Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 9 June 2021.
I think there is—. It's often the case that there are positive signals given, as in this case—and I welcome the Member to the Chamber and to questions; I look forward to working with him in this role, as indeed moving on from his time as the leader of Conwy County Borough Council. Look, I welcome the fact that if the single enforcement body is going to be effective, that will be a good thing. That would help not just in this area, but a range of others too. An employment Bill that helps to move things forward—that, again, would be a good thing, and depending on the measures, there could be support from the Welsh Government for those measures. The challenge though is that the ACAS report did set out that there were legislative options available, and today, the Prime Minister has confirmed again that whilst he believes that hire and fire can be an unscrupulous practice, there is no commitment at present to specific legislative proposals. And the danger is, in asking ACAS to review the guidance, that won't necessarily change what happens as a matter of practice. Because employment law, as Huw Irranca-Davies said, is not devolved, if it's not unlawful, then even matters of good practice don't necessarily stop those employers that even now have gone ahead making really difficult choices that are, in plain sight, all about driving down terms and conditions. So, there are some points that we can welcome and I'm happy to do so, there are other points where we still think the UK Government needs to go further, including legislation to outlaw unscrupulous hire-and-fire practices.