unethical. I'm wondering why it's taken you seven months to even comment on this in any way, shape or form, and why you are not taking decisive action as a Government to root out the problem in relation to this particular firm. If you go on their website, there is now no longer any information on it. There are 44 steelworkers in my area taking class action against Celtic Wealth Management and other bodies that are involved. If you are going to be delivering grants, why were you not able to check what they were doing before you gave them that grant, and what are you now doing to ensure that this particular company does not receive further money from this Government?

Well, the subsequent practice by a business does not mean they were engaged in that practice when the grant was received, but she's right to say that, in 2014, Celtic Wealth Management did receive an offer of financial support. If there has been a legal mis-selling, that will be a breach of our conditions, and we will take action to recover any money that we have given them. Now, the first thing that has to happen is, there has to be an investigation, to my mind, by the Financial Conduct Authority and by the other regulators. They're responsible ultimately for enforcing the laws governing financial services, but we will continue to examine the situation. As I say quite clearly, if there is a breach of the conditions of the financial support that we have provided, we will take action to recover that money.

In your interim annual report on grants management 2016-17, it states that the Permanent Secretary was to chair the improving efficiency board with the aim

'to reduce bureaucracy by identifying administrative work which is of low value, or which could be undertaken less frequently or in a different way or not at all.'

The work started in May last year and was to complete in 2018 by being taken on at pace. Has that work now been completed? Have there been any financial savings for your Government? And, if there have been, are they more or less than you expected? And are you anticipating more applications for grants now that there's more money available to meet them?

Well, there's less money, because we get less money from the UK Conservative Government. So, it's not as if there is a sudden windfall of money that we can draw on in order to help businesses. But we continually look to improve our offer to businesses in terms of grant funding, particularly through removing duplication, because the temptation sometimes is to create a number of different grant schemes in order that different applications are able to fit properly. Now, that can lead to a proliferation of grant schemes in time, and the work that's ongoing is looking at slimming down, potentially, the number of grants that are available and simplifying the way in which they're applied for. 

First Minister, there are now 143 accredited employers paying the real living wage in Wales across the public, private and third sectors, helping to address the pay and gender inequalities in the workplace. With the Welsh public sector spending approximately £6 billion annually through procurement, will you update the Assembly on the adoption of the code of practice on ethical employment in supply chains, which commits companies to sign up to consider paying the real living wage? 

Well, I can say that 86 organisations have already signed up to the code, which commits public, private and third sector organisations to a set of actions that tackle illegal and unfair employment practices. The four supporting guides that make up the code contain tools and advice to help put those commitments into practice. They include, for example, tackling unfair employment practices and false self-employment, tackling modern slavery and human rights abuses, implementing the living wage through procurement, and blacklisting. All organisations that receive funding from Welsh Government either directly or via grants or contracts are expected to sign up to the code. 

And, finally, question 8. Lee Waters.