Diolch, Llywydd. I'm pleased to open this debate on the real living wage following Living Wage Week last month. I'm delighted at the cross-party support for this individual Member's debate today. The real living wage is based on the cost of living and is voluntarily paid by over 4,700 UK employers who believe that a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay. The real living wage differs to the UK Government's national living wage, which is based on a target to reach 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, and is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live on. But a real living wage meets the costs of living, not just the Government minimum. 

A year ago, I joined the real living wage leadership group here in Wales, chaired by Professor Rachel Ashworth, dean of Cardiff Business School. This group liaises with the Living Wage Foundation, which is at the heart of the real living wage campaign in Wales. Our group in Wales includes representatives from the public, private and third sectors, including Guy Leach, managing director of the Welsh construction company Knox & Wells Limited, and Mari Arthur, chief executive of Cynnal Cymru, responsible for the accreditation of real living wage employers in Wales.

I've used the opportunity over the past year to raise questions with Cabinet members regarding progress and the delivery of the real living wage in Wales as a key factor in addressing in-work poverty and low wages in pursuit of a fairer society and more productive economy. In my questions to Ministers, I've sought to identify the avenues by which the Welsh Government can encourage employers in Wales to adopt the real living wage. The latest figures show 174 employers in Wales across the public, private and third sectors pay their employees the real living wage, which stands at £9 an hour, compared with the UK Government's national living wage hourly rate of £7.83. 

The Welsh Government led the way in the public sector and has been an accredited living wage employer for the Welsh Government civil service since 2015. Mark Drakeford secured the real living wage for the Welsh NHS workforce as a result of negotiations during his time as health and social services Minister. The Welsh NHS has paid the real living wage since January 2015. Local authorities have signed up to the real living wage, with Cardiff Council moving towards becoming a real living wage city, including public, private and third sector employers, as well as themselves as an authority. I was delighted to attend the launch of the Living Wage Week in November with the former First Minister, Carwyn Jones, announcing the updated rate at the Bigmoose Coffee Co. in Cardiff, a charity that provides employment and support to homeless people in the city and pays the real living wage.

I'm also pleased with the progress in the Vale of Glamorgan, where I've been campaigning as Assembly Member for many years to secure the real living wage for employees and people working directly for the Vale of Glamorgan Council. I'm pleased that the Vale of Glamorgan Council is due now to pay the real living wage to those who are working directly for them, benefiting around 4,000 staff across council departments and schools from 1 April next year, and I think that's a very welcome move. Indeed, Barry Town Council also pays the real living wage in my constituency, as do many private sector and third sector employers.

I'm also pleased that the management at Cardiff Airport has agreed to pay the real living wage to all employees from next April. This motion today is directed across the Welsh Government to engage all Cabinet members who have some influence over local government and public services, economy and infrastructure, finance via the economic contract and ethical code, education for higher education, further education and schools, health and social services and, of course, equalities.

Addressing low pay will directly and positively impact on the gender pay gap and the often inequitable pay of disabled people and black, Asian and minority ethnic people in Wales. The Women's Equality Network said they want

'Businesses to commit to paying staff a living wage (as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation) and to facilitate flexible working practices.'

And the Equality and Human Rights Commission recently reported on disabled people's financial circumstances, highlighting how the disability pay gap still persists, with disabled people earning less per hour on average than non-disabled people.

I've referred in the motion to the work undertaken by Cardiff Business School on the living wage employers' experience across the UK. The central finding of the report is that the real living wage has been a positive experience for the majority of employers, supporting their claim that there is a business case for becoming a real living wage employer. Indeed, 93 per cent of employers feel that they've benefited from accreditation—reputational gains enhancing their employer brands, improving relations with customers and clients and upgrading human resources management. And, importantly, in terms of the strength of our code of practice on ethical employment, access to contracts or funding are cited as a positive outcome.

So, I'd like to see the Welsh Government move to change the commitments expected of employers securing grants and contracts from 'considering' paying at least the real living wage to a real commitment with a timescale for achieving this outcome. This will require support and resources in order for this to be achieved both within the Welsh Government and external agencies. I think that, in Scotland, we can see lessons learnt about the positive impact of this investment.

So, I would ask the Welsh Government and our new First Minister to include the real living wage as a key priority in the Fair Work Commission brief and to steer a cross-Government co-ordinating group to set milestones for this Welsh Government to work to and achieve. I look forward now to hearing Members' contributions.