I want to start, again, like everybody else, by thanking my colleagues and the clerks for their work on this report. As our Chair, Paul Davies, said, this is one of the first things that we said that we wanted to look into, and it seems like a very long time ago now. As you set out in your foreword, the staycation, at the time that we were looking at it, wasn't it—the bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. And it reignited that sense of pride in our local hospitality, tourism and retail sectors across Wales. Now, almost 18 months later, in conjunction with this, these very sectors that often saw the brunt of those COVID restrictions on businesses, especially the small and local economies in our towns and communities, they are now facing this cost-of-living crisis and we can expect, for businesses, if they're not already suffering, it could get an awful lot worse.

So, I am very, very pleased that this has come out now and that we've managed to really incorporate both aspects of what's happening for our businesses, and I'm really pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted, or accepted in principle, all of the recommendations set out in the report. There is an overwhelming sense of need to insulate these sectors, but, also, it would be nice to see whether they can also continue to thrive and not just have to survive through these really tough economic times.

As our Chair, Paul Davies MS, highlighted, recommendation 13 is really crucial, because it really sets out the opportunities for career pathways within the hospitality and tourism sector, including the degree apprenticeships. During the evidence sessions, we heard from workers from a range of backgrounds who wanted to work in the places that they grew up in. The Government and these sectors must work collaboratively to ensure that there are opportunities for career progression locally to support this. I am pleased to see that this work on the foundation economy is being carried out by the Welsh Government, and I hope to see further opportunities in the future.

I also wanted to highlight recommendation 18 about the vitality of fair work, because it is no secret that there are many workers in these sectors who continue to face insecurity. Wales Trades Union Congress; Unite Wales; the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and others contributed to evidence sessions detailing the realities of insecure contracts that really just made them feel like they're disposable, and that workers are facing poor pay and then lack of staff. One contributor said that she had no idea of her rights at work, and I would stress that we must do more to empower workers to understand their rights, through the role of trade unions and social partnership. No worker should be facing abuse for simply doing their job, or, as my colleague, Luke Fletcher, highlighted, just being treated as if you're beneath other people because of the profession that you have. Workers should be empowered to speak up on these issues, and I hope that the Welsh Government will take these into consideration when it comes to social partnership in these sectors.

Lastly, I'd just like to draw attention to the number of recommendations around the tourism levy. Porthcawl in my constituency relies heavily on the tourism sector; obviously, we have Coney Beach, we have the Elvis festival and we have surfing at Rest bay. I have been speaking with my community for some time about this proposal. I feel that, whenever we get into the conversation about it, there are a lot of misconceptions, and some of those did come through in our committee report. Because there are a number of examples of countries across Europe and the world that have a tourism levy, and this includes tourist destinations such as France, Belgium, Spain, Thailand and New Zealand, to name a few. The basis for these levies varies from country to country, with some setting a rate per person; others by room, location or star rating of the accommodation. In Bulgaria, the levy is set locally and ranges from 10 cents to €1.53 for the first night's stay. The money raised from this levy is then reinvested back into the tourism sector. In Romania, the money raised by its levy is used for tourism promotion; in Spain, it is used for sustainable tourism projects. And whilst there are many possibilities for how a tourism levy could be set out, it is imperative that communities have a say in how it is spent. I am not bringing my own bias to this; I am truly just saying what I have spoken to when I have talked to people in my community. Because the fact is that people in Kenfig Hill and Nantymoel, through their council tax, are paying for those beaches and those public toilets in the summer, and when we have the Elvis festival and that street is closed down, that costs about £35,000 to the council budget, and people in those communities are paying for that. So I don't think that tourists would mind being able to pay so that we were able to keep the beautiful town of Porthcawl that they want to come and visit clean and well kept.

The Welsh Government has accepted the recommendation for an evidence-based approach when proposing the tourism levy, and their intention is to engage with the stakeholders during the consultation process on this, and that is all that I'm asking for—I just want a consultation where people are stakeholders are really given the facts on this, given an international perspective on this, the possibility of this, and also, ideally, a trial on this. So, thank you, everybody, for the hard work that’s gone into this report. It is constantly ever changing and moving, but I welcome the Welsh Government's response. Thank you.