Leader of the house, back in May I raised under the business statement the fact that I had received representations from trainee doctors in Wales in the field of histopathology who, for some time now, have faced a pay gap of some £40,000 over the course of their training when compared to their English counterparts. The Welsh Government is aware of the pay gap due to correspondence between myself and the Cabinet Secretary for health on this matter. Indeed, I first raised the matter in a written question back in November 2016, yet two years on the gap persists.

As I've stated previously, pay, among other factors, is clearly important to trainee doctors when deciding on where to train and study. Doctors who decide to train in Wales deserve parity with their counterparts across the border. Trainees have told me that they feel that, by deciding to work in Wales, they are being financially punished for the decision. The situation is not fair, it does nothing for morale and in the long run it undermines the Welsh Government's own attempts to attract doctors to train and work in NHS Wales.

In answering our written question from myself in July of this year, the Cabinet Secretary referred to discussions with BMA Cymru and the Wales Deanery, and that he expected a report on this issue to be ready in September. Could I therefore ask the Cabinet Secretary to bring forward a statement, be it oral or written, setting out clearly the Welsh Government's position on closing this pay gap in histopathology training between Wales and England with a view to bringing this inequity to an end as soon as possible?