Eluned Morgan’s forty-sixth session as first minister comes to a close.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Conservative Paul Davies accuses the Welsh government of failing to tackle bovine TB (tuberculosis) and calls for it to be dealt with "holistically" in wildlife as well as cattle.

He says "yesterday a constituent [Preseli Pembrokeshire] told me that since 2021 they have been forced to cull a total of 417 cows due to bovine TB breakdowns. They said that each cow represents years of careful breeding, financial investment and emotional commitment. They are the foundation of their dairy business and way of life, yet year after year, they face the consequences of a policy approach that is clearly failing. Farmers are struggling with their mental health, and some are leaving the industry. The failure to tackle this awful disease sits on the shoulders of the Welsh government."

Eluned Morgan says "I know it's heart-breaking for farmers who see their years of efforts being wiped out by this disease, and it's particularly heart-breaking when they've got calves. All of that is, I know, causing a lot of emotional distress for farmers. What we've done is to set up the TB advisory group, which is expert led, has representatives from the farming community on it."

The Welsh Labour government has continuously rejected calls from Welsh farming unions to introduce badger culling as a strategy to reduce bovine TB in cattle and wildlife.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Plaid Cymru's Adam Price asks "what discussions has the first minister had with the prime minister regarding the UK government's attitude towards devolution for Wales?"

Eluned Morgan replies "we don’t agree on everything and I’ve been upfront about where Wales expects stronger progress. But the difference now is that those conversations are happening seriously, and they are already delivering results. We’ve secured constructive engagement on youth justice, we've changed the way that funding is used, we've spoken about the probation and regional investment, and we continue to press firmly for decisions about Wales to be made in Wales."

Adam Price says "when the prime minister came to Ely, he said he was a big believer in devolution, and you know what? I actually believe him. The trouble was, what he didn't go on to say, is that he's a big believer in devolution for England. I mean, look at the 'take control back' Act; it's giving powers over skills and transport to energy to English mayors; they're probably putting the phone calls in as well. He's listening to them, and he's ignoring you, because as your colleagues have said, giving powers to England, devolving powers in England, and rolling back the devolution settlement in Wales, and as things currently stand - maybe you're the last person to understand this - this UK Labour leader is going to lose Wales."

On a visit to Ely in Cardiff last Friday, the prime minister denied claims made in a letter from several backbench Labour MSs that he was rolling back devolution by bypassing ministers in the Senedd to make decisions for Wales.

Image source, Downing Street

Independent MS Rhys ab Owen says pensioners from a plant in Cardiff who lost their pensions when it went bust in 2002 "have been failed by successive UK governments".

He says, "in 2002, when ASW collapsed, 1,000 hard-working men and women not only lost their jobs, but they lost their security and their future. Over 23 years after that, these same workers, now in their 70s and their 80s, are still fighting. Fighting for justice, fighting for the pensions they earned, the pensions they were promised, with full compensation. That is what is needed, full compensation that takes into account inflation and the realities of life."

Eluned Morgan says "former workers at ASW still continue to face pension injustice. Like many members in this Siambr, we've raised this issue with the current and previous UK governments. The finance secretary [Mark Drakeford] wrote to the pension secretary last week."

Workers from Allied Steel and Wire got 90% of their pensions back, but that has been eroded because payments are not linked to rising prices.

Pension protections were strengthened after the Maxwell Scandal, when newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell stole more than £400m from the pension funds of his Mirror newspaper group to prop up his ailing businesses.

His pensioners lost half of what they had paid in.

As a result of his action, the Financial Assistance Scheme was set up as a safety net to protect pensioners when the companies they worked for went bust.

Image source, Getty Images

Plaid Cymru MS Heledd Fychan raises concerns about the "response times to requests for homes to be adapted for people diagnosed with motor neuron disease and similar health conditions".

Eluned Morgan replies, "timely home adaptations can make a huge difference to someone living with MND, not just in terms of their safety, but also their dignity and independence. That's why we've worked with every local authority to overhaul the system, simplifying pathways, cutting duplication, and speeding up decision making so that people aren't waiting months for essential changes to their home."

Heledd Fychan refers to Kyle Sieniawski, 14, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, who died on 27 November, after being diagnosed less than a year ago with MND.

She says the "reality for this family [was] having to battle at a time when they should have been able to focus solely on spending every second possible with Kyle. The 'Unlock the door' report by the MND Association calls for accessible housing to be made available urgently to people with MND and suggests specific actions, including training and education for staff, to enable a swift, consistent and appropriate pathway and register of accessible social housing."

What is MND?

MND is a relatively rare condition which is most common in people over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.

A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300, according to the MND Association, external.

MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.

Source: NHS, external

Image source, Family handout

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth asks Eluned Morgan why she didn't join the 11 Labour Senedd politicians who accused the Labour UK government of rolling back devolution by bypassing ministers in Cardiff Bay to make decisions in Wales.

"Did she lack the courage, or does she take Keir Starmer's side?" he asks.

A letter signed by most of Labour's backbench in the Senedd accused Sir Keir Starmer's government of a "constitutional outrage" by announcing a scheme which will give cash to councils for town centre improvements.

Eluned Morgan replies, "I don't need to write a letter to Keir Starmer, I pick up the phone to him, and that is something that's very different from what anybody else in this chamber can do. That is the difference between having a Labour government in Westminster and a Tory government in Westminster, who wouldn't pick up the phone. Now, nobody should be surprised that members of our group feel very strongly about the need to stand up for devolution. This is something that they feel strongly about, it's something that I feel strongly about. We are the party of devolution—we introduced devolution. And I've made it clear, time and time again, that devolution should be respected. I'm really pleased that the Labour government has honoured its commitment through ensuring that power over the local growth fund is returned to Wales."

Rhun ap Iorwerth adds, "she didn't sign the letter about the UK government meddling in devolved affairs, but suggests that she told Keir Starmer that. It must be that she has no influence at all over Keir Starmer."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, says the "situation in the Welsh NHS really does stink".

He explains, "it seems that every time someone raises concerns about wrongdoing, they seem to end up out of a job. We've seen this at Velindre, with a chief exec forced out of his position after whistleblowing about potential criminality. The chair at the same NHS trust is no longer in her position after she wrote to the Welsh government about governance concerns with a £14 million contract. She did not serve the full eight years that chairs usually do. In north Wales, and you'll remember this because you were the cabinet secretary for health at the time, you sacked all of the non-executive board members at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board after they uncovered evidence of false accounting, collusion with suppliers, and the falsification of purchase orders. It absolutely stinks. Do you really expect the public and Members of this Senedd to believe that there is no coincidence that a chief exec, a chair, and a team of non-executives in two health boards have lost their positions after raising such concerns?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "in relation to any allegations of criminality, what's important is that they follow the appropriate measures to do that, so they need to make sure that they get in touch with the appropriate mechanisms within the NHS or the police and those will be investigated. We've done our own internal investigation. If there's any additional proof that you or anyone else can bring forward, then do it. But we've looked at this and the appropriate authorities have looked at it, and I think it's important now that we look at the broader issue of performance, and productivity and accountability. And you'll be aware, Darren, that this was something that I set up when I was health Secretary—a task and finish ministerial advisory group, and that did report and we are putting forward now and implementing the recommendations of that group."

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) is an independent mutual organisation, owned and directed by NHS Wales. It was set up on 1st April 2011 "to provide a range of high quality, customer-focused professional, technical and administrative services on behalf of all Health Boards and Trusts in NHS Wales".

Velindre’s own 2024/25 annual report, external notes that the trust "escalated concerns to Audit Wales and Welsh Government about the current governance of Shared Services which hadn’t been reviewed since 2012. Recent discussions with Welsh Government, Audit Wales and hosted services have highlighted the Trust’s view that they need to significantly strengthen the assurance process the Trust undertakes on an ongoing basis and to inform the completion of future Annual Reports."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Llywydd Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister.

Conservative Mark Isherwood says the Welsh government has not investigated care home deaths during the Covid pandemic.

He says, "Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru advise that when they met the then First Minister Mark Drakeford, in August 2022, he offered to investigate all Covid care home deaths in Wales. Having repeatedly chased this, they were advised that there would be no investigation after all, and, instead, a good practice guide for the care home sector had been produced. When, in light of module 6 of the UK Covid-19 inquiry, they followed up on the efficacy of this form, and what had been learned, responding correspondence stated instead that Welsh government does not collect feedback on the guide, the guidance is advisory, and care home providers may use it at their discretion."

First Minister Eluned Morgan says the Covid public inquiry "has recently reported on module 2B, which gave an insight into how we dealt with it in Wales. There's a specific module in relation to care homes, and that clearly hasn't reported yet. So, there will be recommendations that come out of that, and the Welsh government will clearly need to respond to those in due course."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eluned Morgan’s forty-sixth session of First Minister's Questions, and the penultimate of 2025.

The Siambr (Senedd chamber) has closed for renovations until March 2026, as work is underway on altering it to accommodate the 96 Members who will be chosen in the next Senedd election in May 2026.

So the 60 MSs are meeting in Siambr Hywel, the original debating chamber that housed the then National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2006.

The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in Siambr Hywel and others joining by video-conference.

You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings from 1.30pm.