I’m very pleased to be able to support the motion. We have come a long way, as Hefin David just said, from the arguments back in the 1990s about the value of the minimum wage at that time. It does say something about our understanding now that the party that did oppose the minimum wage back then has now introduced some kind of minimum wage themselves, although it’s not the minimum wage that those of us who want to go further want to see. But we do understand, don’t we, the value to the broader economy of giving more money to people for their hard work.

Tackling unemployment was the aim previously. We understand now that better jobs and better pay—that’s what the Welsh economy needs. And it’s a concern for me, and I have repeated it here many times, that the Welsh Government still places too much emphasis on the fact that unemployment, yes, is quite low in Wales at present. It’s a good thing, but we can’t rely on that as a sign of where our economy is going.

But given that we do understand and do support the principle of a minimum wage or, rather, a real living wage, we need to look at what the Government and the broader public sector in Wales can do. It needs to put its own house in order, certainly, and there is very good work that’s been done over the years in pushing the living wage out across the public sector, but we are still waiting for some staff in Cardiff Airport, for example, to get that wage, and we’re still looking across the public sector and seeing that there are gaps that need to be filled, and we have to put our own public services’ house in order as well.

And, yes, we do need to use procurement processes, as Hefin David and Helen have mentioned, to ensure that those who do provide services in the public sector are recognised and are chosen because they are companies that do pay the living wage.

Now, according to the annual study of KPMG for 2018, Wales is one of the three parts of the UK that have the highest rates of jobs earning less than the living wage. So, we know that this is a very acute problem for us here in Wales, and we’ve heard reference already to some of the sectors where those problems are particularly acute: in hospitality, catering, retail, art and leisure, and also in agriculture, health and care and so forth—far too many jobs paying less than the living wage. The Government has to push out this message that help is available—and we have to ensure that the help is available—for companies and bodies to be able to receive the living wage accreditation and persuade them of the great benefits, which were shown in an analysis by the Cardiff Business School, which certainly shows that there is no evidence of living wage employers trying to get that money back in other ways. Ninety-three per cent of those who took part in the survey feel that they have had great benefit from having the accreditation for the living wage, benefit to their reputation as bodies, often, making it easier for them to recruit and making it easier for them to retain staff. Some said that the accreditation had led to them offering more training to their staff, so therefore giving them a pay rise and upskilling their staff. So, the knock-ons are very obvious. And there's evidence, then, of companies moving workers from part-time to full-time roles, from temporary contracts to full-time contracts, and introducing new ways of working, because they are thinking differently about the ways in which they do pay their workers and appreciate their staff.

But there is a broader economic impact, of course, in ensuring that our workers have more money to spend within their local economies. I think the recent report by the Smith Institute estimated that, if you paid the living wage to those who are not on the living wage in the Cardiff area only, you’d have about £24 million in additional funds being paid as wages that could be spent within the local economy. That must be something that we should be pushing for across Wales. I support this, and my party supports this, because it is beneficial for individuals. And what’s beneficial for individuals is beneficial for families, and what’s beneficial for families is beneficial for communities, and the well-being of communities builds our national well-being. So, yes, we have gained a lot of ground in the area of the living wage, but there is a long way to go, and I wish to see the Welsh Government doing more to ensure that Wales becomes a real living wage country.