Our vision is a well-being economy that drives prosperity and is environmentally sound and helps everyone to realise their potential. It's rooted in our existing economic action plan, 'Prosperity for All', with its progressive purposes of reducing inequality and spreading wealth and well-being across all of Wales.

Our economic well-being is without doubt tied to our environmental, cultural and social well-being. Social enterprises in Wales form a dynamic, diverse sector, which has demonstrated considerable growth over the last few years. There are currently 2,309 social businesses identified in Wales, who employ an estimated 59,000 people. As well as helping to achieve social and economic policy objectives, the sector is an important tool in helping the Welsh Government achieve its goals through the programme for government. It's important that we learn from the values and principles of social enterprises and co-operatives that have helped us through the pandemic to build that greener, fairer and more prosperous tomorrow. 

Social enterprises are an important part of our foundational economy. They are frequently community owned, provide local employment, and often put improving their local area at the heart of what they do. The foundational economy approach offers the chance to reverse the deterioration of employment conditions, reduce the leakage of money from communities, and address the environmental cost of extended supply chains.

There's specific attention being paid to supporting co-operatives, social enterprises, employee-owned organisations and SMEs rooted in their communities to engage in public procurement, helping sustain and create local employment opportunities, leading to healthier communities. The Welsh Government has made a commitment in our programme for government in Wales to double the number of employee-owned business by 2026. To achieve that, we are committed to providing greater support to ensure Wales-based companies remain in Welsh hands. There are currently 44 employee-owned businesses here in Wales, and this is ahead of the profiled number to reach doubling the number of employee-owned businesses to 60 within this Senedd term. On average, two to three employee buy-out deals take place here in Wales each year, but the scale of the employee-owned sector has grown in the past few years, with the potential for many more. Employee ownership delivers numerous benefits for employees and for businesses, with evidence showing that employee-owned businesses are more productive and more resilient. They're also rooted in their local areas and regions, securing good-quality jobs for the longer term within communities across Wales. 

Now, as Cefin has already acknowledged, the Welsh Government are working with Cwmpas, and we're providing funding to further promote the benefits and development of employee ownership in Wales to ensure businesses based here are aware of the opportunities and the benefits that it offers. An employee-owned business that you may be aware of, Cefin, is Tregroes Waffles. Do you know them? Tregroes Waffles, which is a small family-run bakery based in the Teifi valley in south-west Wales. It started life in 1983 when Kees Huysmans came to Wales to set up a market stall selling his version of traditional Dutch stroop. Recruiting locally, the business employs 15 people and remains strongly embedded in the community. The owner began to explore the concept of employee ownership about five years before the transition started, inspired by the John Lewis partnership model. In 2016, Kees told 10 per cent of his shares to the trust, using company profits to pay for them. As part of the agreement, the owner will sell a further 10 per cent to the trust each year, provided the company is able to pay for them. The employee-ownership model has enabled Tregroes Waffles to maintain and build upon its success in the area. The benefits of the employee-owned business are vast and include a smooth business succession, keeping the company locally rooted, workforce empowerment, buy-in and engagement and the ability to manage ongoing culture change. As a Government, we are keen to ensure that businesses consider employee ownership as an option when the time is right, and that we have the infrastructure here in Wales to support that transition.

The Development Bank of Wales manages a range of funds that are primarily focused on providing investment to micro and to medium-sized businesses across the business lifecycle. The £25 million Wales management succession fund provides ambitious managers and management teams with the funding that they need to buy established Welsh SMEs when their current owners retire or sell up. Dedicated support is also available through Social Business Wales for social enterprises who wish to start and grow and, for those businesses wanting to transition to employee ownership, we've made the commitment to provide funding of up to £1.7 million for the continuation of that service from April next year.

So, in concluding, Dirprwy Lywydd, I welcome this debate today on a subject area that we see as having a huge positive impact on the Welsh economy and in delivering on our programme for government. Diolch yn fawr.