Traditional macro-economic approaches to economic development have failed to deliver economic gains and social benefits within environmentally sustainable limits or spread fairly those gains throughout Welsh localities. The current model that relies on continual growth, the accumulation of capital and extraction for profit is impossible to sustain on a finite planet with finite resources.

Turning to the statement, current attempts by the Welsh Government to prioritise social utility when awarding contracts—which I wholeheartedly welcome—risks seeing some businesses simply rewording their bids to incorporate the new requirements at paper level only, rather than demonstrating how they embed social value within their proposed work practices. Could the Minister outline what measures the Welsh Government are taking to guard against this?

We also must move away from obsessions with high-value sectors and inward investment to a more holistic view that focuses more attention to the foundational economy. This could be achieved by harnessing the power of community wealth building and anchor institutions encouraging plural ownership of the economy by locally owned or socially minded businesses, who are more likely to employ, buy and invest locally rather than extracting wealth. In Preston—as we've heard already today—community wealth building has been used to tackle the inequalities present in the region and ensure economic development in the area is shared more equally amongst residents. Through this approach, an extra £4 million was spent locally by Preston council over a four-year period.

It's welcome that Welsh suppliers have been able to win an additional £11 million-worth of healthcare contracts, but I'm sure the Minister shares my ambition for us to go even further. It's welcome that the Minister has announced the backing local firms fund. I would welcome further details on that fund, and would echo Paul Davies's calls for a review of the challenge fund. And further, could the Minister outline the Welsh Government's position on creating a Welsh model of local public procurement, built on the foundational economy, specifically through setting a target of increasing the level of public sector procurement to 75 per cent of the total spend of the Government procurement budget?

A new green industrial strategy must not only cease carbon-intensive practices, but provide a just transition with shovel-ready green jobs and a local jobs guarantee that will help revitalise Wales's rural and ex-industrial local economies. Following the lead of the Scottish Government, a just transition commission should be developed to oversee the green industrial transition, and we should establish an alliance of Welsh businesses—which includes the Welsh Government—to focus on co-ordinating action, not just policy, that will achieve social, economic and environmental growth. A just transition is key for the foundational economy in Wales, as so many sectors in the foundational economy suffer from issues stemming from below-average hourly wages and relatively unstable hours of work. This results in more people living in poverty or being at risk from falling into poverty, and has a negative effect on family life, health and spending in the local economy. I think the Chamber can guess where I'm going with this, but could the Minister confirm whether or not the Welsh Government has considered the possibility of establishing a just transition commission?

Of course, increasing pay and providing more secure and stable hours must be an integral part of any policy aiming to grow the foundational economy, and may help us in tackling some of those recruitment issues the Minister outlined in his statement. In food and beverage services, accommodation and retail, for example, workers receive at least £3 an hour less than the average Welsh worker, but these sectors employ around four out of 10 of all employees in Wales. In the retail, food, accommodation and social care sectors, even the best paid employees earn less than £500 a week. What measures will the Government take to improve earnings and hours in the foundational economy, and has the Minister given consideration to how we might be able to incorporate a four-day work week into the foundational economy? I mentioned procurement earlier on—well, there is an opportunity to use the Wales fair work Act and incentivise shorter working weeks by building it into procurement strategy, which is of course all above board, according to section 60 of the Wales Act 2006.

And finally, Dirprwy Lywydd, the gender pay gap is also of concern in the foundational economy, as the largest gender pay gap is seen in the energy industry and is also very substantial in education, health and non-residential social care. There is a notable gap in gross weekly earnings between women and men in all foundational economy sectors, which worsens as pay increases. Chwarae Teg's recently published figures on the Welsh gender pay gap between 2020 and 2021 show that the gender pay gap has actually worsened in this time, increasing by 0.7 per cent to a total gap of 12.3 per cent. As we transition to a greener economy, where much of the focus will be on sectors such as energy, construction and housing, how does the Welsh Government plan to rectify this pay gap and ensure that everyone gets a fair stake and fair work in Wales's future green economy?