Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your statement. I think everyone here and across all Governments in the UK would agree that those who receive fair working conditions and fair pay are happier, healthier and probably more productive in their roles, and that we should all be striving to hold Governments to account in order to ensure that everyone has fair working conditions. Whilst those here I'm sure would love to see a perfect system already fully operational, we do have to be mindful that these things take time, and along the way problems will arise that will need to be resolved before any further progress can be made.

I'm glad to hear in your statement today that you're committing to pay the real living wage in the social care sector. I have met with social care groups in my region who are particularly concerned that rates of pay are a major inhibitor to providing consistent care in the adult social care sector, as it is linked to higher staff turnover, where many move to what are ultimately higher paid and less demanding jobs, such as the retail sector. With over 72,000 jobs in the adult social care sector alone, and the fact that most care workers are paid minimum, or close to minimum, wage, this sector represents about a third of the workforce in Wales who earn below the living wage, and I'm sure that implementing the real living wage will go some way along to helping the sector.

I would also like to point out that the social care fair work forum vision statement professes that not only should there be improvements to social care workers' pay, but also there should be improvement in their terms and conditions, and this has not been addressed in your statement. With this in mind, and given the enormous pressure that the sector is under in terms of burn-out and job retention, I would like to ask the Deputy Minister what consideration and assessment has this Government made of other in-work benefits that can contribute to a healthy working environment for social care workers. I think more can be done to provide long-term in-work benefits to those employed in the sector and that improvements would incentivise a greater number of staff to develop careers and help long-term job retention. In particular, I think social care workers could be rewarded with higher pension contributions, larger holiday entitlements or fuel allowances, or even council tax rebates, which could be used as a lever to help better support the lowest paid social care workers, or even encourage workers to stay or move to rural areas.

As the Deputy Minister will be well aware, Wales has the highest median age of all UK nations, and on top of this we have a net influx of retired people from England who wish to live in the Welsh countryside or our coastal villages and towns. With such an ageing population, we need to be diligent in making sure that we have a viable and well-supported social care sector, and I think a better selection of in-work benefits would go a long way in helping people stay in this sector long term.

In terms of fair pay, I want to raise the issue of Cardiff capital region advertising that average wages here are far lower than in other cities in the UK, and Wales's cheap labour is the reason why businesses should look to invest here. The Cardiff capital region have defended this position by saying they are highlighting, in their words, that 'salaries are currently competitive', and it wants to

'leverage further investment to raise wages across the city-region.'

I think that we can all agree that this is an absurd rationality, because if you want to attract business investment, one advertises the high-quality skill set of the workforce, or—and I know that this is a real push for the Welsh Government, given their track record—tries to highlight the quality of infrastructure we have here in Wales. The Deputy Minister may be surprised here, but I agree with the TUC general secretary, Shavanah Taj, in her condemnation of Welsh Government advertising Wales's lowest average wage as

'a depressing and divisive approach which risks locking in a low wage economy for the many communities the CCR leadership represents.'

And I would like to add that what this type of marketing is actually doing is sending a subliminal message to investors that workers in Wales are paid less because they are worth less. It also sends a clear message to those skilled workers who may be looking to come to Cardiff capital region that the Welsh Government values cheap labour. I fully acknowledge, Deputy Minister, that you were probably unaware of this marketing brochure, and that it's not representative of the wider Welsh marketing strategy. However, it does go some way in showing the thinking that underpins the Welsh Government's overall approach, and we need to recognise that information like this will stay in the public domain. Whilst you might argue that, in the grand scheme of things, this is somewhat minor, I would argue that we will never fully realise the damage this type of action causes long term. I therefore ask the Deputy Minister how you intend to enforce better marketing strategies that will actually reflect the quality and diverse skill set of workers in Wales, given the fact that you have accepted a recommendation to ensure fair work is the responsibility of all Welsh Ministers and officials. How will this Government now ensure that the principles of fair work that are being proclaimed by this Government are actually included in future investor marketing material?

Finally, I want to bring up the point of reporting your annual progress. You have mentioned the real living wage, and of course your shameless sales pitch for your trade union supervisors, and the Deputy Minister's disappointing politicisation of P&O workers in this statement, where there has been widespread condemnation from the UK Government over this action and they are doing everything they can to help those workers. You have decided to talk about these issues at the expense of some of the most vulnerable in society, who I'm sure would have welcomed even a glancing mention. I wonder why you—