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

The next Questions to the First Minister will be on 13 January 2026.

Nadolig Llawen/Merry Christmas!

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Reform UK's only MS, Laura Anne Jones, raises concerns about financial pressures facing pubs.

Eluned Morgan says "lots of us love going to pubs. They truly are at the heart of many communities, particularly at this time of year. But we're also aware that lots of them are struggling financially. That's why we're proud to provide a wide range of support to the sector. Almost half of all business ratepayers, including many pubs across Wales, benefit from full business rates relief. Sector representatives estimate that two thirds of hospitality properties in Wales attract full small business rates relief, so they pay no local rates."

Laura Anne Jones warns, "the financial pressures that they now face are overwhelming and will signal the end of the road for many businesses across Wales. UK Hospitality warns that excluding hospitality from your business rate reform will load an extra £131 million in extra costs on the sector in the next three years. For pubs, that means rates rising by 23 per cent next year, 51 per cent the year after and 80 per cent from 2028-29. This, on top of soaring energy costs and rising wage bills, will drive business failures, job losses and hollow out our high streets across Wales."

A firm's rateable value is based on how much it would cost to rent a firm's property for a year, and is used to calculate a business's rates bill.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised lower taxes for retail, leisure and hospitality firms in the Budget.

However changes to the way rateable values are calculated from next spring mean many pubs face a price hike.

Together with the phasing out of a Covid-era 40% discount from April, the net result is, despite some transitional relief, many pubs will see significant increases in their business rates bill.

Image source, Getty Images

Plaid Cymru's Cefin Campbell is the second MS this session to question Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens' reasoning for not using any Welsh in her capacity as MP for Cardiff East on leaflets and social media.

Ms Stevens, who represents Wales in the UK government, has said “Welsh is one of the very many languages that are spoken in Cardiff East” and English is “spoken by almost every single constituent”.

Cefin Campbell says she shows "an incredible lack of respect and a dinosaur-like attitude towards the Welsh language, which I thought had long since disappeared from Wales by now. So, given this negative attitude towards the Welsh language, what discussions have you had with the Secretary of State for Wales to convince her of the importance of our national language in public life?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "Welsh is an official language in Wales and it's good for people to be able to use the Welsh language with public bodies and with elected members. Certainly, I'm someone who is very eager to ensure that the language is promoted at every opportunity, and that's why, in the summit in the British-Irish Council recently, the Welsh language was a central feature. We had the archbishop of Wales greeting people from all parts of the UK. It was the first time for them to hear Welsh, and this really made an impact on the people who were there. As you know, I always want to encourage people to use the Welsh language, and I'm pleased to see that more people than ever are learning Welsh through the National Centre for Learning Welsh."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Conservative Sam Rowlands asks "what is the Welsh government doing to promote the work of faith communities in Wales?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "as a vicar's daughter and a priest's wife, I have seen first-hand the strength, compassion and resilience of our faith communities and what they bring to Wales. They support the vulnerable, they strengthen cohesion and they hold communities together. After the horrific attack in Bondi in Australia at the weekend, where faith-motivated targeting has caused such deep distress, we are reminded, I think, of how essential it is to be respectful, to ensure that we see tolerance and understanding for everyone."

She also refers to the Faith Communities Forum, external, which aims to help improve relations between all faith community groups.

Sam Rowlands, a minister's son, says, "as we approach the festive season ahead of us, let me first of all wish you a merry Christmas, but also highlight the role of Christian celebrations, especially at Christmas, not just as a religious event, but in bringing families and communities together, and inspiring countless acts of generosity and kindness."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Independent MS Rhys ab Owen refers to an exchange of emails between Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, in her capacity as MP for Cardiff East, and a constituent, as reported by BBC Cymru Fyw earlier this month.

The constituent, James Lewis, asked her, “can you tell me why you send English-only leaflets to your Welsh constituents? Or why your social media output is English-only? This has been an issue for as long as you’ve been MP for Cardiff East. It now looks particularly bad that the Secretary of State for Wales doesn’t send out any comms in Welsh. Your constituency includes several Welsh medium primary schools and one of the three Welsh-medium secondary schools in Cardiff. Surely the Labour Party can hook you up with translators?”

Jo Stevens emailed back, “I recognise the importance of the Welsh language, both historically and culturally. You may know that Welsh is one of the very many languages that are spoken in Cardiff East. The most recent census has relevant data about this. English is the working language of the UK parliament. It is also spoken by almost every single constituent in Cardiff East. There is no statutory requirement on Members of Parliament to provide bilingual (English and Welsh communications”.

Rhys ab Owen says, "the Welsh language in Cardiff is so much more than just one of a number of languages, and saying that virtually everyone speaks English is an old argument that belongs in the past. I'm not going to ask you as to whether you agree with the Secretary of State, because I know you don't, but this Christmas, first minister, will you do some missionary work with the Secretary of State and will you ask her to make a new year's resolution that her correspondence from now on will reflect the fact that the capital of our nation has two official languages with equal status in this country?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "Welsh is an official language in Wales and we're very proud that that is the case. In her work as the Secretary of State for Wales, I think that the Wales Office does use the Welsh language, but I'd always advise people to respond in Welsh if people do correspond in Welsh. The Welsh language belongs to us all. It's important that we all understand that, and that there is a responsibility on us, particularly as leaders, to do what we can to reach that aim of a million Welsh speakers."

IPSA [Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority] has told the BBC it "makes funding available to MPs who wish to translate materials between the Welsh and English languages. There is no cap on the amount of funding available; it is classed as a contingency payment and is separate from MPs' office costs and staffing budgets."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth refers to the letter written earlier this month by 11 Labour Senedd politicians to the prime minister in which they complained that the Pride in Place scheme rolled back devolution, going over Cardiff ministers' heads.

The 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. The funding will cover fixing bus shelters and providing bins, but bypasses the Welsh government which normally governs and funds local government in Wales.

On Sunday the Welsh finance secretary Mark Drakeford called for the law which allows the intervention - the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA) to be repealed.

Rhun ap Iorwerth asks, "does the first minister agree with me that Keir Starmer has a two-tier approach to devolution, and that from rail, to policing, to the Crown Estate, and now this, whilst Northern Ireland and Scotland are empowered, he seems as determined as the Tories were to stop Wales deciding on its own future?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "I've always made it clear, as have people in my Senedd group, that actually we will always defend the devolution settlement and we will always make the case for devolution. I think it's important to underline the fact that, actually, what we have had is £557 million - that's over £0.5 billion - returned to the Welsh government to be able to determine where that money is spent. That makes the Northern Ireland settlement pale into insignificance compared to that £0.5 billion that we've agreed on. That is not something that's been offered to Northern Ireland. It is not something that's been offered to Scotland. But will we continue to make the case? Of course we will, because we are the party of devolution."

Plaid Cymru has tabled a debate on the letter in the Senedd for Wednesday, external.

Image source, PA Media

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, refers to the Labour Welsh government's budget deal with Plaid Cymru.

He says, "for the past 27 years, Wales has been lumbered with a Labour-led government. That government, of course, has at times been supported by your fellow left-wing travellers in Plaid Cymru. Your parties together have imposed high tax, low growth and woke policies, which have resulted in Wales having the longest waiting lists, the lowest educational standards, the lowest wages, and the highest unemployment rate, which is up again today, in the whole of the United Kingdom. Just last week, we saw the same tired old coalition coming together yet again, with the predictable news that Plaid Cymru is rushing once again to rescue you and this failing Labour government by backing your dreadful budget."

He asks, "do you agree with me, first minister, that Plaid Cymru's support for your budget serves to remind everybody in Wales that, next May, a vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for the Labour party, and more of the same failing policies that have done so much damage to Wales over these 20-odd years?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "this is supposed to be the season of goodwill, but you're behaving a little bit like a Grinch there. I think we've got to actually look at the positives of what has been delivered and what this budget will do to defend. An extra £1.5 billion in the past year has gone into public services, and there'll be more as a result of this budget. I'm not ashamed of the fact that we've managed to come to an agreement."

Darren Millar describes Eluned Morgan's claim she is part of a "new generation" of Labour politicians as "ridiculous".

The deal means the Labour government - which currently does not have a majority in the Senedd - will avoid defeat when its £27bn budget goes to a vote in January.

Under the deal forged between the Labour Welsh government and Plaid Cymru, there will be £113m additional funding for local government, with council budgets increased overall by 4.5% next year.

Health and social care's budget will rise by £180m, meaning an overall increase of 3.6%.

In addition, a total of £120m will be set aside in capital for the new government to decide how to spend following the May Senedd election.

The Welsh Conservatives had also been in talks with the Welsh government, in which they called for scrapping stamp duty (land transaction tax in Wales) on all main homes.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Labour MS for the Rhondda, Buffy Williams, asks "what discussions has the first minister had with the UK government regarding the Employment Rights Bill?"

Eluned Morgan replies, "Labour is the party of workers' rights, so of course we have had extensive engagement with the UK government on a cause that is central to who we are as a party and what is important to workers in Wales. Now, this Bill promises to be the biggest boost to workers' rights in a generation."

Buffy Williams says "for too long, workers in Rhondda have been fearful: fearful of turning up for a shift only for it to have been cancelled at the last minute; fearful they will be dismissed and brought back on a lower wage and conditions through fire and rehire; fearful that getting sick means losing out on pay; and fearful to challenge unfair practice in case they're dropped from the rota. The UK government's Employment Rights Bill, with day one sick pay, tighter rules on zero-hour contracts, fairer parental and flexible working rights, and unfair dismissal protection after six months, gives them real hope."

Conservative Peter Fox says "a Conservative government will repeal every job-destroying, anti-business, anti-growth measure in the Bill by restoring common sense, sending a very clear message that Britain is open for business again."

The UK Labour government has abandoned its pledge in the bill to give workers protection against unfair dismissal "from day one" of a job, instead setting the bar at six months.

Labour had a manifesto commitment for "new rights for workers from day one to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal".

The bill is set to become law before Christmas.

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.

Labour's Julie Morgan asks "how is the Welsh government supporting adoptive families?", as the National Adoption Service for Wales says the number of children waiting for adoptive families continues to rise while the number of new enquiries to adopt have declined.

First Minister Eluned Morgan replies, "some children have a really tough start in life, and it's our responsibility as a government to make sure that we step in to support those children to find them loving and caring families when their own families find they can't cope. It's in all of our interests that our children succeed, and we're proud of the fact that we have invested significant extra sums of money to drive improvements and modernise adoption practices. And Wales continues to lead in creating positive outcomes for adopted children."

Julie Morgan says she's "been approached by families in Cardiff North, who feel that there should be much greater awareness and preparations for the difficulties they will inevitably face, usually in the teenage years."

The Welsh government is reviewing responses to a consultation which proposed changes to improve adoption, fostering and kinship services.

The consultation , externalsought views on proposed changes to secondary legislation and revisions to:

• the code of practice on how social services support looked after and accommodated children in part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014;
• the code of practice on how social services function with special guardianship orders.

The BBC reported last month that in the UK more than 1,000 adopted children had been returned to care over five years.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

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