Cabinet meeting: 2 June 2025

• Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS (Chair) 
• Huw Irranca-Davies MS 
• Jayne Bryant MS 
• Mark Drakeford MS
• Rebecca Evans MS
• Jane Hutt MS 
• Julie James MS 
• Jeremy Miles MS 
• Lynne Neagle MS
• Ken Skates MS
   
• Dawn Bowden MS 
• Sarah Murphy MS 
• Vikki Howells MS 
• Jack Sargeant MS 

Officials

• Rachel Garside-Jones, Director Office of the First Minister and Delivery
• Rebecca Dunn, Deputy Director Cabinet Division
• Victoria Jones, Principal Private Secretary First Minister 
• Toby Mason, Head of Strategic Communications 
• Sinead Gallagher, Deputy Director Cabinet Office
• Wayne David, Special Adviser
• Sarah Dickins, Special Adviser
• Madeleine Brindley, Special Adviser
• Julia David, Special Adviser 
• Haf Davies, Special Adviser 
• Victoria Evans, Special Adviser
• David Hooson, Special Adviser
• Nadila Hussein, Special Adviser 
• Kirsty Keenan, Special Adviser 
• Jackie Jones, Special Adviser
• Stephen Jones, Special Adviser 
• Philippa Marsden, Special Adviser
• Martha O’Neil, Special Adviser 
• Mary Wimbury, Special Adviser 
• Christopher W Morgan, Head of Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Damian Roche, Cabinet Secretariat 
• Bethan Davies, Cabinet Office 
• Helena Bird, Permanent Secretary’s office
• Kath Hallett, First Minister’s office
• Tracey Burke, Director General Climate Change & Rural Affairs
• Sioned Evans, Chief Operating Officer 
• Judith Paget, Director General Health  
• Andrew Slade, Director General Economy, Energy and Transport  
• Emma Williams, Interim Director General Education, Culture & Welsh Language
• Nia James, Director Legal Services
• Dean Medcraft, Director Finance (item 4)
• Sharon Bounds, Deputy Director Financial Controls (item 4)
• Andrew Jeffreys, Director Treasury (item 4) 
• Emma Watkins, Deputy Director Budget and Government Business (item 4) 

1.1 Cymeradwyodd y Cabinet gofnodion y 19 Mai 2025 / Cabinet approved the minutes of 19 May 2025.   

Cabinet Meeting in Aberystwyth 

2.1 The First Minister welcomed everyone to the Cabinet meeting in Aberystwyth, where earlier that day all members of the Government had undertaken local visits focusing on the Rural Economy and Tourism. 

Council of Nations and Regions 

2.2 The First Minister provided Cabinet with feedback from the Council of Nations and Regions which had taken place on 23^rd May.  

Meetings with UK Ministers

2.3 It was noted the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip would be meeting with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on Wednesday to discuss the UK Government’s welfare reforms.  In addition, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning would be attending the next Housing, Communities and Local Government Inter-Ministerial Group on Wednesday, which would be chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister in the Cathays Park office. 

Bluetongue 

2.4 The First Minister invited the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs to provide Cabinet with an update on Bluetongue. 

2.5 Bluetongue was a vector-borne viral disease, typically transmitted between animals by biting midges.  Therefore, controlling livestock movement from an infected area, such as the restricted zone in England, was a key disease control mechanism, along with vaccination.  However, on 23rd May Defra announced it would be extending the current restricted zone to all of England on 1^st July, allowing Bluetongue susceptible livestock to move without restrictions within the whole of England. 

2.6 Wales and Scotland currently remain Bluetongue free areas, with the normal presumption that free areas continue to keep the disease out for a number of reasons, including animal health and welfare. The Scottish Government have decided that from 1st July Scotland would continue their policy of keeping the disease out, requiring livestock to have a negative pre-movement test before entering Scotland to live.

2.7 The situation was more complicated in Wales, as the livestock industry is more integrated with approximately 550 farms along the border.

2.8 Bluetongue disease expert and vets were not able to predict whether Bluetongue would cause mild or severe animal health, welfare, productivity or fertility impacts in livestock dense regions such as Wales. Consequently, vets preferred to keep Bluetongue out.

2.9 However, the livestock sector and auctioneers would prefer to align with England to avoid the complications and costs around licencing and testing for cross-border animal moves. The industry was keen to put its case to the Government and, given this and the divergence of views, a roundtable meeting, chaired by the Deputy First Minister, had been arranged for 5 June to gather balanced information to inform a future policy decision. 

2.10 After consideration of the feedback from this meeting the aim was to announce a new Bluetongue policy by 12 June, to provide businesses with certainty before the all-England restricted zone comes into force on 1st July. In the meantime, farmers were being encouraged to discuss Bluetongue vaccination with their vets, remain vigilant and report any suspected cases.

Strategic Defence Review 

2.11 The First Minister invited the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales to provide Cabinet with an update on the outcome of the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review, which was being announced that afternoon. 

2.12 Ahead of the announcement, the Cabinet Secretary had received a briefing call from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Armed Forces.  The main themes of the Review were ‘NATO first’, moving into a war-fighting readiness phase for the first time since the end of the cold war, while learning lessons from Ukraine, particularly around drone and digital warfare.  This technology would be integrated with manual capability across the three services.

2.13 Defence would be an engine for growth, with spending reaching £13bn by April 2027 and then a 3% target of GDP for the next UK Parliament.   As part of this, there would be more spend on UK Companies, seeking to direct more at home manufacturing, driving jobs and prosperity, while creating more export opportunities.  There were plans to bring in companies not normally associated with defence, with increased spending towards SMEs involved with drones and other technologies. 

2.14 There would also be a ‘whole of society’ approach to defence, with a greater resilience in civil infrastructure, especially cyber and the importance of enabling people to move in and out of military and civilian jobs and strengthening the reserve forces. 

Employers’ National Insurance contributions 

2.15 The First Minister invited the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language to provide Cabinet with an update on funding from the UK Government to support Devolved Public Sector Employers with the Increased National Insurance Costs. 

2.16 The UK Government had provided £185m additional funding to Wales, which was significantly short of the £257m required for the devolved public sector. This shortfall was a result of the UK Government applying the Barnett formula to the cost in England rather than meeting the actual costs.  The £185m would be passed on in full to the sector, and the Welsh Government would provide a further £36m from the Wales reserve, leaving the public sector to absorb the remaining £36m.  This would be for the current financial year, with implications for future years.

2.17 The Welsh Government would now face significant financial challenges by drawing this sum from limited reserves and, as such, the UK Government would continue to be pressed to meet these costs in full. 

3.1 Cabinet considered the Plenary Grid and noted that voting time was scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday and around 5.25pm on Wednesday.

4.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language introduced the paper, which asked Cabinet to approve the First Supplementary Budget of 2025-26.  This was the first opportunity to propose changes since the Final Budget had been published in February. 

4.2 There were two significant changes. The first related to the impact of the rise in employers’ National Insurance Contributions, as raised earlier in the meeting, with the second relating to an extra £100m to support the priority to reduce waiting times within the NHS. An announcement on the increase in health spending was planned for 19 June. 

4.3 Overall, the Wales DEL would increase by £359m, which was mostly revenue and £16m of general capital. 

4.4 Cabinet approved the paper.

Cabinet Secretariat
June 2025