Agenda and minutes

This meeting was held in a hybrid format, with some Members in Siambr Hywel, Tŷ Hywel and others joining by video-conference.

The Presiding Officer will call party spokespeople to ask questions without notice to the Cabinet Secretary after Question 2.      
View Questions

The item started at 13.30

Questions 1-4 and 6-9 were asked. Question 5 was withdrawn. The Presiding Officer invited party spokespeople to ask questions to the Cabinet Secretary after question 2.

The Presiding Officer will call party spokespeople to ask questions without notice to the Cabinet Secretary after Question 2.      
View Questions

The item started at 14.19

Questions 1- 7 and 9 were asked. Question 8 was withdrawn. The Presiding Officer invited party spokespeople to ask questions to the Cabinet Secretary after question 2.

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales

Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn): Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the closure of Terminal 5 at Holyhead Port?

The item started at 15.10

Answered by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales

Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn): Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the closure of Terminal 5 at Holyhead Port?

The item started at 15.24

Mark Isherwood made a statement on the Stroke awareness Christmas campaign.

Llyr Gruffydd made a statement on a tribute to Sulwyn Thomas.

The item started at 15.27
NDM9088 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 17.14, elects Lindsay Whittle (Plaid Cymru) in place of Luke Fletcher (Plaid Cymru) as a member of the Petitions Committee.
The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

NDM8884 Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a chronic and disabling illness at all levels of severity. 

2. Notes that of those suffering from ME, 25 per cent are categorised by NICE as 'severe: mainly bed bound or housebound', and 'very severe: fully bedbound', requiring full-time care and, in the severest cases, palliative care and tube feeding. 

3. Regrets that it is often those with the greatest severity levels of ME who are provided with the least amount of appropriate care and treatment. 

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) respond to the concerns raised in the Coroner in England’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report, and explain what practical steps they will take to ensure that no patient in Wales will ever be placed in such tragic circumstances as those described in the report; 

b) ensure that the Adferiad-funded ME services are making provision appropriate to the needs of patients with severe and very severe ME; 

c) bring together an expert group of health professionals and people with lived experience, at a national level, to develop all-Wales guidance and quality standards on ME, including for the most severely affected; 

d) make the appointment of an all-Wales specialist consultant for post-infectious chronic conditions - including ME and long COVID - a priority; 

e) improve the training on ME for professionals, firstly in the NHS, but also in social services and schools: in particular, raising awareness of the care needs of adults and children with severe and very severe ME; and 

f) ensure that health boards truly co-produce their ME and long COVID Adferiad services, taking into account the lived experiences of those suffering at the severest levels and of those caring for them. 

Maeve Boothby O’Neill: Prevention of Future Deaths Report 

Supporters 
Altaf Hussain (South Wales West) 

Cefin Campbell (Mid and West Wales) 

Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central) 

Jane Dodds (Mid and West Wales) 

Joel James (South Wales Central) 

John Griffiths (Newport East) 

Julie Morgan (Cardiff North) 

Llyr Gruffydd (North Wales) 

Luke Fletcher (South Wales West) 

Mabon ap Gwynfor (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) 

Mark Isherwood (North Wales) 

Mike Hedges (Swansea East) 

Rhun ap Iorwerth (Ynys Môn) 

Rhys ab Owen (South Wales Central) 

Sian Gwenllian (Arfon) 

Sioned Williams (South Wales West) 

The following amendment was tabled:   

Amendment 1 Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) 
Add as new sub-point at end of point 4: 

develop a strategic approach to research by supporting Wales to host one of the five proposed UK hubs for collaborative translational research into pathological mechanisms that cause ME, long COVID and related post-acute infection conditions. 

The item started at 15.28

Voting on the motion and amendment under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

NNDM8884 Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a chronic and disabling illness at all levels of severity. 

2. Notes that of those suffering from ME, 25 per cent are categorised by NICE as 'severe: mainly bed bound or housebound', and 'very severe: fully bedbound', requiring full-time care and, in the severest cases, palliative care and tube feeding. 

3. Regrets that it is often those with the greatest severity levels of ME who are provided with the least amount of appropriate care and treatment. 

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) respond to the concerns raised in the Coroner in England’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report, and explain what practical steps they will take to ensure that no patient in Wales will ever be placed in such tragic circumstances as those described in the report; 

b) ensure that the Adferiad-funded ME services are making provision appropriate to the needs of patients with severe and very severe ME; 

c) bring together an expert group of health professionals and people with lived experience, at a national level, to develop all-Wales guidance and quality standards on ME, including for the most severely affected; 

d) make the appointment of an all-Wales specialist consultant for post-infectious chronic conditions - including ME and long COVID - a priority; 

e) improve the training on ME for professionals, firstly in the NHS, but also in social services and schools: in particular, raising awareness of the care needs of adults and children with severe and very severe ME; and 

f) ensure that health boards truly co-produce their ME and long COVID Adferiad services, taking into account the lived experiences of those suffering at the severest levels and of those caring for them. 

The following amendment was tabled:

Amendment 1 Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) 
Add as new sub-point at end of point 4: 

develop a strategic approach to research by supporting Wales to host one of the five proposed UK hubs for collaborative translational research into pathological mechanisms that cause ME, long COVID and related post-acute infection conditions. 

A vote was taken on amendment 1:

Amendment 1 was agreed.

A vote was taken on the motion as amended:
NNDM8884 Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a chronic and disabling illness at all levels of severity. 

2. Notes that of those suffering from ME, 25 per cent are categorised by NICE as 'severe: mainly bed bound or housebound', and 'very severe: fully bedbound', requiring full-time care and, in the severest cases, palliative care and tube feeding. 

3. Regrets that it is often those with the greatest severity levels of ME who are provided with the least amount of appropriate care and treatment. 

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) respond to the concerns raised in the Coroner in England’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report, and explain what practical steps they will take to ensure that no patient in Wales will ever be placed in such tragic circumstances as those described in the report; 

b) ensure that the Adferiad-funded ME services are making provision appropriate to the needs of patients with severe and very severe ME; 

c) bring together an expert group of health professionals and people with lived experience, at a national level, to develop all-Wales guidance and quality standards on ME, including for the most severely affected; 

d) make the appointment of an all-Wales specialist consultant for post-infectious chronic conditions - including ME and long COVID - a priority; 

e) improve the training on ME for professionals, firstly in the NHS, but also in social services and schools: in particular, raising awareness of the care needs of adults and children with severe and very severe ME; and 

f) ensure that health boards truly co-produce their ME and long COVID Adferiad services, taking into account the lived experiences of those suffering at the severest levels and of those caring for them. 

g) develop a strategic approach to research by supporting Wales to host one of the five proposed UK hubs for collaborative translational research into pathological mechanisms that cause ME, long COVID and related post-acute infection conditions. 

The result was as follows:

The motion as amended was agreed.

NDM9076 Carolyn Thomas (North Wales) 
To propose that the Senedd:

Notes the petition ‘P-06-1534 End corridor care in Wales’ which received 10,536 signatures. 

The item started at 16.26

NDM9076 Carolyn Thomas (North Wales) 

Notes the petition ‘P-06-1534 End corridor care in Wales’ which received 10,536 signatures.

The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

NDM9078 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire) 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes Small Business Saturday on 6 December 2025. 

2. Recognises the crucial contribution that small businesses play in creating jobs, supporting communities and boosting local economies across Wales. 

3. Believes that the UK Labour Government’s autumn budget will lead to additional costs and job losses for businesses. 

4. Regrets that under the Welsh Labour Government, businesses are hit with the least competitive business rates in Great Britain, unemployment is the highest in the United Kingdom and take-home pay is the lowest. 

5. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) eliminate business rates for all small businesses; 

b) reverse planned changes to inheritance tax in relation to business property relief; 

c) provide more free parking in town centres; 

d) axe the tourism tax before it comes into force; and 

e) call on the UK Government to reverse the increase in employer's national insurance and reimburse Wales for failing to fund the full costs of these to date. 
The following amendments were tabled:  

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)   

Delete all after point 2 and replace with: 

Recognises the Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting small businesses in Wales through: 

a) Business Wales, which has supported over 33,200 businesses and entrepreneurs since the start of this Senedd term; 

b) Development Bank of Wales tailored micro loans and growth finance packages, which have supported over 950 businesses with £21.7 million of loans in this Senedd term; and 

c) £140 million in small business rates relief to over 70,000 properties in 2025-26. 

If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be de-selected.  

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central) 

Delete point 5 and replace with:
Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) extend the lower rate multiplier for small- and medium-sized retail premises to include hospitality and leisure businesses, noting that failure to do so is estimated to leave the typical high-street pub facing an additional £6,800 per year in business rates; 

b) ensure that any support for businesses from the Welsh Government’s recent investment summit does not come at the expense of efforts to nurture a resilient and competitive base of domestic businesses; 

c) deliver an enhanced and more coherent package of business support, including strengthened succession-planning assistance for Welsh SMEs; and 

d) promote the expansion of co-operatives and mutuals within the Welsh economy by placing these models on an equitable footing with more conventional forms of enterprise. 

The item started at 17.12

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM9078 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire) 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes Small Business Saturday on 6 December 2025. 

2. Recognises the crucial contribution that small businesses play in creating jobs, supporting communities and boosting local economies across Wales. 

3. Believes that the UK Labour Government’s autumn budget will lead to additional costs and job losses for businesses. 

4. Regrets that under the Welsh Labour Government, businesses are hit with the least competitive business rates in Great Britain, unemployment is the highest in the United Kingdom and take-home pay is the lowest. 

5. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) eliminate business rates for all small businesses; 

b) reverse planned changes to inheritance tax in relation to business property relief; 

c) provide more free parking in town centres; 

d) axe the tourism tax before it comes into force; and 

e) call on the UK Government to reverse the increase in employer's national insurance and reimburse Wales for failing to fund the full costs of these to date. 

The motion without amendment was not agreed.

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)   

Delete all after point 2 and replace with: 

Recognises the Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting small businesses in Wales through: 

a) Business Wales, which has supported over 33,200 businesses and entrepreneurs since the start of this Senedd term; 

b) Development Bank of Wales tailored micro loans and growth finance packages, which have supported over 950 businesses with £21.7 million of loans in this Senedd term; and 

c) £140 million in small business rates relief to over 70,000 properties in 2025-26. 

A vote was taken on amendment 1:

Amendment 1 was not agreed.

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central) 

Delete point 5 and replace with:
Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) extend the lower rate multiplier for small- and medium-sized retail premises to include hospitality and leisure businesses, noting that failure to do so is estimated to leave the typical high-street pub facing an additional £6,800 per year in business rates; 

b) ensure that any support for businesses from the Welsh Government’s recent investment summit does not come at the expense of efforts to nurture a resilient and competitive base of domestic businesses; 

c) deliver an enhanced and more coherent package of business support, including strengthened succession-planning assistance for Welsh SMEs; and 

d) promote the expansion of co-operatives and mutuals within the Welsh economy by placing these models on an equitable footing with more conventional forms of enterprise. 

A vote was taken on amendment 2:

Amendment 2 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 17.52

NDM9071 Carolyn Thomas (North Wales)  

The corporate takeover of vet practices in the purr-suit of profit to the detriment of pets and their owners.

The item started at 18.00

NDM9071 Carolyn Thomas (North Wales)  

The corporate takeover of vet practices in the purr-suit of profit to the detriment of pets and their owners.