The Bill fulfills a key programme for government commitment to place social partnership on a statutory footing in Wales. It provides for a framework to enhance the well-being of the people of Wales, including by improving public services and through social partnership working, promoting fair work and carrying out socially responsible public procurement. 

The Bill establishes a social partnership council for Wales, bringing together Government, employers and worker representatives nominated by the Wales Trades Union Congress. The function of the council will be to provide information and advice to the Welsh Ministers in relation to the social partnership duties, the pursuit of the 'a prosperous Wales' well-being goal by public bodies and the socially responsible public procurement duties. The legislation also provides for a public procurement sub-group of the social partnership council to be established.

The Bill places a new social partnership duty on certain public bodies and on Welsh Ministers. Certain public bodies will be required to seek consensus or compromise with their recognised trade unions, or, where there is no recognised trade union, other representatives of their staff, when setting their well-being objectives and delivering on those objectives under section 3(2) of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. This duty goes beyond a simple requirement to consult. Through it, we expect public bodies to be actively engaged with their recognised trade unions or other staff representatives as genuine partners in the setting and pursuit of their well-being objectives. Welsh Ministers will be placed under a separate duty to consult social partners, employers and worker representatives through the social partnership council when delivering on their well-being objectives under section 3(2)(b) of the 2015 Act.

The Bill amends section 4 of the well-being of future generations Act by replacing 'decent work' with 'fair work' within the existing 'a prosperous Wales' goal. Back in 2018, the Welsh Government established the Fair Work Commission to make recommendations to promote and encourage fair work. The commission’s report, 'Fair Work Wales', published in 2019, recommended that the actions by public bodies under the 2015 Act should incorporate fair work. 

The Bill also creates a duty for socially responsible public procurement. Almost £7 billion of public money is spent each year through procurement in Wales. Under the new duty, specified public bodies will be required to consider socially responsible public procurement when carrying out procurement, to set objectives in relation to well-being goals, and to publish a procurement strategy. Public bodies will also be required to carry out contract management duties to ensure that socially responsible outcomes are pursued through supply chains. Finally, the Bill imposes reporting duties on the relevant public bodies and Welsh Ministers in relation to the social partnership duty and socially responsible procurement duty.

As I said in my statement to the Senedd on 14 September last year, this Bill has been the subject of extensive consultation. Crucially, it has also been prepared in collaboration with our social partners. Through their help, wise counsel and occasional challenge, I am confident the Bill presented to the Senedd today is an ambitious yet practical step forward for social partnership in Wales, which will contribute significantly to the achievement of our well-being goals.

Social partnership is not new and is certainly not unique to Wales. However, social partnership has evolved to become a Welsh way of working and, over the course of the last two years, this way of working has demonstrated very clear benefits for workers, employers and Government alike, as together we sought to manage the impact of the COVID pandemic and to keep the people of Wales safe.

Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to this way of working, and we want to futureproof social partnership to ensure future generations can benefit not only from better well-being, but also from strong, sustainable public services underpinned by a social partnership approach. The framework established by the Bill will help social partners work better together in pursuit of the well-being goals contained within the well-being of future generations Act.

The Bill aims to make Wales a better, fairer, more prosperous place to live and work. The mechanisms in the Bill are intended to help unite Government, workers and public services in Wales towards a common vision—that of a prosperous, resilient, healthier, more equal Wales with cohesive communities, vibrant culture, thriving Welsh language, and a globally responsible Wales.

The Bill builds on the already extensive history and success of social partnership working in Wales. I'm committed to continuing to work in social partnership as this legislation progresses, and I look forward to further discussions with Plaid Cymru, as part of the co-operation agreement, on how we can maximise the impact of this new legislation.

In closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, I very much look forward to the contributions of Senedd Members both today and in taking forward the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill.