Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd, and my thanks to Members for their contributions to this debate today. I think we've had some very thoughtful contributions, covering a range of policy areas, and that's really important because, of course, the foundational economy does include so many varied aspects, from sofas to social care, the food we eat, the energy we consume, hairdressing to housing, transport to telecomms. Foundational activities cover the gamut of human existence and, moreover, they cover the goods and services to which all members of society require access. They underpin the welfare state and enrich our material experience. 

For my closing remarks, I'd like to spend a little time reflecting on each part of the motion before us in turn. Firstly, as we note in our first point, it is really positive that the Welsh Government has committed to supporting the foundational sectors in its action plan, and that is no mean feat. As Helen Mary Jones stated, it takes courage to move away from traditional markers of economic success, such as GVA and GDP. And as the Cabinet Secretary said, it is all about supporting and driving inclusive growth, and it's great to see that he has the confidence to break free from the shackles of using GVA and GDP solely as signifiers of a nation's growth and success, and is genuinely, through the economic action plan, exploring ways to harness and to measure citizens' well-being.

But, as other contributors have made clear, it is imperative that the Welsh Government must go further in embracing the principles and the ethos of the foundational economy. Indeed, foundational economy activities provide 54 per cent of Welsh jobs, and 45 per cent of our GVA. Similarly, it is estimated that half of regular household expenditure is spent on aspects of the foundational economy.

To turn to our second point, we must learn from the work that Preston council has done in tackling entrenched local poverty, investing in the foundational economy by, as Lee Waters explained, redefining the concept of an anchor institution. Businesses and community organisations have been incubated there, and my colleague Jenny Rathbone gave some great examples of how this has also been done in Cardiff and can be emulated elsewhere. And this is the key point, in Preston, the £1.2 billion spent by public sector bodies has been aggressively deployed to benefit the locality. Local spend by the council, at least, has more than doubled, and the result has been that that area has enjoyed the second biggest shift in its multiple deprivation index ranking over five years.

Regarding the third strand of our motion on procurement, this is key to ensuring we support foundational economies across Wales, and there are examples of excellent practice in this area that can be harnessed and rolled out, as Hefin David informed us when he spoke about the expertise shown by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

If we could encourage this money to be spent locally, as happened in Preston, it could be used as a lever to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of people and communities in Wales. As the future generations commissioner points out to us, this is not just a nicety, it is something that all public bodies are obligated to do under the well-being of future generations Act.

Now, the fourth point in our motion is a crucial one. I would strongly argue that not only is care a key strand of the foundational economy but that also, by recognising it in this way, we can deliver better outcomes for all. However, as Sheffield university's Diane Burns has suggested, we need to introduce fundamental changes to the way that we do things. We need to change the way that we commission care. We need to change from care that focuses on it as a market-friendly commodity package service. We need to change from basing provision on businesses with no local commitments to those that have these. Indeed, we need to be ambitious and to look to see how we can rebalance services to get the best deal for local people, restoring people's feeling of worth and enhancing their skills, as David Melding so cogently argued. 

To close, I hope that Members will support this motion today. Assuming a foundational approach to the economy is not about spending more of our finite resources. It's about conceptualising how we spend it in a different, better way and, as my colleague Lee Waters stated in his opening comments, finding tailor-made approaches that address the key weaknesses within the Welsh economy. It is also about ensuring and recognising the key role that these activities play in our economy, and I would suggest ensuring we view the activities that are part of the foundational economy, that underpin local communities and the welfare state—and those employed in them—as fundamental to our future prosperity.