Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:59 pm on 11 June 2019.
Thank you very much—diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.
That was a very full statement, and I appreciate your answers today. But, in response to what you were saying to John Griffiths, it's my understanding that the Welsh Government's responsibility for human rights and equality cuts across all Government departments. This isn't just a matter for the Assembly, and one of the things that perhaps I want to ask you about today is economic activity. Now, this is an area where I actually would expect participation to help create a more equal and fair society, but it's not doing that. I'm just referring to the Chwarae Teg 'State of the Nation 2019' report, which shows—and this is not new, Minister—that our constituents still do not have equal opportunities to contribute to and benefit from the Welsh economy, depending on particular personal characteristics or combinations of those, every bit as much as an accident of geography or education. Now, personally, I'd say these are elements of a wider anti-poverty strategy, but, if we're not going to be having one of those, perhaps you can tell us what you expect the economy department, in particular, to do to mainstream some targeted interventions that develop pro-equality, as opposed to anti-discrimination, work to make sure that those words 'equal opportunities' actually genuinely become equally accessible opportunities. And just to give you an example, the state of the nation report shows that the majority of men who are economically inactive are so because of ill health, whereas—and this is worth remembering in carers week—for women, the reason is household and caring responsibilities. And for the economy department in particular to be looking at those two different reasons for economic activity—I would like some reassurance that one of those reasons will not receive more attention than the other. Thank you.