Thank you, Deputy Minister, for your statement and for your advanced copy. 

As always, I'm disappointed by the ideological narrative that comes from this Welsh Government, particularly in your remarks regarding the minimum service levels Bill. Because as you know, Deputy Minister, the International Labour Organization, which the TUC subscribes to, supports in principle minimum service levels during strike action. Whilst not exactly the same, there is minimum service legislation in France, Germany and other European countries. However, I acknowledge your distaste for any legislation that looks to ensure that the appropriate number of people needed to support public safety during strikes is in the hands of elected and accountable Ministers, with access to the appropriate information and data, rather than given to the trade union puppet masters that control the Labour Party's purse strings.

Deputy Minister, I would have thought that your statement today might have focused a bit more on your own Government's shortcomings, and concerned with more things that you are actually responsible for. I welcome your focus on the living wage, but I was disappointed to find that the agricultural advisory panel has decided against ending the lower minimum pay rate for those below 25. This strikes me as rather absurd, as you talk of fair work and fair pay, but yet allow such discrimination against young agricultural workers. Deputy Minister, the rates of £4.81 per hour for 16 to 17-year-olds, and £6.83 per hour for 18 to 20-year-olds, are entirely out of step with the principle of a fair wage for fair work. A 16 to 20-year-old is likely to work just as hard, and will probably have just as many skills, as an older agricultural worker. As I'm sure you're aware, Wales has a significant rural economy, and if we are to encourage the next generation of agricultural workers, this Government needs to seriously address this disparity. What explanation can you offer the Chamber for keeping these wages for agricultural workers under 25 so low?

In your statement, you mention that we have a record number of organisations who are real living wage accredited—almost 500. But how many trade unions have signed up, Deputy Minister? I can tell you that the number of accredited trade unions in Wales who have signed up to be real living wage accredited is none. Not one trade union has signed up—that is how much they think about and value this accreditation scheme that you promote. And I would ask, Deputy Minister, if you can explain why trade unions cannot be bothered to sign up in Wales, and only seven unions have in England and Scotland.

Last year, I mentioned in my response to your annual statement that you failed to make any reference whatsoever to fair work for disabled people. Yet again, you haven't mentioned any progress to remove and reduce the barriers that disabled people are presented with, and you haven't mentioned any initiatives to help close the disability employment gap. Instead, you have taken this opportunity to attack the UK Government. With this in mind, I want to emphasise how important it is that the Welsh Government recognise that fair work should be for all, and by not providing updates on the needs of the disabled community, it is quite disheartening to them. Disabled people face some of the biggest barriers in attaining fair work, and, indeed, fair pay, for the skills that they can bring to businesses. And so, Deputy Minister, will you make a commitment to provide an update on how this Government is helping disabled people achieve fair work in next year's statement?

Finally, Deputy Minister, I want to mention young people and apprenticeships. Whilst we have many opportunities for apprenticeships—and I have recently visited Cardiff and Vale College and Coleg y Cymoedd to hear of the fantastic courses that they offer—Wales actually has a declining number of people taking up apprenticeships. We've spoken numerous times in this Chamber about how businesses in Wales are stifled by a skills shortage, in particular, how young people and graduates do not have the relevant skills set needed for businesses. And as you know, having the skills that businesses need allows workers to have more resilience, because they're able to access higher paying jobs and be able to find work faster if they're ever made redundant, for example. Therefore, Deputy Minister, what steps are you taking to promote apprenticeships as a valid pathway for young people to obtain well-paid and fulfilling jobs that meet the fair work criteria? Thank you.