Diolch, Llywydd. I welcome this debate, and thank most Members for their contributions. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is an attack on workers, workers' rights and trade unions. The Welsh Government opposes the Bill in the strongest terms, as set out in the Government amendment. In particular, the Government amendment highlights the written statement containing the First Minister's letter to the UK Government and the legislative consent memorandum that will be laid before the Senedd. These are clear and publicly available statements setting out our position and our significant concerns about this Bill.

We categorically do not believe the right response to industrial unrest is to introduce new laws that not only ride roughshod over the devolution settlement, but make it even harder for workers to take industrial action. We believe that the right response is to work in partnership with employers and trade unions to resolve disputes collaboratively. So, it should not come as a surprise that we do not support amendment 1 in the name of Darren Millar. The way to resolve industrial disputes is by negotiation and agreement, however challenging that may be at times for all involved; it's not through ill-conceived legislation that will do nothing to help resolve current disputes, will do lasting damage to industrial relations across the UK, and will interfere with devolved public services in Wales. The irony is that this same legislation comes from a Conservative Government that has repeatedly failed to produce its promised employment Bill to extend workers' rights and is now set to do the absolute opposite. It seems parliamentary time cannot be found to enhance workers rights, but there are no issues with finding parliamentary time to take those rights away.

Turning to the point that Luke Fletcher made with regard to the devolution of employment law in Wales: you'll be aware that there is work undertaken at the moment by the Wales TUC and a commission on that, and we await those findings. And we'll work with the Wales TUC on those findings, and anything that we would do in Wales would be to work in partnership, to look at not only the opportunities, but the potential challenges that may come in the future.

In responding to the motion today, I want to reiterate why we oppose the UK Government's Bill. Firstly, we oppose this Bill on principle. It's an unnecessary and unjustified attack on workers' rights and trade unions, and stands in sharp contrast to our approach to trade unions in Wales and, as you've heard, our ambitions for Wales and fair work. Secondly, there was a complete lack of engagement with devolved Governments prior to the UK Government hastily announcing their intentions through a press notice on 5 January. Whilst consultation documents are now being published on ambulance services, rail and fire and rescue services, this is all happening after the Bill has been introduced and whilst it is going through parliamentary scrutiny.

Thirdly, we oppose the Bill because a number of devolved public services are in the scope of the Bill and the Bill contains Henry VIII powers, which gives a Secretary of State sweeping powers. Quite simply, supporting this Bill entails handing the Secretary of State a blank cheque. When even supporters of the Bill, like the infamous Jacob Rees-Mogg, criticised the Bill as a 'badly written' Bill that fails to

'set out clearly what it is trying to achieve', we know the Bill is definitely not in a good place. Fourthly, we clearly share many of the concerns voiced by trade unions and others about the effectiveness and the impact of this Bill. Our ability and, indeed, the ability of the UK Parliament to properly scrutinise those issues were seriously hampered by the absence of an impact assessment. The impact assessment was belatedly published just last week; an impact assessment the Regulatory Policy Committee immediately described as, I quote, 'not fit for purpose'.