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

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Former Labour minister Mick Antoniw seeks a statement on Welsh government support for community radio.

He says "all Welsh government public service advertising, as a matter of course, should be on community radio, because not only does it mean that information gets out into our communities, but it also improves the sustainability of our community radio".

Eluned Morgan says community radio "really matters" and "I'm really pleased that, through Creative Wales, we have awarded £100,000 last year to the Wales Community Radio Network, and we are trying to make sure that we know how best we can support these community radio stations that are so critical to our communities."

She adds, "when we spend money on advertising, the key test for us is simple: does it actually reach the people we need to reach, on top of whether it provides value for money? Community radio does reach audiences that national outlets often can't and don't reach".

Community radio was introduced to introduce a new tier of radio broadcasting in the UK, focused specifically on community engagement.

Stations are not for profit and focused on delivering social gain, working to build connections within the community and involve the community in running the service.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Getty Images

Plaid Cymru MS Peredur Owen Griffiths warns against being "complacent" that the horrific fire at the ski resort bar in Switzerland, where 40 people died on New Year's Eve, couldn't happen in Wales.

He says, "a part-time member of my staff, with over 40 years of experiences in the fire safety sector and the owner of a fire safety company, believes it's questionable whether all premises in Wales have been established, managed and maintained to provide a safe environment. This is particularly the case for events at venues that are occasionally used for such events. There is a case to be made that a regime of during-performance inspections should be reintroduced to provide enhanced safety. Is this something that you would consider? And has your government considered fire safety in the wake of the Swiss Alps tragedy?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "businesses here are subject to stringent regulation but, I take your point, if there's a temporary situation, then perhaps we need to make sure that that happens. I will ask officials to make sure that we look again at the situation in Wales if anything comes out of the findings of that fire in Switzerland."

The blaze at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana also left 116 people injured. Many of the victims were aged under 20.

The fire is believed to have been started by sparklers in champagne bottles raised too close to the ceiling during celebrations.

Authorities acknowledged that the bar in the popular ski resort had not undergone safety checks for five years.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Geograph/ Nigel Davies

Conservative Tom Giffard raises concerns about the discovery of carcinogenic forever chemicals at the former 3M factory in Gorseinon.

Eluned Morgan replies she was "extremely concerned" to hear the revelations of a BBC investigation.

She adds, "The Welsh government's priority is protecting public health and the environment. We're working with regulators to establish the facts surrounding such contamination, and will ensure appropriate actions will be taken."

Tom Giffard says, "some workers who did work there found themselves diagnosed later in life with cancer and are unsure at the moment as to whether this was linked to the presence of chemicals at the site. A 2006 storm caused the system containing the foam to release on site and travel into waterways, including the Afon Lliw, and onto the high street in Gorseinon as well. That may sound historic, but a 2023 study showed that the Afon Lliw still had perfluorooctanesulfonic acid levels 21,000 times above the recommended safe levels. That will cause an awful lot of concern, not just for workers at the site, but the wider community in Gorseinon as well."

Dozens of factory workers were exposed to toxic chemicals within firefighting foam over decades, BBC File on 4 Investigatesrevealed in December.

Multi-billion-pound US manufacturer, 3M, failed to tell employees at its Swansea site they were using foam containing two forever chemicals, now classed as carcinogenic, despite knowing for decades of the health risks.

The company said it would stop manufacturing the forever chemicals – so called because they persist in the environment – in 2002, but failed to remove them from the factory resulting in an environmental accident four years later.

3M has said that the health and safety of its workers and their families were "critical priorities" for the company.

The factory in Gorseinon, Swansea, opened in 1952 and for decades was 3M's largest outside of the US.

It employed more than 1,000 people from across south Wales to manufacture nappy fastenings and video tape.

In 2023, 3M made the decision to close the factory and applied for planning permission to redevelop the site.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth refers to a leaked document which Labour sent to all its 96 candidates for the 2026 Senedd election.

The document states "right now, Reform define the anger and Plaid define the hope. Our task is to do both better."

Rhun ap Iorwerth says, "that is a very accurate summary, is it not, of the current state of play? And I'm proud to lead a party offering hope when others seek to stoke anger and sow division. By their own admission, Labour have talked themselves into irrelevance, mismanagement of public services, distracting internal disputes, and so many missed opportunities to stand up to Westminster and demand fairness for our nation. Now, the Labour status quo is failing Wales, so why is the first minister so determined to defend it?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "I'm interested in hope. I'm not interested in fantasy, which is what we get from Plaid Cymru, and what we've heard from some of their ideas when it comes to the offer for the people of Wales. People don't want to see division. They don't want to hear Wales being continually talked down."

She says Labour has already made a "significant announcement" by pledging to cap single bus fares at £2 in Wales if it continues to lead the Welsh government after the election.

Rhun ap Iorwerth turns to "another example of Labour defending the status quo. Only last week when discussing the prospect of Wales assuming control over our railways, the Counsel General said 'I'm not sure we're wanting the devolution of it'. It's quite astonishing, isn't it? A system that has enabled the chronic underfunding of our railways by both Labour and Conservative governments, and where the idea of decisions about Welsh rail being made outside Wales is defended by a Welsh minister in a Labour Welsh government?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "I've made it clear that we want to see rail devolution, as advocated in the independent commission on devolution, but once again, what we're interested in is practicalities. What difference is it going to make to the people of Wales? If you don’t get the money alongside devolution, you are going to be cutting public services. That is not a situation that I'm prepared to accept. It may be that you are so hellbent on getting the powers without the finances that you'd be prepared to do that. I am not. I am not prepared to do that."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, says "at the turn of the century, six out of every ten 25 to 34-year-old owned their own home. But, since then, levels of home ownership amongst that age group have fallen dramatically by a third. Your Welsh Labour government, with the support of Plaid and the Liberal Democrats in the past, is responsible for this decline in Wales."

He calls again for land transaction tax (LTT) to be scrapped.

The Conservatives will scrap the Welsh version of stamp duty on the purchase of main homes should they win next May's Senedd election, he says, to get the housing market and economy moving, and to allow people "to achieve their dream of owning their own home".

UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch surprised her party's conference in October by announcing the policy for England and Northern Ireland.

Eluned Morgan replies, "I can't believe that the Tories are picking on Labour on housing, of all things".

She says "most people don't pay stamp duty, so you're obviously focusing on the richest parts of our community. Once again, it's the old Tory approach to the economy. I'll tell you what stops people from buying their own homes, it's high interest rates - and my god they went high under Liz Truss and all of the other government leaders that you had over 14 years. What we've got now is interest rates going down, inflation going down, wages rising faster than prices, energy prices coming down."

Stamp duty has been controlled by the Welsh government since the Conservatives handed over the power to Labour ministers in 2018.

Main residential tax rates have not changed in Wales since 2022, external. Currently homes worth up to £225,000 pay no LTT, while those who buy a home worth £225,000 to £400,000 pay 6%.

Above £400,000 to £750,000, the rate is 7.5%, and higher rates are charged for more expensive properties.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour's Carolyn Thomas seeks a statement on the Royal Alexandra Hospital development, following the granting of planning permission.

She says the development, "now we've got some grant funding from the UK Labour government, capital funding, we've got this window of opportunity, should be a priority for the Welsh government".

Eluned Morgan replies that the Welsh government has received the Royal Alexandra Hospital business case, and it is currently going through the scrutiny process.

She explains, "I'm more than aware of how important this is to the people of the community. The business case for the first phase for the Royal Alex has been submitted to us. Planning permission, as you say, has already been granted, but there are some outstanding scrutiny points that are being discussed with the Betsi health board, but I am assured that they are very close to resolution. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care [Jeremy Miles] expects to receive formal advice this month about the new build components, so I am hoping for something positive to happen very soon."

Conservative Gareth Davies says, "three months out from an election, this Welsh Labour government have resurrected the plans purely for political capital, despite denying the people of north Wales the hospital that they so badly need for over 10 years."

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s planning application for the new hospital building on the existing site in Rhyl was approved by Denbighshire County Council in December 2025.

The final step in the process is the determination of the full business case by Welsh government.

Should funding be approved by the Welsh government, the health board has said it hopes to begin construction in 2026. If agreed, the new building would include a minor injuries and ailments department, a dental department, radiology, and a patients and visitor area.

Proposals for a £22m new hospital with more than 30 beds on the site of the Royal Alexandra Hospital were approved in 2013.

But by 2018 the estimated costs had doubled. Plans were then halted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Betsi Cadwaladr health board said spiralling costs meant the original proposal was no longer affordable.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

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

Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams asks "how is the Welsh government ensuring that adults with learning disabilities and autistic people are supported?"

First Minister Eluned Morgan replies, "the Welsh Labour government knows that life is very difficult for people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their families. And that's why we as a government have ensured that we're continuing to provide support to push things forward and improve people's lives through having an action plan for learning disabilities - a strategic action plan - and a neurodivergence improvement programme."

Sioned Williams refers to financial challenges faced by Dimensions Cymru, which supports autistic people and people with learning disabilities, behaviours of distress and complex health needs.

She says, "I've raised with the government on more than one occasion the impact funding decisions have on the delivery of safe, lawful and sustainable commissioned social care services for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Your response has been that the Welsh government has committed to the social care real living wage, ignoring the fact that funding granted to local authorities has consistently not covered the full cost of delivering that commitment.

"Dimensions Cymru is a not-for-profit provider supporting 112 adults with learning disabilities and autistic people in supported living homes across Wales, including in my region. And they've told me that funding shortfalls translate into increasing difficulty in maintaining staffing levels, growing rota pressure, reduced service resilience, and uncertainty for skilled front-line colleagues."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eluned Morgan’s forty-eighth session of First Minister's Questions, and the first of 2026.

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.