Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:56 pm on 8 June 2021.
Well, what I'll say, Llywydd, is what I've said already. We've provided our evidence to the independent review body. We'll wait to see what they have to say. There's no point in setting up bodies and going through the process if you want me to second guess, before they've reported, what the Welsh Government might do. We will wait and we will see what they conclude.
Of course the Welsh Government wants to make sure that front-line workers are properly paid for the work that they do. I agree with what many have said, that the 1 per cent offer that the UK Government appeared to put on the table for healthcare staff, after everything that they have done for us in the last 12 months, simply wasn't adequate to reflect that contribution. But, there is a process that is in play and the Member will have to wait, just as we do, to see where that process takes us, how much money it brings to us here in Wales, and what we are then able to do with it. We will do that in the way that we always have, in partnership with the trade union movement—those who represent those staff—looking always to do the very best that we can for them.