Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank Members for their varied contributions. I want to make clear at the outset that we won't support the Conservative or Brexit Party amendments. As I noted during the debate on this issue on 18 September, staffing rotas are an operational matter, as they should be, and the responsibility of individual organisations—in this case, obviously, Betsi Cadwaladr university health board. Organisations need to consider rotas in light of their statutory duties to ensure that they're designed to meet service delivery requirements and the needs of staff, including in particular their well-being, and that they place patient need at the centre of the management of the workforce. 

The motion before us states the health board is under my direct control. As we've said many times before, the Welsh Government is not, under special measures, directly running the health board. The board and leadership team remain responsible for operational matters. This is a point that's been well made many times before, and I believe is well understood regardless of the drafting of the motion. 

During the debate in September, I set out my expectations that the health board would work closely with staff and trade unions on the proposed changes, consider and respond appropriately to all comments and concerns, and to consider any equality impact and all feedback before any final decision is made. I note that a draft equality impact assessment has been provided during the month of October. 

Over the nine weeks of consultation—we extended it following a request from trade union partners—there were 53 separate meetings held across the three localities. The response to the consultation, the equality impact assessment and the health board implementation plan were published last week, following discussion with the local partnership forum.

I am of course, however, aware that there were ongoing concerns from trade unions on behalf of their members who work in north Wales, and that Unison, the RCN and Unite wrote jointly to the health board. I wrote to the chair of the health board last week, seeking assurance that they were continuing to engage with their staff and their trade union representatives to resolve outstanding concerns and to keep me updated on progress. 

In opposing the motion today, the Government has moved amendments that reiterate the value that we place on our nursing staff and social partnership working arrangements here in Wales, and my continuing expectation that the health board will engage with staff and their representatives to resolve concerns. We have a track record in Wales of finding a way to reach agreement on a way forward. I know that there is a further partnership forum meeting that has been arranged for Friday this week. I expect all parties to continue to work in good faith to resolve outstanding concerns, and, whilst discussions are ongoing, the health board have made clear today in response to the joint trade union letter that they will not progress the proposed changes. They state that they welcome the joint communication with Unison, the RCN and Unite, that they are absolutely committed to working together with their trade union partners, they will focus on partnership working and how to move forward together, and that to do so they will not progress the proposed changes, and that the meeting for this Friday will be entirely dedicated to this matter.

I'm genuinely proud of our partnership approach here in Wales. We know that it does not exist in every other part of the United Kingdom. The Members who refer to other ways of working across the UK should look at what our trade unions recognise and say about the way we undertake business here in Wales. So, I look forward to this issue being resolved in partnership, in line with my expectations, but much more importantly in line with our established way of working here in Wales.