Can I first of all welcome what is a very timely and a very comprehensive report on fair work? I think at a time when the two great challenges within our society and globally, really, are that of emergency climate change and the need to tackle that, but also the other great destabilising social factor, and that is the inequality of wealth and income—. And, in the UK, 60 per cent of all wealth is inherited; it's not earned, it's not created, it's inherited wealth, and we know the consequences of that. We are also aware that, year after year, for the last 10 years, the income for the poorest 10 per cent of society has gone down and the income of the top 10 per cent has increased. The figures for 2018 are that the poorest 10 per cent decreased by just under 2 per cent; the richest one fifth increased by almost 5 per cent, and that has been a trend really across Europe, and I think it's a destabilising factor.

There are many aspects to this report that are very important. I think this really adds support to the commitment by the First Minister to the introduction of a very timely social partnership Act, and that will put social partnership between trade unions, business and Welsh Government on a statutory basis. But can I just highlight one bit in there that I'm very pleased is in the report? It is recognising the link between collective bargaining, trade union membership and poverty. And we see this actually globally across Europe. The International Labour Organization has recently published incredibly valuable information, and it actually shows that, where there is collective bargaining, where working people actually have a voice within what happens within the industry, within society, their actual terms and conditions are better and the wealth gap—they're not pitted one against the other on a downward spiral to the lowest common denominator.

And might I suggest that there are three key criteria in a social partnership Act? One is obviously putting that partnership on a legislative footing. The second one is using our procurement of £5 billion to £6 billion a year. If companies want a share of that public funding, surely it is not unreasonable for us to establish and to set ethical standards of employment. Because if there was one fundamental principle that we can underwrite within this Assembly, within Wales, within the UK and further afield, it is this: if someone works hard for a full week's work, then they should be entitled as a matter of right to a decent standard of living. That surely must be the minimum standard, and us using our procurement power to do that seems to me is right. And then the fundamental point that follows on from that—and the reason for an Act—is that monitoring and enforcement must be the case. We have seen the disregard to the enforcement of the minimum wage, and we mustn't make that mistake. So, it seems to me that that's very important.

So, in terms of the three questions I'd like to ask you, one is about a potential timetable for the introduction of the promised social partnership Act. Secondly, do you think there might be an opportunity within that to incorporate some of the International Labour Organization convention on fair work? And, thirdly, perhaps a timeline in respect of the commitment also—the very valuable commitment—to the implementation of section 1 of the Equality Act 2010, which the Tories in Westminster have refused to implement, but which would enable us to take further action in terms of the promotion of a socioeconomic duty within our society.