The public health emergency remains and the regulations, which have such an unprecedented impact on our lives, will for now at least continue to make commensurate demands on the Government’s policy and legal capacity and the Senedd’s time. Despite the wholly new ways in which the Senedd had to meet and pass legislation, the end of the last term saw us pass major Acts to make momentous changes in education and local government in particular. This term, we must now take forward the implementing secondary legislation, without which the Acts cannot have their intended effect.

Llywydd, we must be conscious that the UK Government has launched an unprecedented set of attacks on the powers and responsibilities of this legislature. The attention we must give collectively to the legislative programme at Westminster is no longer confined to identifying ways improvements in Welsh law could be secured through UK Bills. Rather, we have to interrogate each Bill brought forward for ways it might be used to undermine the integrity of the devolution settlement, or is contrary to Welsh Government policy. This creates another drain on the capacity of the Government and new demands on the scrutiny functions of this legislature.

And then there is the primary legislative programme itself. Llywydd, I will turn to provide further details on this complex and interlocking set of legislative requirements in a moment. But, first, I want to be clear that what I set out today is only the start of the legislative journey of this Senedd. Because of the uncertainties and complexities mentioned, I will focus today on the legislation to come before you in the next year—in Senedd year 1. Provided the public health position improves as we hope, then in next year’s legislative statement we should be in a position to say more about what is planned for later in this Senedd term.

Llywydd, the Government made the difficult decision last year not to introduce two planned Bills, and instead consulted on them in draft, and I thank all those stakeholders who took the time to provide comments, which we have carefully considered, and which I have no doubt will strengthen and improve the Bills we will now introduce.

We have drawn on the experience of working in social partnership during the pandemic as we refined the social partnership and public procurement Bill, which I am delighted to confirm will be brought forward in the first year of this Senedd term. It will create a statutory social partnership council and it will place requirements on Welsh Ministers, and on other bodies, to take action in pursuit of fair work principles, and ensure more socially responsible public procurement.

Following close working with stakeholders, we will also this year introduce the tertiary education and research Bill, which will establish a new commission for tertiary education and research. This is essential to realise our vision for post-compulsory education and training in Wales. It will have extensive funding, planning and regulatory powers, to improve quality, efficiency and efficacy across the PCET and research sector. It will have the interests of learners at its heart, and will work collaboratively with stakeholders and education providers to improve individual and national outcomes. Our long-term programme of education reform will make sure nobody in Wales is left behind after the pandemic, and this legislation will further demonstrate our commitment to lifelong learning.

There will be a Bill to enable changes to the Welsh tax Acts. At present, our powers to amend devolved taxes are not sufficient to respond quickly to unexpected events, such as court judgments, loopholes or changes in equivalent English taxes, which could have a significant impact on the liabilities of individuals and on our revenues. The Bill will provide us with an agile, flexible way of responding, and the Senedd with the opportunity to scrutinise and approve changes.

Following our White Paper last year, we will introduce an agriculture Bill to create a new system of farm support that will maximise the protective power of nature through farming. This will reward farmers who take action to respond to the climate and nature emergencies, supporting them to produce food in a sustainable way. We will replace the time-limited powers in the UK Agriculture Act 2020, which we took to provide continuity and much-needed stability for our farmers as we left the EU. The Bill represents the first stage of our programme of agricultural reform, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and farmers on our long-term proposals.