Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for enterprise on the ongoing situation at Kepak in Merthyr Tydfil? Kepak is Wales's largest meat processing plant and they began a consultation that could see the loss of up to 85 jobs. For years, the farming industry and the wider rural industry have warned Governments what would happen if their pleas for increased production were ignored and not made a priority. Now, herd numbers are falling, confidence is collapsing and Welsh workers are paying the price. It's absolutely vital the Welsh Government does all it can to save these jobs in Merthyr. Every one of these jobs supports families, the wider community and local businesses in our constituency. Losing them will be a blow not just to Merthyr, but to Wales's entire food production sector. Diolch.
Contributions
63 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 2 of 2. Counted by Siambr
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Thank you for your statement—[Interruption.] There we go. How is that? Thank you. Thank you for your statement, Minister. These improvements to north-south travel are long overdue. Your announcements today are a small but very important step to fixing that, but these 100-day commitments that we've heard so much about are nothing to boast out. For this coach service to be genuinely able to deliver for residents and boost the local economy, it must be operational, it must be frequent and it must be dependable at all times of the day. Minister, you say you're working on a single platform for booking and planning journeys, but this will not be of any use if coaches, trains and buses only run every two hours or are delayed. So, can you guarantee that a service residents can count on will be put in place, in time, by the end of the year? Can you guarantee that there are back-ups available should mechanical failure happen or any unforeseen instances with the vehicles? And how are timetables being matched with other transport services, such as trains and the wider bus network? But, of course, reliability of the infrastructure alone isn't enough. Even the best service will fail if people simply can't afford to use it. Plaid likes to pretend that Reform opposes green transport, but the truth is that we simply don't. We support a transport system that is reliable, affordable and works for Welsh people. A north-south service could be a genuine alternative to the car if it's affordable for families, if it's affordable for students, and if it's priced to support jobs, tourism and economic growth across Wales. There's one word missing from your statement, and that word is 'affordability'. You never told us what this service will cost, what Welsh people will need to pay to use it. So, can you tell us what fare levels are being considered for this service, and will you guarantee family tickets and group discounts from day 1, so that this service is full of passengers and not just full of empty promises? Frankly, today exposes a much bigger problem for Wales. While countries across Europe are investing in modern rail networks that drive growth, connect labour markets and drive investment, Wales is still talking about coaches. In Switzerland, they built the Gotthard base tunnel that connected the north and the south. It cut journey times, it shifted freight onto rail and it turned fragmented regions into single functioning labour markets. Plaid Cymru talks about ambition for Wales, but today's statement tells a very different story. It's a story of a fragmented Wales economy and a celebration of the status quo, which is limited to the equivalent of Dave's Coaches. Now, Minister, coaches won't transform the economy, infrastructure does. So, Minister, what conversations have you had surrounding major north-south rail infrastructure projects? Is that something that Plaid is completely ruling out? What assessment has been made of the economic impact of this coach service? And why is Plaid's answer to Wales's greatest infrastructure challenges 'more buses'? It certainly won't solve the M4 relief road in the south and it certainly won't solve the economic challenges. The country wants you to build. Finally, I'd like to link this to our ports. For generations, our ports have been gateways to Welsh trade, Welsh businesses and Welsh jobs. The port of Holyhead alone handles 4.8 million tonnes of freight every year, making it Wales's principal gateway for trade with Ireland. Every lorry, every ferry and every business that relies on that port is a reminder of the economic opportunity that's sitting on our very doorstep, yet your flagship north-south service doesn't even reach it; it stops at Bangor. That tells us everything we need to know about this Government's ambition: big on announcements, big on the press release, very short on delivery. If you're serious about growing the north Wales economy, supporting businesses and creating jobs, why would you stop miles short of one of Wales's most important economic gateways? Will you commit today to extending this service to Holyhead, and in the south to Fishguard, with a funded timetable for delivery? Or is this another example where a Government talks about connecting Wales while leaving the very places that create jobs and economic growth disconnected? Diolch.
- Not timed: the Record publishes no broadcast time for this contribution, so Siambr cannot place it on the stage.
8. Pa drafodaethau y mae'r Gweinidog Cabinet wedi'u cael gyda'r Gweinidog Cabinet dros Iechyd a Gofal ynglŷn â sut mae cyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer 2026-27 yn cefnogi gwasanaethau rheng flaen? OQ64191
Official English translation
8. What discussions has the Cabinet Minister had with the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care regarding how the Welsh Government's budget for 2026-27 supports front-line services? OQ64191
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Thank you for the answer. Back in January, the now First Minister boasted that Plaid Cymru had secured £300 million of additional funding for front-line services and put the next Welsh Government 'on a firmer footing'. In the mini-budget yesterday, you diverted millions away from the most vulnerable in our society—those being children with additional learning needs—and refused to acknowledge that councils and schools across our country, like mine in Merthyr, are being pushed further into the red because of rising ALN demand. Minister, it's clear that this Plaid mini-budget is an exercise in misaligned priorities and I'm beginning to lose track of Plaid Cymru's uncosted promises. How will you balance a £1 billion ALN spend with promises such as the third Menai crossing and a £587 million childcare offer that hasn't been fully costed yet, all while protecting front-line services? Are you an economic magician, or are you storing up bad news for budgets yet to come? Diolch.
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Diolch, Lywydd. Minister, thank you for your statement. It is pretty clear to us today that Plaid Cymru have raided Wales's capital emergency fund, putting our economy's resilience at risk. You said today in your statement that you believe you have a mandate from the people of Wales for this, but I don't recall that being discussed prior to the election. You will recall, however, just how vague Plaid Cymru were on their costings prior to the election. Despite repeated calls subsequent to that, we still don't know the cost of your flagship policies, so any mandate, I'm afraid, is wafer thin. In the past few years, major storms have swept through Wales and lives have been ruined, businesses have been lost and jobs have been lost as a result. Instead of building on the £121 million that you had at the final budget, Plaid have left just £3 million in case of emergencies, without going into the Wales reserve. This money isn't for Plaid's ideological projects, it's for the protection of Wales during an emergency event. Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr residents in my constituency have been flooded time and time again. So, Minister, if Wales faces another disastrous storm this winter, will you meet the affected constituents to tell them that you've spent the money specifically earmarked for resilience and recovery and for the protection of Wales? Will you tell them face to face that you've spent that elsewhere? Can you guarantee that if a national disaster or pandemic hit tomorrow you have left Welsh finances strong enough to survive it? Diolch.
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Diolch, Lywydd. Can I just say, first of all, I'm deeply disappointed that some Members have left the Chamber today, and it just goes to show, I think, for those constituents that voted for those Members that when the debate gets tough, they get gone, and that is absolutely shameful for the people that voted for them. So, allow me to be absolutely clear on what today's debate is about. Now, our motion is not about Reform wanting to pull up the drawbridge on the rest of the world. In fact, we need the rest of the world to realise the economic potential that we have here. This debate is about one very simple principle: Welsh taxpayers' money should always be spent in Wales on Welsh people. It is that simple. There is a UK Government budget for foreign spending to the tune of £13 billion, and many of the achievements that you just reeled off there, Minister, are as a direct result of that foreign investment. None of those were accomplished as a result of this Senedd planting a tree in Uganda, I can promise you that. All we hear here is there's not enough money for schools, there's not enough money for hospitals, not enough money for councils, and our roads are sometimes like driving on the surface of the moon. Yet, somehow, when it comes to overseas schemes, offices, vanity projects and the like, this Government always manages to bust open the chequebook. I thank the Members who we've heard from today, some who set out very clearly why they believe this spending should end. Now, at a time when our children are struggling to learn to read, people are sick and getting treated in hospital corridors, we believe that Welsh taxpayers' money should be spent on directly improving those aspects of life in Wales. We heard from Cai, who made the point that this is about priorities, and he's absolutely right. It's very easy for Labour and Plaid to stand up and say that this is only a small percentage of our budget. But that is not an argument. Indeed, it is just going to show that you've completely lost sight of the value of a taxpayer pound. People in our constituencies up and down this country go to work every day, and they contribute each and every hard-earned pound, and it is on us to spend that pound diligently for their benefit. Now, just imagine what that money could do for Wales. Millions of pounds, as has already been said, could be spent on millions of additional free school meals, could be spent to fix the roads. Iain and Andrew raised how our towns and villages are declining, while international offices remain open. Now, how is that prioritising the people of Wales? Then we heard, of course, from Plaid, the ones that were still here. Anybody who thinks that Welsh taxpayers' money should be spent in Wales is an isolationist, which is quite ironic, given the position that the party wants to take on independence. Ending international spending doesn't mean we can't foster positive relations or encourage investment for our businesses. I'll remind Members that the UK maintains £13.5 billion of spending a year. There is a lot of confusion here, I think, between what this Senedd has devolved responsibility for versus what the UK Government has responsibility for. This is about Senedd spending. So, this is a party that (a) wants to undo Brexit, (b) wants to take us out of the United Kingdom, and they have the gall to call others isolationists. A party that spreads division between us and England. And again, I note in the Minister's response, not once did I hear the words, 'United Kingdom', which tells us everything that you need to know. So, financially reckless abroad, while pushing grievance politics at home, they're a party full of excuses and empty promises. They always blame Westminster. It's always unfair, and I'm sure HS2 funding will solve a lot of this country's ills, but we have to be based in realism. Now, what we're saying is: we do have the money, but we have to prioritise Welsh people and Welsh businesses. The truth is, as we've seen today, a lot of the Plaid Members are addicted to performative politics. This standout that we've seen today just goes to show that. They love the press release. They love the empty slogan. They love telling everyone how compassionate they are. But true compassion has to begin at home with Welsh people. And that’s what today’s motion is about: looking after our families, looking after our communities, and looking after our country. We have to allow those abroad to look after themselves while we in Wales are still struggling up and down the country. That’s why people are voting for Reform. That’s why Labour has crumbled. That’s why the Tories have vanished at a UK level, and why Plaid will fall flat during this term. They are sick of this Government, already obsessed with international vanity projects. They want a Government that fixes the NHS, supports businesses and puts Welsh communities first. Plaid Cymru call themselves the party of Wales, and today they have the chance to prove it: back Reform’s motion, end Welsh Government international spending and put Wales first. Diolch.
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Trefnydd, can we have a statement from the Cabinet Minister for enterprise on the decision by Marshall Land Systems to relocate its operations to Merthyr Tydfil? At a time of heightened global tensions, and with instability and indecision on defence spending rising in Westminster, Wales must play its part in continuing to support Britain's defence industry and seek opportunities such as this to expand our manufacturing base across Wales. This investment is a major vote of confidence in Merthyr and south Wales, bringing skilled jobs and long-term opportunities to a deprived area. The Welsh Government must ensure that Welsh workers and businesses benefit fully, and go further by positioning Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, alongside neighbouring Valleys, as a hub for defence and advanced manufacturing, driving high-skilled jobs and much-needed investment. Diolch.
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Cabinet Minister, around 32 per cent of children in Merthyr Tydfil are growing up in poverty. That's one of the highest rates in Wales, and this is after 27 years of a Labour Government propped up by Plaid. Meanwhile, life expectancy in our Valleys and communities remains far below the Welsh average. Minister, health is indeed wealth. If parents are stuck on waiting lists, living with chronic illness or struggling with poor mental health, families are far more likely to remain trapped in poverty. How are you working across portfolios as part of a wider Government strategy to tackle child poverty, especially in areas like Pontypridd and Merthyr? Diolch.
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Could I just ask you to read back what the original statement was that you're responding to, please? The motion. Thank you.
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Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Minister for enterprise on the delays to Tata Steel's electric arc furnace? Workers at the site were promised certainty, they were promised a bright green future and that Welsh steel making would be secured. We remember these promises well. Instead, thousands of jobs have disappeared. A few weeks ago, the leader of the opposition and I visited the site and were told that all was well. But, this week, we hear that the electricity grid is not ready and that Port Talbot now faces months more of disruption and delay. Politicians rushed headfirst into net zero without thinking about the consequences or the transition. As usual, the people left paying are the communities up and down this country of ours. The old parties, Labour and the Tories, have failed the workers at Tata. They should be hanging their heads in shame. The Welsh Government must act fast to ensure that jobs at Tata and up and down the supply chain are protected during this disruption. The future of Welsh steel making depends on it. Diolch.
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Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you for the statement, Minister. But if I can start just by responding to Janet. There were a lot of sound bites in that statement, Janet, and you really shouldn't talk Wales down so much. You really shouldn't. [Laughter.] But back to the statement itself. Road infrastructure should be an absolute top priority for this Government. From Newport to Llandudno, Wales is full of economic potential, but it needs a transport network that can actually unleash that potential. Now, if we take the A55, which has been discussed quite widely today, the economic backbone of north Wales, it's used every day by hundreds of thousands of commuters and hauliers carrying freight between Chester and Holyhead, but it's being held back by congestion bottlenecks and tinkering at the edges of what needs to be a long-term solution in that area. When the A55 stalls, north Wales stalls, businesses lose out, productivity is hit, and Wales's economy takes a hit as well as a result. Signalling upgrades of variable speed limits will not be enough, and, while Plaid offer patch-job fixes, Reform back proper road-building solutions. Minister, will you confirm if you intend to widen the A55 where appropriate, and, if not, can you guarantee that what you've proposed in this statement will be enough to match the economic benefit that Reform are planning with widening the A55? Also, the Minister is right to recognise that the Menai crossings operate as a system, but that system is already under clear and growing strain. Now we welcome proposals such as wind deflectors on the Britannia bridge and improved traffic management on the A55. These are sensible, practical steps to manage immediate disruption. As we said last week, we will back sensible solutions where we see them. But these are short-term mitigations. They're not the long-term solutions that our economy demands. Now when either crossing is restricted, the impact is immediate and severe across the whole of north Wales. An entire community of 70,000 people are cut off. Community, freight and businesses are punished as a result. So, whilst it's welcome that the Government is now beginning work on options for a third Menai crossing, can the Minister be clear: what timelines do you have regarding that work, and how will they ensure that motorists and businesses using the crossings will face the least possible disruption in the meantime? And finally, if I can return to the M4 relief road, which I know will be widely discussed not only up til now, but during the entirety of this Senedd, it's key to a better connected, stronger economy for Wales. Now, hundreds of thousands of vehicles use the M4 around Newport daily, countless business leaders have called for a relief road to be built, and yet Plaid today offers plans for plans in this statement, despite having, for years, not come up with a firm solution. Motorists have been stuck with a Plaid-backed Labour Government that's been tough on motorists and soft on infrastructure for the last 27 years. They pushed excessive 20 mph speed limits, slowing down the Welsh economy, wasted £150 million of taxpayers' money on cancelled plans for the M4 relief road. Now, Minister, many motorists are waiting with bated breath to see how this new Government will treat motorists. So, what are your actual specific plans for a 'road-based solution', whatever that means? How much will it cost? When will you deliver on your pre-election promises? Because your statement was severely lacking in details, and that is becoming a hallmark of this Plaid Government early on. Reform will hold you to account on the M4 relief road, and when you fail to deliver your roads-based solution, we stand by, ready with a costed, credible and concrete plan, ready to execute for the people of Wales. Diolch.
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Thank you for your statement, Minister, and congratulations on your appointment. I have to relay my initial concern about the direction of the Welsh economy if the answer to the challenges that we're being presented with is to bring back a failed Welsh development agency. History tells us that it was another unnecessary bureaucratic quango that was linked to illegally inflated redundancy payments, where directors flew first class around the world while communities across Wales were left behind. And this—this—is Plaid's answer to the economic decay that infects our towns and valleys. The same model, the same results, not even new branding. The Welsh Development Agency did, indeed, create some jobs, but it also created a hollowed-out Welsh economy that enabled the easy transit of organisations out of the country. When it became cheaper to operate elsewhere, foreign companies left and they took thousands of high-skill jobs with them. Between 1998 and 2008, Wales lost 171 foreign-owned sites, around 31,000 jobs. Still now, Wales suffers weak productivity, low wages and significant economic underperformance compared to the rest of the UK. And while Wales has just one FTSE 100 company, Welsh businesses are closing at an alarming rate. And that is the WDA legacy. Perhaps that's what they talk about in Boston, but Reform would do things differently. No additional bloated quangos, no new layers of bureaucracy and no abdication of ministerial responsibility to unnamed and unaccountable civil servants. Reform would put Welsh business at the heart of everything we do. We would leverage the tax system to create the environment in which companies, directors, entrepreneurs and risk takers succeed, cutting barriers to relocation, speeding up planning approvals and reducing regulatory burden, making Wales genuinely competitive and attractive for investment. And that is the difference a Reform government would make. Now, Minister, let's talk about our high streets. Across Wales, illegal shops masquerading as businesses are polluting our high streets. In Caerphilly, we saw a car wash exposed as a people-smuggling network worth millions. Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir illegally organised the smuggling of thousands of migrants into Europe. And, Minister, your leader might not believe illegal immigration exists, but our communities up and down this country will tell you it does. And it affects every single one of us, whether you want to admit it or not. Even in my own constituency, shops have sold illegal tobacco and vapes to children while openly displaying drug paraphernalia in shop windows sold as cultural ornaments. Reform will put an end to this black economy. Reform will put genuine Welsh businesses first and work with the UK Government to stamp out criminality on our high streets. So, Minister, I challenge you today: take action and show that Plaid will not ignore what their own eyes are telling them. Minister, how will you and your Government work with local police and the Home Office to crack down on criminal enterprises masquerading as legitimate businesses, harming the genuine Welsh economy? Finally, let me turn to the subject of energy. Welsh households are being hammered by rising energy bills due to foreign conflicts. This we all know. Where this Government or the previous Government gets this right, you will have our full support, as has been seen with the SMR project at Wylfa, which will power thousands of homes, create jobs and boost energy security in Wales. Yet, Plaid’s answer is once again to put ideology over the people you are meant to serve. In your 74-page manifesto, not once do you mention the word 'nuclear'. Instead of embracing the opportunity in front of you, Plaid prioritise green ideology over affordability and energy security. The US and the world's major superpowers are all forging ahead with their own high-spec SMR projects at historic rates, yet Wales, again, is suffering delay after delay with a Government that only has plans for plans and nothing that can be measured or delivered—no plan for childcare, your flagship policy; no plan for the economy; and no plan for a brighter, more prosperous Wales. So, with that in mind, where does Plaid really stand on the energy issue? Because Reform, to be clear, backs nuclear. Minister, you once said that nuclear was the wrong answer for Wales. Do you stand by this and does your party stand by this? How does opposing nuclear power help families in Wales struggling to pay their energy bills or secure energy security? And why should businesses invest in this country of ours, bringing jobs and prosperity, when your Government isn't clear about what it believes in and how you will achieve it? Diolch.
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Thank you for today's statement from the First Minister, and congratulations on your appointment. We wish you well. I would like to address one of the many Plaid Cymru elephants in the room today. One of your MSs, now elected in the Senedd, previously said that she hates the English, and I quote, 'as a race, as people, as a country'. Do you stand by these comments, and what are you and your party going to do to ensure that this anti-English, xenophobic sentiment is rooted out and stopped? Diolch.
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Dan Thomas.
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Sources
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