Can I thank Mark Isherwood for his incredibly constructive comments, and also for his questions, and recognise the dedication that he's given to this particular agenda over many years? I think that Mark Isherwood would agree that we all wish to ensure that all disabled people have the same freedom and dignity and choice and control as everybody else in society, whether it be at home, in work, in education or in the community. Mark Isherwood has raised the question of how we can support business and promote responsible employment practices across the business community more. 

I'd like to just highlight the fact, Dirprwy Lywydd, at this point, that there is a range of evidence that shows why businesses should employ disabled people. For example, disabled employees are, frankly, more likely to stay in a job for longer and also have less sickness absence. Research has also found that they're more likely to approach problems creatively and accomplish different tasks in new and innovative ways. So, employers need to tap into the talent of disabled people and take positive steps in diversifying their workforce. 

Mark Isherwood raises a number of very important points, including the performance of employability programmes to date, the need for local authorities to recognise the duty applies to them, the role that the disability champions could have in the future, the disability pay gap as well and how we're going to be seeking to reduce that, and also liaison with DWP and the third sector. 

I'm going to try to get through all of these important points. To begin, though, with the first question that was raised, that being how we can ensure that disabled people have the right to independent living, well I would refer to the 'Action on Disability: The Right to Independent Living' report, which was launched by the Deputy Minister and contains a series of actions for ensuring that there is independent living provision and support available to all people. 

In terms of employability performance to date, the Member referred to a specific project that I will happily update Members on. We know that the outcomes through employability programmes to date have been impressive. We know that, since 2014, for example, the current round of ESF programmes have supported more than 16,000 individuals into employment, and around 16 per cent of these have declared a disability.

In terms of our Communities for Work programme, 1,843 disabled people have been supported into employment since May 2015. Communities for Work Plus has supported over 4,250 into employment since its launch in April 2018, and 2,264 of participants to date are disabled or have a work-limiting health condition. And, in terms of the traineeship programme that is operated, 750 young people who have declared themselves disabled have entered work. 

We will be improving performance, we will be refocusing and reprioritising ESF spend—European funding that we expect to have replicated in full, if we leave the EU, by the UK Government—and in so doing it is our aim to create opportunities for another 25 per cent of people who face disabling factors in their lives. 

Mark Isherwood I think supports the principle of appointing disability champions across Wales. This is something the Deputy Minister is keen to make firm progress with, and we'll be announcing more regarding this scheme in the new year, but I can assure the Member today that those champions will have personally lived and experienced disabling factors in their lives, to bring the insight that is so important that the Member himself recognises. 

Mark Isherwood also pointed to the disability pay gap that exists within Wales and currently stands at 9.9 per cent. That pay gap is unacceptable. It is, however, lower than the UK as a whole, which currently stands at 12.2 per cent. Wales was the fifth smallest of the 12 countries and regions of the UK in 2018 in terms of the pay gap. In order to further reduce that gap and in order to reduce the employment gap between the Welsh average and the UK average, we have a number of new interventions that will be fully exploited, including work on the social partnership Bill, including a considerable amount of work that's already been undertaken in terms of fair work and embedding the principles of fair work and through rolling out further the economic contract that I mentioned in my statement.

With regard to engagement and liaison, engagement with the third sector is at the heart of everything that we do with regard to supporting people who face disabling factors in their lives. And in terms of engagement with the DWP, I am pleased with the degree of collaboration that takes place between Welsh Government and the DWP, whether that be ensuring that Disability Confident is aligned and is fully recognising additional support that is available from Welsh Government employability programmes or the Access to Work programme, which is vitally important, in my view, and is featured on the Business Wales site. It's featured there in order to signpost individuals and employers to funding that can help to pay for a range of support, including any adaptations to the working environment, to special equipment and support workers and support mental health provision.

In terms of ensuring that we further align DWP interventions and Welsh Government interventions and specifically with regard to Disability Confident, we are currently undertaking policy work to consider how we'll meet the action within the Welsh Government's new framework, 'Action on Disability: the right to independent living', regarding developing a Welsh disability award scheme for employers, which might either build on the Disability Confident scheme or be a new scheme to encourage employers to aspire to be more supportive of disabled people. And in considering the specific needs recognised for Wales and how a Welsh disability award scheme would work, and aligned with Disability Confident officials, we'll be meeting with a number of stakeholders in the sector, including the third sector, to seek their views on this important matter.