 Thank you and good afternoon. Thank you for joining me today. I'll be talking about how the labour market is performing as we emerge from the emergency phase of the pandemic and our latest support schemes to help people into work. Overall the labour market is performing strongly and the number of people in paid employment has recovered to pre pandemic levels. Yr eistedd yma, y gweithio'r nicio yn Wales ym Gweithiwn o'r UK ac yw Ddaergyfn Cymru yma. Rydych chi'n gweithio eich ym 3 mlynedd i April yng Nghaer confusion yma, y cwyllennu'r nicio yn Wales yn flMeu i'r UK. Mae'r ddechrau i 3,5% o gyfrifau. Gweithio'r nicio yn gweithio ym Gweithiwn yma, yw'r ni'n cefnod y gweithio'r Nicio, yng Nghymru yma yn ymgylchedd, ac mae'r ddweud yn dweud o'r ymddangos cymryd yma yn y Llywodraeth. Felly, mae'r rhan o ran o'r ffrinsgau bod y dyfnodol a'r dyfnodol ymgylchedd yn ymgylchedd. Mae'r ffantastig ymddangos ffartigol i'r pwg ar y gyffredin iawn a'r pwyllfa ffantyr o'r yrhaeg i gwyllgor yma a'r Sefydlu Llywodraeth, gan gael gawr hefyd, mae'n gwybod i'r bydd ymgylchedd gyhoeddur ar y cyfnod yma yng nghymru yn enwr. Ond ydych chi'n gydag y cyfan ffigurau, rydych chi'n gwybod yr ymwyng, yn ymddi'r cyflwydoedd yr unrhyw ymddiadau i gynhyrchu newid. Yr hyn, bydd ymgynghori arnyntu, rysgwr Rhywodraeth i'r Ymddiadau, i'r cyflwydoedd ymddiadau, ac i gyrdwyr. Yn y peth ymgynghori arnyntau, yn ymddiadau arall yn ymgynghori, has grown in recent months in Wales. Almost a quarter of the working age adult population, 23.3%, were classed as economically inactive in Wales. The most common reason was long-term sickness, which may include long COVID. As a government, we have made a commitment that no one will be held back or left behind in a recovery that is built by all of us. That commitment led us to create the young person's guarantee with the offer of work, education, training or business start-up help for all under 25s. This is the route to a stronger and fairer Welsh economy where everyone is supported to fulfil their potential. We're taking wide-ranging action tailored to the needs of people facing barriers to work. The help we're providing is designed to reduce the number of unemployed adults and to tackle economic inactivity, helping everyone, including all those who feel a long way from the labour market. Earlier this month, I launched a new programme which will provide practical and bespoke employment support as unique as the person looking for work. The React Plus programme will offer up to £1,500 for training, £4,500 to help with childcare costs and £300 for travel costs. We will also provide employers with wage and training support during the first year for newly employed staff. We'll invest £13 million a year in React Plus, giving those that need it most a clear pathway into work through the Working Wales Employability Service. To be eligible for React Plus, people must be under a formal notice of redundancy or have been made redundant or unemployed within the last 12 months or be aged 18 to 24 and not in education, employment or training or to be ex-offenders or offenders serving their sentence in the community. By focusing on people who are underrepresented in the labour market and those who face disadvantage and inequality in accessing work, we will help to create a more equal Wales. We're also investing £8 million to continue employment services, helping people recovering from physical, mental ill health and substance misuse into work and crucially to remain in work. The Out-of-Work Service and the In-Work Support Service help people to rebuild their lives and I'm pleased to confirm that this support will be extended until 2025. We want a Wales where more talent is unlocked and where young people are supported to turn their business ideas into reality. So today I've launched our new young person start-up grant. We're investing £5 million to support 1200 young people to start their own business. Up to £2,000 will be available for young people who are unemployed or who have left education or training to become self-employed. This help is backed by one-to-one business advisory support, mentoring and financial management, allowing young entrepreneurs to take those exciting first steps. Wales is a great place to start a business and I'm looking forward to seeing the dynamic new ventures that our support will help to create. If you're under 25 and already considering starting a business, you can visit big ideas Wales to find out how to make the most of the support available. Sadly the UK government has broken its promise to replace in full the funding Wales would have received from the EU. We'll be more than a billion pounds worse off as a result and that has serious implications for our budget. We have traditionally used EU funds to finance those at these work support programmes. They're essential to the long-term health of our economy and we know that by backing young people today we're helping to boost their future earnings and career choices and that's a key part of our mission to make fair work a reality for more people. As businesses struggle with shortages, we're prioritising programmes which help to ensure more people can find and keep a job with support that matches their circumstances. Taking action to prevent youth unemployment and tackle economic inactivity means more talent for businesses to hire as they rebuild for the long term. The impact of the pandemic on the labour market has not been as severe as we feared with a strong rebound in hiring but as we look ahead we face many challenges, high vacancy levels, shortages and key areas, an ageing population and more people leaving the labour market early because of ill health especially among the over 50s. There is unequal access to the labour market for black Asian and minority ethnic communities, disabled people and single parents and we still have pay gaps for gender, ethnicity and disability to overcome and of course we face an unprecedented cost of living crisis affecting not just families but businesses too. The programmes that I've outlined are of course only part of our wider support for a fair work economy that helps to tackle those barriers. Just last week I launched our retail strategy developed in partnership with trade unions and businesses and early this year I confirmed 13 million pounds for the Wales Union Learning Fund, a hugely successful partnership that has offered so many working people a second chance at learning and improved their ability to earn. Alongside local authorities, Business Wales played a central role helping businesses at the peak of the pandemic. A service also exists to help inspire entrepreneurs and assure smaller businesses in particular can access the information and support that they need. Broken promises on post-EU funds recklessly put this work at risk. I have chosen to prioritise this service providing more than 40 million pounds to extend the backbone of Business Wales up to 2025 as two years beyond the end of our EU funding support. The Welsh Government will continue to do all that we can to support people through these turbulent times as well as striving for a successful Welsh recovery built by all of us. Thank you very much for listening. I'll now take questions from journalists and I believe the first question today is from Adrian Masters. Over to you Adrian. Thank you Minister. I guess something that will cause a big hit to the economy as today's strike action. You mentioned the Welsh Government's partnership work with trade unions. Can you tell me whether or not the Welsh Government supports today's action or not? Well, the Welsh Government is very clear that we don't want the industrial action to take place. Neither does the RMT. If this dispute were taking place in Wales, I do not think we'd have reached this point because we do have an entirely different model. I talked earlier about the retail strategy developed together with businesses and trade unions. In my own ministerial life when we've had challenges with the future of pay terms and conditions, we've been involved in promoting partnership, not promoting conflict. Sadly, the UK government has chosen to promote conflict. Now I support the right of workers to organise in trade unions. I support the right of workers to take industrial action. That is always a last resort. But actually, the way to resolve this matter is not to have more petrol on the flames, which is the approach of Grant Shaps and others in the UK government. The way to resolve this is to get people back around the negotiating table and to allow people to negotiate. Let's not forget this is an industry where half a billion pounds of profit was generated last year, but cleaners and others are taking action today. And I don't think that the approach the UK government is bringing people to a point where the dispute can be resolved, which is actually the approach I think everyone should want the UK government to take. Quite a lot of the commentary around today is looking at the possibility of further unrest and further industrial action down the line as the cost of living crisis bites. Are you concerned that there might be further industrial action and if it were to be in devolved areas such as education and health, what would the US government's approach be then? Well, of course I'm concerned about future action. I'm concerned about the impact on workers taking that action. For those of you who are watching, you know, if people taking industrial action really is a last resort because you end up losing a day's pay if you take that action. I would want to see an approach that allows settlements to be reached through negotiation, not having artificial barriers in the way of that. I don't want to see an approach from the UK Treasury that allows real and meaningful negotiations to take place. The approach that the UK Treasury takes will have a real impact on all public services right across the UK. I was concerned when the Chief Secretary of the Treasury yesterday said that there wouldn't be the ability to match inflation in those pay reviews and negotiations that are due to take place. I just think that when there's so much that is going to be difficult for the future of the country, so much that is in the UK government's gift and ability to do something about it, they couldn't should spend more time on doing something to resolve problems rather than see them carry on and stoke the flames into the future. Here in Wales we'll continue to have an open approach with trade union partners, businesses and public services will be entirely open about the budget available to us and what that means for the negotiations that will take place. But the future looks very difficult and that is a future that is being deliberately created by the UK government. Thank you, Adrian. I've now got Dan Davis from the BBC. Thanks Minister. Do you think the 7% pay rise at the RMT is seeking for its members is fair and reasonable? Well, I'm not involved in the dispute as you know because there isn't a dispute here in Wales. As I said, I completely support the right for workers to organise in trade unions to take action and put in pay claims. And you yourself and every other working person watching this will be look at their own pay packet and the rising costs of inflation. And of course, the cleaners and others who are taking industrial action today have seen as I said earlier an industry that generated half a billion pounds in profit last year. I think the responsible approach is to encourage people to come back to the table to work through what is possible and what is achievable and to have an open approach that aims to resolve the dispute rather than to prolong it. That's the approach you could expect to take place here in Wales with a focus on resolving matters in partnership, not an approach that seeks to promote conflict at every opportunity. I mean the Welsh Government is also a big employer and there are unions in the health service, for example, who say that their members need an inflation proof or above inflation pay rises. It's very likely that there'll be other services, other unions will be saying the same thing for their members. How likely is that to happen or how likely is it that we'll see disputes and industrial action in the public services that the Welsh Government is ultimately responsible for? Well, as I said in response to Adrian earlier, the reality is that if the UK Treasury take an approach where they're not prepared to provide the resource for inflation related pay rises, that means there is real difficulty for all of us, we'll be entirely open and honest with trade unions about what is possible to do in each and every one of our areas and we'll be focused on getting people into a negotiating position where everyone understands what really is achievable and possible. That's not the approach that we're seeing from the UK Government. There is a really unpleasant relish that you can see from UK ministers in talking up the prospects of a dispute and taking one side within this. That won't be the approach that people take here in Wales in the Welsh Government. As I say, we'll be honest, we'll be straight and we'll work in social partnership as we have done, as I have done in my ministerial life, in my previous role, and in this one we'll encourage people to find a negotiated answer, the best possible answer for workers and the public that they serve. I've now got Sean Barry from Wales Online. Thanks, Minister. Can we just talk about some of the support you've announced for young people hoping to become entrepreneurs? Do you think a logical step would be the funding side of the ledger and the potential, maybe, for the development of Bank of Wales, which you have to create a dedicated entrepreneurship fund for young people under 25, whether that's debt or equity? You mentioned some of the economic data concerns around economic connectivity. What are your thoughts on the great resignation? No skilled people in the Welsh workforce who are invaluable who have just left the workforce and there are no immediate signs of their return. How do you encourage those people to come back into the Welsh workforce? We should be a key factor in improving productivity. Okay, there are two things. The first is, we're always interested in what the development man can do to support Welsh Government priorities and helping to build a fairer and greener economy. I'm interested in your idea, but actually the outline of your idea isn't one of the things I can comment on in detail today about whether that's the right thing to do. We have regular conversations with the Development Bank of Wales. What we're doing today is the direct support that we can provide and support, not just in the financial terms, but of course the business support and advice to both generate an idea, to see it start, and then the ongoing support through that crucial first year. On your second point about the loss of skilled workers, it's an obvious concern. One of the things about the position we find ourselves in is that we have more vacancies than available labour at present and that's why I mentioned economic inactivity. People have left the workforce and I am particularly concerned about the fact that those will be often skilled and experienced workers who have left. So part of what we're looking to do is to see how we can help to support people to return to the workplace even if it's on reduced hours or different hours, because the loss of those skills and experience is important, not just the overall economy, but actually for younger workers who could look to learn from those more experienced operatives. And there is just a general problem and a challenge in getting enough skilled labour. It's also part of the reason why the loss of a billion pounds of funding from Europe really does matter. The fact that hasn't been replaced will directly affect our ability to provide the sort of skills support we would otherwise want to have. And I was meeting earlier today with the visitor economy forum and they were very clear, they need more people available for work and they want to be able to invest in the skills of those people to make sure they've got a healthy and thriving sector for the future. I don't know if Sean has a follow-up question but... Oh yeah, I was just going to ask you about Newport Welfare, that's now subject to an investigation by Bayes under the new Security and Investment Act. I mean Mr, would you have any concerns about a key asset in the wider compound semiconductor class of the south Wales being continuing to be in Chinese ownership? Well, rather than asking the question from a pejorative point of view, I think the important thing is that there needs to be certainty. The UKM have had a long time to investigate the national security aspects of this and of course the company you refer to also own Waip of Fab production units in the rest of the UK as well. What needs to happen is there needs to be a choice made so there's certainty, not just for this business but for the wider cluster, because people do rely on each other in the cluster. There are challenges about how investment choices are made, so I'll be certainty on a decision. I want to then see that people can then make investment choices in the future with real confidence about who they're doing business with and why. Now, I'm not privy to all of the national security considerations that the UK government are considering, but given the length of time they've had to look at this, I really do hope we can swiftly reach a resolution because this compound semiconductor cluster is important not just for Wales but in UK terms as well. I want to see certainty, I want to see a strategy for the future with DCMS having taken a long time on designing a strategy around this, because this is an area that I expect to grow in importance and value. These are good jobs, I want to see more of them come to Wales, and we stand ready to help support businesses as we have them in the past, but we really do need certainty and an actual decision to be made by the UK government rather than kicking the can further down the road. Thank you, Sean. The next person is Tom Magdeff from Carersworld Live. Thank you very much indeed minister. Can I ask my first question to you as a former health minister? From that role you will be aware that unpaid carers have rights to needs assessment under the Social Services Wellbeing Wales Act, but yet I'm hearing from increasing numbers of views to Carersworld Live for telling me they've been poorly treated by local authorities across Wales. What intervention do you believe the Welsh government should make to ensure that unpaid carers have the highest priority for prompt, accurate and compassionate needs assessment in local authorities? The starting point is that local authorities need to meet their statutory obligations, and there is an obligation. It's not a choice where you can undertake a carer assessment if you feel like it, there's an obligation to do that. Not just then meeting the statutory obligation to undertake the assessment, the point you made about the compassion and the understanding for it to be a real assessment of the needs of those carers. Now I understand that local authorities themselves are under a range of pressures, but actually this duty that we've introduced is to try to make sure that the value of the contribution of unpaid carers is not just recognised but supported, because if that contribution falls away there will be even more pressure on statutory services. So if you wanted to provide examples that you've got Tom then I'm sure that the ministerial team in health and social service would be interested in that and look to have useful conversations with officials in both the Welsh government and indeed in local authorities where you identify there to be a challenge. Thank you very much indeed for that offer, we'll certainly be taking that up. Could I just ask you now as economy minister, given that 96% of care across Wales is provided by unpaid carers, would you agree with me that if all unpaid carers have the needs assessments that are required and had the resulting support in place, the Welsh economy would be all the better for that? Well I think successfully supporting unpaid carers both helps with public services, it should help with the care that people provide and people's lived experience, to live a fulfilling life and I also do think that would make a positive difference for the economy. The challenge as you've identified in your first question is making sure that those assessments are undertaken, making sure they're properly undertaken, that the care of themselves have the support that they need to carry on with their unpaid care contribution and it's almost always for a loved one, a friend or a member of the family, they don't want to give up those caring responsibilities, they want to be supported to undertake and that of course makes a big difference for the loved one that they're actually caring for. That's why this measure was introduced many years ago, when I was at the start of my time as a Senate member, I was still a backbencher, that's when the legislation got passed, so we want to see this embedded, so it's no longer a point of dispute and misunderstanding, it's an expectation from all sides because we recognise the value this will provide for everyone. I hope that deals with the question, Tom, and I'm sure ministers and health and services look forward to your correspondence for any examples as you indicated you would do. Thank you. Many thanks Tom, I think that brings matters to a close for today, I look forward to seeing you in the future.