2. What discussions had the Deputy Minister had with the Minister for Economy and Transport on the economic impact of inequalities in light of the Chwarae Teg report, State of the Nation 2019? OAQ53473

Thank you very much. I will meet with the Minister for Economy and Transport on 6 March to discuss the gender equality report. The employability plan, the economic contract and the Fair Work Commission will all have an important role to play in tackling the issues of equality that Chwarae Teg's report discusses.

Thank you very much, and congratulations on using Welsh in the Siambr. Now, one vital challenge will be supporting more women into work, but of course childcare continues to be a barrier. Women are four times more likely than men to mention caring for their family or the home as a reason for not working. So, what assessment has the Welsh Government done of the impact of the new childcare offer on parents' employability, and will consideration be given to changing the criteria if the evaluation shows that change is needed?

Well, diolch yn fawr, Siân Gwenllian. I think the 'State of the Nation 2019' report by Chwarae Teg was very valuable in that it looked at women in the economy, women's representation, and women at risk, and, as you say, the statistics from their report showed very clearly that women are more likely to be economically inactive because they are looking after a family and home. And it's clear that we need to take account of this, as we are in our childcare offer.

Now, the childcare offer is made up, as you know, of an existing minimum 10 hours of foundation phase nursery provision, up to 20 hours of childcare with a registered provider, and it's very welcome that capital grant is now being made available to ensure that there are sufficient high-quality childcare places available to enable all eligible children to access the provision. But, of course, evaluation is critical, as you say, in terms of early implementation—many positive findings from that—but also looking at ways in which we can support not only working parents but remove barriers to employment that parents face. So, encouraging findings from that result, from the evaluation, but also a chance to look at this in terms of ways in which we can ensure that the childcare offer is delivering, so it can reduce those barriers to women who are entering and participating in employment. 

I don't think that the childcare offer, in and of itself, can explain the disparity in the gender pay gap between different local authority areas in Wales. At one end of the spectrum, we've got Anglesey, with a 25.5 per cent gender pay gap for the residents in its catchment area there, followed closely by the Vale of Glamorgan, your own constituency—23.4 per cent. But at the other end of the scale, we've got Gwynedd with a -0.2 gap, and Conwy with a -8.7 gap. What will you be asking the economy Minister to consider when deciding on the support it gives to different types of businesses, which might help address this disparity?

Well, I'm very glad, Suzy Davies, that you have drawn attention to that lack of consistency in terms of implementation of the actions to tackle the gender pay gap, which has decreased slightly in 2018, but the gender pay gap in Welsh Government is around 8 per cent. That's not acceptable. We need to ensure that we drive this through, and I will be meeting the Minister, as you said, in terms of driving this through the employability plan, and also, through the economic contract. The employability plan, of course, is crucial, because we need to ensure that that looks at the gender pay gap. If we analyse the gender pay gap information, if we look at companies who employ over 250 people, we need to encourage companies to, for example, pay the real living wage and monitor all our programmes, particularly the economic ones, to ensure gender equality is at the heart of the action. So, that will be very much the focus of my meeting with Ken Skates in the next couple of weeks.