3. Statement by the First Minister: The Programme for Government

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:10 pm on 15 June 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:10, 15 June 2021

Our programme for government therefore is, first and foremost, about recovering from the pandemic, about ensuring our NHS can care for everyone who needs its help, especially all those who are struggling with mental health problems and with prolonged pain. It is also about supporting children and young people who have had their education disrupted over the last 15 months. No-one here, across this whole Chamber, wants a single child's future to be blighted because of the pandemic. And that is why there is a catch-up programme for education, and a young person's guarantee of an offer of training, education or work for everyone under 25 in this programme for government. And because this has been an economic emergency as well as a public health crisis, the programme for government also sets out our determination to go on supporting businesses to full recovery, and then to create that fairer economic future for Wales where no-one is left behind and no-one is held back.

And then, at the heart of this programme for government, Llywydd, and at the heart of this Government, is the urgent need to respond to that other great emergency of our time: the emergency of biodiversity loss and of climate change. Six weeks ago, a ministry for climate change was established, bringing together housing, transport, planning, energy and the environment—a clear signal that we will use all the powers we have to play our part in tackling the climate and nature emergencies.

This programme for government sets out the key areas where we will make the greatest difference in shaping Wales's future, and the actions we will take to deliver the change we have been trusted to deliver. The green industries of the future that will create new jobs and opportunities for people in every part of Wales. This Government will invest in these industries and build a new green economy constructed on the foundations of fair work, equality and sustainability. We will launch a new 10-year Wales infrastructure investment plan to support a zero-carbon economy, and deliver our transport and digital strategies to re-energise communities and make Wales a better, greener place to live and to work. That green transformation will include championing locally-generated renewable energy, introducing that clean air Act for Wales and designating the first new national park in Wales for 65 years. We will promote local green spaces, reduce waste and continue our work on a national forest that will reach across the whole of Wales. We will make sure that our farmers have a key role to play in our green future, and that the homes we build will be low-carbon homes. We will promote and support the Wales Trades Union Congress's plans for green representatives in all work places, extending our social partnership agenda to capture the vital contribution of workers and workplaces to tackling climate change.

And this Government will continue to challenge embedded power structures and push for fair pay. We will implement our race equality action plan, and address the systemic causes of racism, tackle the stigma of HIV and address the structures that disable too many of our fellow citizens. We will also continue to treasure the Welsh language and culture, as well as our dynamic and vibrant tourism, sports and arts industries. We will continue to work towards our goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, taking legislative action to do so, and support people to find affordable homes in the communities in which they have grown up.

Llywydd, this year has shown the full value of a distinctly Welsh tradition of volunteering and community organisation, and we will continue to ensure that local organisations and local democracy can thrive. Our plans permanently to embed the remote working practices we have learned over the past 15 months will allow us to make our communities even better places to live, but also to work.

This Government will also lead a forward-looking and inclusive conversation with the people of Wales about our constitutional future, including through an independent commission. At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our position on the world stage, using our global networks to work for a better Wales and for a better future for the world.

Across all of these areas, we will need to be radical, forward-thinking and determined to achieve the far-reaching change that is needed. That is why, Llywydd, the programme for government contains nearly 100 key and cross-cutting commitments that require the attention and the action of the whole Government. Around 150 more, equally important, commitments are identified to be taken forward by Ministers in their own portfolios. Every one of these commitments will help us deliver on the promises we made in our manifesto, making those practical changes that deliver change for people across our nation.

Llywydd, let me end where I began. This programme for government reinforces the importance that this Government attaches to the well-being of future generations Act, its seven goals and its five ways of working. The well-being objectives and the well-being statement that accompanies them demonstrate our commitment to make the Act bite not simply on the processes of Government, but on the actions that we will pursue over this Senedd term. Where there are others in this Chamber who have an appetite to work constructively to pursue and, indeed, improve the proposals we have put forward, they will find this Government keen to engage positively with them. These actions, then, set out in the programme prioritise kindness and collaboration over division and competition. They are rooted in the preferences and choices made by people in Wales on 6 May, and it's in that spirit, Llywydd, that I commend the document to the Senedd.