I thank Vikki Howells for her contribution and for her warm comments about some of the work we did. I know this an area that, not just as a former teacher, you’re very passionate about, but as somebody that advocates for fairer and better work in communities right across the country.

Just to touch on the social care fair work forum and how we’re moving forward, and the need to address things in that sector, obviously we addressed that immediate concern around the real living wage, and I think you touched in your latter comments that the real living wage is a key component, but is just one component of fair work. I think I’ve said in this Chamber before, actually, we should see it as a baseline rather than a benchmark—that foundation to build upon and to grow on.

Obviously, there’s more work to do to improve terms and conditions, and also elevate the status of social care as a valued career and one that is so fundamental to all of our communities and all of our families in terms of looking after, in many of our cases, our nearest and dearest, and make sure there are those opportunities for career progression. This is work that my colleague Julie Morgan is very much leading on, but obviously I’m feeding into it as a cross-Government approach around making sure we embed that fair work approach. So, the forum has recently looked at things like sick pay within the independent sector, considering a structure for collective bargaining for social care workers, and the development of a pay and progression framework. A sub-group of the forum, which includes different social partners, has developed a draft framework for pay and progression to find more consistency in roles and pay, as well as better and clearer career opportunities. I anticipate that the consultation on the draft framework will open in the spring as part of a wider consultation on national commissioning guidelines that aim to streamline commissioning of services and offer better support for commissioners and providers.

Just to comment on the point around innovation, too, and the role that fair work plays, you’re absolutely right to say this has to be a cross-Government commitment. I might lead on fair work, but actually we need to embed it right across what we do in Welsh Government, so I think innovation and things that we’re doing—. I know that the Wales TUC is fully engaged with that work to make sure actually there is a role, potentially, for trade union reps to play in embedding innovation, especially as we look to what we call the just transition as well. Addressing the climate crisis is an issue of social and economic justice as well as environmental justice, too, so there really is an opportunity in how we use that social partnership working in Wales and those forums that we have already in existence to make sure that that innovation works for both business and communities, but also for individuals and workers as well.

And just very finally, on the comments on the pilot programme in schools, yes, I really look forward to see what the outcome of the pilot programme is, and I was lucky enough, a while ago now, to visit a school—unfortunately, not in the Member's patch, but in Newport—and to see a group of young people and see it in action. It was really good to see they were talking about the idea of working together on things beyond work, as well. So, actually, they'd established campaigns about things they wanted to achieve within school and out of school. Maybe a Welsh Government in the future might live to regret it when we've got a group of young people campaigning outside, but I think it's really, actually, teaching people to use their voice, to know that they have rights and about the power of working collectively to achieve change.