Eluned Morgan’s twenty-ninth session as first minister comes to a close.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Claire O'Shea

Ahead of the funeral of Claire O'Shea, who found out she had incurable cancer after months of being misdiagnosed, Plaid Cymru MS Mabon ap Gwynfor says gynaecological cancer outcomes in Wales "continue to be poor".

He says "the first minister will be aware of the campaigning role undertaken by Claire when it comes to gynaecological cancers, as well as many other areas, and I'm sure that the first minister and this chamber will extend our sympathies to her loved ones. But cancer patient outcomes continue to be poor in gynaecological cancers, with fewer than half receiving timely treatment and a postcode lottery for treatment continuing. And, of course, we are aware that there isn’t a focus on gynaecological cancers in the Welsh women's health plan."

The first minister replies, "I'd like to extend my sympathies to the friends and family of Claire O'Shea, who has done so much to campaign in this area and many other areas during her lifetime. Improving cancer outcomes is a priority for the Welsh government and for the NHS in Wales. We have made significant investments in new facilities, and we have focused on cancers affecting women, too, so there is a specific strategy looking at how we can make improvements in that area, and there are examples of how things have improved in gynaecological issues, so I'm pleased to see that."

Ms O'Shea, who died aged 42, had set up a group called Claire's Campaign, to amplify the voices of those who felt their symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by professionals.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Conservative Laura Anne Jones asks what action is the Welsh government taking to protect prime agricultural land from development. She raises the case of an energy firm's proposals in the region she represents.

She explains, "residents in my region have told me that they feel blindsided by a proposal for a 304-acre solar farm stretching across three local authority boundaries in my region. The proposed solar farm around Ponthir, far from being a community project, is being pushed through by a multinational company without any public consultation. Residents are angry, worried and frustrated by the lack of proper consultation and the negative visual impact this will have on the stunning landscape in that area, not to mention the additional risk to our future food security."

Eluned Morgan replies "planning policy makes it clear that land should now only be developed when there is an overriding need to do so, when it comes to prime agricultural land and when there’s no alternative, such as brownfield or less valuable land. So, the shorthand for this is ‘worst first’. I think it is important to just check whether the land that you’re talking about complies and falls into that prime agricultural land or not."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

The impact of Brexit on Wales was "greater than it was, relatively speaking, on the rest of the United Kingdom" claims the first minister as she welcomes the new UK-EU agreement.

She elaborates, "that's partly because we have a sector in Wales that, in of goods, we export more goods. We've got a balance that is more goods related than services related, and that has meant that we have taken a greater hit. The value of Wales's goods exports to the EU, we think, is around £10 billion, which is around 5.1 per cent lower than it was in 2018."

The deal to "reset" relations between the UK and the EU following Brexit was agreed at a summit in London last month.

The agreement covers a range of issues, including defence, fishing, the trade in food products and the ability of young people to move freely between the UK and the EU.

Conservative Samuel Kurtz says "of all the industries that voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU, fishing was one of them, so it is little wonder that the industry that has been most angered by this deal is the fishing sector, as Europe's fishing boats have been granted a further 12 years of access to British waters."

Plaid Cymru's Luke Fletcher says "there are a number of things to welcome within that deal" but "you've got to look at some of the economic assessments that have come out as a result of this deal. Some of them are suggesting that we would see just a boost of 0.3 per cent to the UK economy by 2040, which compares to the 4 per cent GDP hit that has already been inflicted on the UK economy since Brexit."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth says the Welsh government has had to "raid" £36m from reserves to help plug the gap from higher National Insurance payments for employers, "because they'd failed to make the case to UK Labour government to give Wales its share of public sector national insurance payment compensation. We now face a shortfall of more than £70 million. It's a Labour tax on Wales."

Eluned Morgan says "I've made it clear time and time again, and I've made it clear to the chancellor, I've made it clear to the prime minister, that we will continue to make the case for the entire cost of national insurance to be covered for the public sector in Wales."

Rhun ap Iorwerth also criticises the classification of a multi-billion pound project to build a railway line between Oxford and Cambridge as an England and Wales project.

The £6.6bn line will see no tracks laid in Wales, but because of the way it has been classified, it means the country will not benefit from any extra cash.

He says "we have another HS2 on our hands" and "on rail and on national insurance, why has the first minister allowed Wales to be given a raw deal by her own party">The first minister says the line between Oxford and Cambridge is "very different from HS2" because there is a rail network enhancements pipeline which funds projects in both England and Wales.

She explains, "rail infrastructure is not devolved to Wales. You might want it devolved, but that is the situation it is in at the moment. So, what we have is a situation where there is a pipeline of projects for England and Wales. Are we getting our fair share? Absolutely not. Are we making the case? Absolutely, and I'm hoping that we will see some acknowledgement of that through the spending review. Unlike the Tories, there is recognition that there was massive underinvestment under the Conservatives. The Oxford to Cambridge railway line is a part of that broader rail infrastructure piece. The HS2 project was an exception to that, which is why we're making the case in a separate way."

It follows the long-standing row over HS2 - deemed to be an England and Wales project - so Wales gets no extra cash, which would have been the case if it was classed as England only.

However, none of the track planned for HS2 will reach Wales.

Differing figures have been given for how much politicians think Wales is owed from HS2, from £4bn suggested by Plaid Cymru and the Welsh government in the past to £350m in the most recent figures from Welsh ministers.

Image source, HS2

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, refers to the fact that last year the UK government increased the amount employers have to pay in National Insurance (NI) with the Welsh government, which employs tens of thousands of public sector workers, left with a £257m bill.

"Yet [chancellor] Rachel Reeves has provided just £185 million, leaving our NHS, local councils and other employers short-changed by over £70 million in this year alone" says Darren Millar.

He adds "this jobs tax that's been imposed by your UK Labour counterparts. Every single year now, tens of millions of pounds, hundreds of millions of pounds in extra costs will be lumped into the budgets of our local authorities and, indeed, of our NHS. And the reality is that you have no idea and no plan on how to mitigate the impact of the cost of the jobs tax on public sector contractors."

Eluned Morgan replies "you're right, there is a shortfall. We've made that very clear, right from the beginning, that we were unhappy about the situation. It's not a Labour-Labour issue, this is a devolved government issue. Scotland is just as annoyed as we are; Northern Ireland is just as annoyed as we are. We've made it clear to the UK government that we are unhappy with the situation."

She adds, "I think that it is important also that we get some perspective on this. We have had the biggest uplift in the history of devolution, after the disastrous inheritance that your [Conservative ] government left us, and it is important that we recognise that, that the fact that we've been able to give and offer an increase - an above-inflation increase - to those public servants in the NHS for the second year is because of that increase that we had from the UK government."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Former Labour transport minister Lee Waters asks what are the government's next steps for developing the Swansea Bay Metro plan.

Eluned Morgan replies "Transport for Wales are developing plans for up to seven new railway stations in the Swansea bay urban area. These can integrate with other projects that we're already funding, and more will come through the regional transport plan set to be produced this summer."

Lee Waters says "now that the south Wales metro is being delivered - which is a huge achievement, and we shouldn't pocket it - and the plan has been set out for a north Wales metro project, it's really important that south-west Wales isn't left behind."

Current transport secretary Ken Skates said in 2018 that plans to overhaul the public transport network around Swansea could take at least 10 years.

A consultation , externalwas held in 2021.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

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

Conservative Tom Giffard asks "what is the Welsh government doing to tackle anti-social behaviour associated with e-bikes and off road motorcycles"> Cycles are fitted with pedals that are capable of propelling the bike.