1. What action is the Welsh Government taking to support and encourage flexible working in Wales? OAQ52839

The Welsh Government is promoting fair employment practices, including flexible working, through the economic contract, the employability plan and the code of practice on ethical employment in supply chains. We have also set up the Fair Work Commission to advise us on what more we can do.

That's very good to hear. Policy at all levels in the UK has been about family-friendly working, and it's good to hear that the Welsh Government is trying to move beyond that. I took part in a debate the week before last, based on this report from the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, 'Work it out: Parenting and Employment in Wales', and one of the key things that's in that report, in chapter 3, is that we should make workplaces more equal and more flexible. Wherever possible, I think we should be buying people's talent and not their time. With that in mind, what further key steps, and what further detail, can the Welsh Government provide in how they're going to achieve that?

A core element of the concept of a fair work nation is, of course, the fair employment practices that Hefin David has outlined there. And it is a central focus of the Fair Work Commission, which will be considering whether current measures available to Welsh Government can be taken further, and to identify what new or additional steps might be taken, and including any legislation that might be appropriate. It is worth pointing out that the Welsh Government currently has a shared parental leave scheme, for example, and it's worth saying that very loudly, Llywydd, so that more people will take advantage of it, because there is a real issue of gender inequality in the decisions that people make about their careers around the time of children, and so on. But we do do a range of other things to promote innovative and modern working practices, which is more than flexible working conditions, and they are around looking to see where we can establish output-related working practices that don't disadvantage people, for example, with any disabilities, or who need to have very flexible arrangements, because their talent, as the Member has said, is what you're paying for and not necessarily the time taken to travel to a particular place, and so on. The Business Wales website provides information to employers on how to improve productivity through flexible working arrangements, and the economic contract, as set out in our economic action plan, presents a clear opportunity to engage in dialogue with employers on a range of issues that have the potential to support individuals as well as businesses in accessing the wide range of skills available once you come away from the very standard working environment.

Leader of the house, I was speaking to some constituents from Newtown this lunchtime, who own a small business in Newtown, and talking about being able to offer flexible working hours. Can you outline how the Welsh Government is supporting small businesses in particular to see the benefits of flexible working, and do you understand that there can be obstacles to flexible working? I see the benefits, but there are obstacles, for small businesses in particular, if they're employing only three people as opposed to 300. And how can you help small businesses in particular in that regard?

Business Wales is very well placed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises with those kinds of conversations, to see how they can optimise their business practices, to understand whether they have, for example, modern HR procedures and practices in place, and in some cases there is direct financial support for businesses, depending on what their growth plans are, and so on. So, it's well worth advising any such SME that they should get in touch with Business Wales and see what range of packages is on offer, including a rethink, perhaps, of exactly the way the business is structured and what opportunities might be evoked by a slightly different working pattern.

And I give the Member an anecdote, which is this: I had a factory—not in my own constituency, but somewhere in Swansea—approach me and say that there was a skills shortage, when I was skills Minister. Actually, it turned out that they had a working pattern that had a shift that started before the local bus service arrived. And something very small like that can make an enormous difference to the range of skills and talents open to people. So, having that kind of open mind—. Business Wales is well placed to give that kind of advice to businesses.