Meeting Venue:
Y Siambr - Y Senedd
Meeting date:
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Meeting time: 13.30
This meeting can be
viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/15794
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This meeting was held in a hybrid format, with some Members in the Senedd Chamber and others joining by video-conference.
The item started at 13.30
Questions 1 and 3 to 9 were asked. Question 2 was withdrawn. The Presiding Officer invited party spokespeople to ask questions to the Cabinet Secretary after question 1.
The item started at 14.21
The first 8 questions were asked. The Presiding Officer invited
party spokespeople to ask questions to the Cabinet Secretary after
question 2.
The item started at 15.16
Answered by the Cabinet Secretary for
Economy, Energy and Planning
Sioned Williams (South Wales West): Will the First
Minister make a statement on the cost-of-living implications on
Wales of the conflict in the Middle East?
Answered by the Counsel General and Minister for
Delivery
Hannah Blythyn (Delyn): Will the Cabinet Secretary
provide an update on what action is being taken to tackle the
impact of deep fakes in respect of this year's Senedd election,
following recent
news reports?
The item started at 15.35
Sian Gwenllian made a statement on Sister Emily of the Forward Movement in Caenarfon.
Sioned Williams made a statement on Lights. Camera. Neath: Celebrating Ray Milland.
Jane Dodds made a statement on International Women’s Day (8 March) highlighting Gwenllian Morgan of Brecon.
Lindsay Whittle made a statement on the 2026 Suffrage Science Awards in Life Sciences - Professor Kate Watkins of Oxford University.
The item started at 15.41
NDM9203 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Orders 2, 3, 4 and 5 in relation to the Registration of Members’ Interest’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex B of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.42
NDM9204 Elin
Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing
Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Orders 2, 13, 15 and 17 in relation to the declaration of Members’ interests’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex B of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.42
NDM9205 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Orders 11.10 and 12.6(i)’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex B of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.42
NDM9206 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 26: Member Bills’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex 2 of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.43
NDM9207 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 26 Acts of the Senedd, and consequential changes to Standing Orders 26A Private Acts of the Senedd, 26B Hybrid Acts of the Senedd and 26C Consolidation Acts of the Senedd’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex 2 of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.43
NDM9208 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:
1. Considers the report of the Business Committee, ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 23 – Public Petitions’, laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
2. Approves the proposal to amend Standing Orders, as set out in Annex B of the Business Committee’s report.
3. Notes that these changes will come into effect at the beginning of the next Senedd.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 15.46
NDM9200 Andrew R.T. Davies (South Wales Central)
Notes the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee report ‘Bringing home the harvest: Supporting the Welsh food processing industry’ that was laid in the Table Office on 20 January 2026.
Notes: The response from the Welsh Government to the report was laid in the Table Office on 4 March 2026.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 16.24
NDM9201 Andrew R.T. Davies (South Wales Central)
To propose that the Senedd:
Notes the report of the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee on the Local Growth Fund which was laid in the Table Office on 23 February 2026.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 16.57
Voting on the motion under this item was deferred until Voting Time
NDM9210 Mark Isherwood (North Wales)
To propose that Senedd Cymru, in accordance with Standing Order 26.47:
Approves the British Sign Language (Wales) Bill.
British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 3
A vote was taken on the motion:
|
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
|
52 |
0 |
0 |
52 |
The motion was agreed
The item started at 17.11
NDM9199 Joyce Watson (Mid and West Wales)
To propose that the Senedd:
Notes the report of the Family-Friendly and Inclusive Parliament Review, A Senedd for All, which was laid in the Table Office on 3 March 2026.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.
The item started at 18.21
Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.
A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:
NDM9202 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes the UK Government’s Spring Statement of 3 March 2026 and the latest economic forecasts.
2. Regrets that under Labour governments in both Westminster and Cardiff:
a) economic growth forecasts have been downgraded;
b) unemployment is expected to rise and Wales continues to have the lowest employment in the UK;
c) the number of people in Wales on universal credit is the highest ever;
d) economic inactivity in Wales is the highest in Great Britain; and
e) pay packets in Wales are the lowest in the United Kingdom.
3. Believes that after almost three decades of Labour-led government in Wales, the Welsh economy is underperforming and working people and businesses need a strong pro-growth approach.
4. Calls on the Welsh Government to get Wales working by:
a) cutting the basic rate of Welsh income tax by 1 pence in the pound;
b) scrapping business rates for small firms, pubs and post offices;
c) scrapping the proposed tourism tax;
d) abolishing land transaction tax for the purchase of a primary residence; and
e) requiring local authorities to hold a referendum before increasing council tax by more than 5 per cent.
|
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
|
11 |
0 |
41 |
52 |
The motion without amendment was not agreed.
The following amendments were tabled:
Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)
Delete all after point 1 and replace with:
Welcomes the additional £555 million in resource and capital funding for Wales over the next three years in the UK Government's spring statement.
A vote was taken on amendment 1:
|
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
|
25 |
0 |
27 |
52 |
Amendment 1 was not agreed.
Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)
Delete all after point 1 and replace with:
Regrets that under the previous UK Conservative Government:
a) tax as a proportion of GDP reached its highest level since the Second World War;
b) living standards declined during the 2019-2024 Parliament, the first such decline on record;
c) the Liz Truss mini budget, supported by the Conservative group in the Senedd, crashed the UK economy and sent mortgage payments soaring for homeowners;
d) Brexit inflicted an economic hit on Wales that to date stands at over £4 billion, and continues to impose burdensome red tape on Welsh businesses; and
e) made promises to electrify the Cardiff to Swansea line and to revamp the North Wales line never materialised.
Regrets that under the current Labour governments in Westminster and Wales:
a) the Welsh budget is set to experience its lowest growth in day-to-day spending outside of the immediate austerity years, and a shrinking capital budget;
b) the Barnett formula was manipulated at Wales’s expense in calculating Treasury reimbursements for employer national insurance contributions in the core public sector, creating a black hole in Welsh public finances that has had to be shouldered by local authorities; and
c) Wales ranks amongst the lowest of the 12 UK nations and regions on a range of economic performance metrics, including productivity employment and primary income per capita.
Believes that:
a) the people of Wales have been left worse off from the policy agendas of successive Westminster governments;
b) Reform threaten to exacerbate this harm through reckless uncosted spending plans and deep cuts to public services; and
c) only Plaid Cymru offers new leadership to unleash Wales's economic potential.
Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) establish a national development agency for the 21st century to unleash the potential of the Welsh economy:
b) implement Plaid Cymru’s childcare programme to save families more than £30,000 in costs per child;
c) reform business rates to better support domestic SMEs; and
d) work with the Wales Pension Partnership to ensure that a higher proportion of Wales’s pension asset wealth is retained and reinvested in our communities.
A vote was taken on amendment 2:
|
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
|
13 |
0 |
39 |
52 |
Amendment 2 was not agreed.
Amendment 3 Laura Anne Jones (South Wales East)
Delete all after point 2 and replace with:
Believes that after almost three decades of Plaid Cymru-backed Welsh Labour Governments, the Welsh economy is underperforming and working people and businesses need a strong pro-growth approach.
Calls on the Welsh Government to tackle the cost of living, kickstart the Welsh economy, and put the people of Wales first by:
a) bringing forward a credible plan to cut income tax across all bands by one pence;
b) scrapping the tourism tax;
c) introducing a tax lock to prevent the creation of new taxes or levies by the Welsh Government;
d) scrapping net zero to end wasteful subsidies, and make it easier to build infrastructure;
e) requiring councils to hold referendums for council tax rises above 4.99 per cent;
f) restoring the 30mph default speed limit;
g) delivering an M4 relief road;
h) undertaking a thorough review of all regulations to assess whether they are necessary, proportionate, and fit for purpose;
i) implementing a permanent lower business rates multiplier for pubs, hotels and hospitality venues; and
j) prioritising procurement with local firms.
A vote was taken on amendment 3:
|
For |
Abstain |
Against |
Total |
|
2 |
0 |
50 |
52 |
Amendment 3 was not agreed.
As the Senedd did not agree the motion without amendment, and did not agree the amendments tabled to the motion, the motion was therefore not agreed.
The item started at 19.26
The item started at 19.30
NDM9190 Russell George (Montgomeryshire)
Delivering fair healthcare across every part of Wales.
The meeting concluded at 19.54
The Senedd will sit again in Plenary at 13.30, Tuesday, 17 March 2026