Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I thank Members for taking part in this debate this afternoon? Members have all touched on how the retail, tourism and hospitality industries sit at the heart of all of our communities, and that's why it's so important that the Welsh Government really understands and responds to the challenges facing these sectors. 

Implementing the right policies at the right time cannot be understated; indeed, it's vital for Wales's economy and liveability. We all want our towns and cities to be thriving, vibrant, community places, and supporting these sectors is an enormous part of building those thriving community networks here in Wales. Now, as the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire said, and the Member for North Wales said, many of our businesses in our constituencies and regions are key employers in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors.

Members, such as Luke Fletcher and Tom Giffard, the Members for South Wales West, the Member for Bridgend, the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire and indeed the Minister have all touched on the pandemic and the economic impacts of it on our retail, hospitality and tourism sectors. It was an economic shock for which no industry was prepared, and we should take a moment to reflect on the resilience and hard work of those working in hospitality, tourism and retail for what must have been an extremely difficult time. Of course, helping these sectors recover from the pandemic and evolve to new ways of working is a big challenge, but the Welsh Government also has a great opportunity, I think, to rethink how it works with these sectors going forward. These industries are facing challenges from all angles, whether it's taxation policies, shifts to online commerce, or even just the loss of confidence in young people to apply for roles. Arwyn Watkins from the National Training Federation Wales was right to say,

'If the number of jobs that have been lost in this sector over the last 24 months had been lost in any other sector, there would be absolute uproar, quite frankly, and nobody is saying anything about it whatsoever, apart from the employers trying to fill the vacancies.'

And, therefore, the message is pretty simple; the Welsh Government, of course, needs to raise the bar and better prioritise these industries and the people who work in them.

Members, such as the Member for Bridgend, have rightly talked about improving skills, which will help create better jobs and benefit these sectors and our economy more generally. And it's why the committee has specifically recommended that the Welsh Government should set out more detail as to where it sees scope within its planned expansion of the apprenticeships programme for higher level career pathways in tourism and hospitality, including for degree apprenticeships.

Members such as the Member for Cynon Valley have also highlighted the importance of fair work, and I think we all accept that there are real opportunities for fair work to be progressed through the new retail strategy and visitor economy action plan. The committee is also calling for greater clarity around the role of the Welsh Government's economic contract in driving fair work outcomes, and I look forward to hearing more from the Welsh Government about the progress being made in this area.

Dirprwy Lywydd, our report is called 'Raising the bar' because that's exactly what the Welsh Government needs to be doing. As Luke Fletcher said, the Government has accepted or accepted in principle the committee's recommendations, but what we want to see now is the implementation of those very recommendations. Raising the level of ambition for these sectors is vital and will help raise the quality of life of our citizens and visitors.

So, we've heard some really interesting contributions from Members today, and a constructive response from the Minister, and I want to make it clear this afternoon, as the Member for Cynon Valley said, that this will continue to be an area of priority for the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee. I want to reassure the Minister that the committee will continue to focus on this area going forward, especially given that financial challenges have increased for these sectors since the publication of our report.

So, in closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, can I thank those who contributed to the debate this afternoon and say that the committee looks forward to being updated on the progress of the implementation of our recommendations in due course? Diolch yn fawr.