Cabinet meeting: 23 February 2026

• 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 (items 1-9)
   
• Dawn Bowden MS
• Vikki Howells MS
• Sarah Murphy MS
• Jack Sargeant MS

Officials

• Rachel Garside-Jones, Director Office of the First Minister and Delivery
• Rebecca Dunn, Head of Cabinet Division
• Victoria Jones, Principal Private Secretary First Minister
• Toby Mason, Head of Strategic Communications
• Sinead Gallagher, Deputy Director Cabinet Office
• Luke Young, Special Adviser
• Madeleine Brindley, Special Adviser
• Sarah Dickins, 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
• Tal Michael, Special Adviser
• Mary Wimbury, Special Adviser
• Christopher W Morgan, Head of Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Damian Roche, Cabinet Secretariat
• Katie Mason, Cabinet Secretariat
• 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 Strategy
• Andrew Slade, Director General Economy, Energy and Transport
• Emma Williams, Director General Education, Culture & Welsh Language
• Alex Slade, Director Mental Health, Primary Care & Early Years
• Dianne Dunning, Deputy Director Legal Services
• Steven MC Gregor, Deputy Director, North Wales
• Ceri Christian-Mullineux, Senior Regional Partnership Manager, North Wales

Externals

• Simon Bowen, Chair Great British Energy – Nuclear (item 1)
• Ieuan Williams, Head of Stakeholder and Media Relations GBE – N (item 1)

1.1 The First Minister welcomed Simon Bowen, Chair, Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) and Ieuan Williams, Head of Stakeholder and Media Relations, GBE-N and invited them to present the latest developments around the Wylfa site.

1.2 The Chair provided a brief background introduction to the project, which was working towards delivering Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and future Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) capability to North Wales.

1.3 Since the UK government announcement of the preferred site at Wylfa, work was progressing at pace in partnership with the main delivery partner, Rolls Royce, with £2.6 billion in funding announced for the delivery phase.

1.4 This was a £6-10 billion programme over a number of years, which would lead to long term employment both in the construction and maintenance phases of delivery, leading to long term, secure employment opportunities for the region.

1.5 Wylfa was considered the best site choice as it offered the quickest route to development, subject to the necessary environmental, ecological and geological work being completed. Work was ongoing with partners in Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency, as several Sites of Special Scientific Interest existed around the proposed site at Wylfa, so careful management would be needed to ensure the programme was delivered in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

1.6 In terms of local engagement with the project, acceptance of nuclear was deemed higher in the area due to its nuclear and industrial heritage, but there had been some demographic shifts since the pandemic, with more retirees in the area and some younger people moving away for work. The challenge would be to ensure those people were attracted back to the area they wished to live in, with well paid, highly skilled jobs available in the nuclear industry and associated supply chain.

1.7 The key focus of work at present was around consenting, planning, permitting and skills development. It was acknowledged the first build of SMRs was likely to face some challenges, with almost 1000 various units to bring together, but learning from the first installation should lead to greater efficiency for subsequent phases.

1.8 Beyond the site at Wylfa, this type of clean nuclear energy production presented opportunities at other existing sites, such as Port Talbot, with the introduction of the electric arc furnace, and sites such as Baglan Bay and Trawsfynydd with a long history in the clean energy production sector.

1.9 The links with education partners and potential rail development such as Cardiff Parkway offered further opportunities to bring the relevant skills to areas for future development. There was good evidence from other nuclear development sites in England at Sizewell C and Hinckley Point, which had attracted high calibre employment to those areas. Training programmes and apprenticeships would have a big part to play in long term success.

1.10 The First Minister thanked Simon Bowen, GBE-N for the presentation, welcoming the strong Welsh leadership approach for such an important project for Wales.

The First Minister invited everyone to the formal section of the meeting, which was taking place at Wrexham University. Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers had undertaken a number of local visits before the meeting. These included visits to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where a £33 million investment had been announced, Coleg Llandrillo, Bangor University, Coleg Cambria, the Brymbo Trust and the Clwydian Range.

It was noted the Cabinet meeting would be bilingual, with translation services available via the headsets provided.

2.1 Cymeradwyodd y Cabinet gofnodion 9 Chwefror 2026 / Cabinet approved the minutes of 9 February 2026.

The Prime Minister’s visit

3.1 The First Minister referred to the recent announcement of £14 billion for rail infrastructure in Wales by the Prime Minister, during his visit to the Transport for Wales depot at Treforest on Thursday.

Wales Defence Growth Deal

3.1 The First Minister informed Cabinet that on Friday, she, alongside the UK Defence Secretary, had signed the £50 million Defence Growth Deal at Cardiff Castle. Wales would be at the forefront of next-generation autonomous technology, backing companies and supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs.

4.1 Cabinet considered the Plenary Grid and noted that following successful testing over the half-term recess, the Siambr Project Board had signed off the reconfigured Siambr for a resumption of Plenary meetings. The Business Committee was expected to confirm this at their meeting in the morning. A seating plan had been shared with all members.

4.2 Voting time on Tuesday was scheduled for 7:40pm and 6:55pm on Wednesday.

5.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Education provided Cabinet with an update on educational achievements during the current Senedd, in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day.

5.2 The government had delivered a significant amount of improvement, progress and change, while remaining focussed throughout on delivering the best outcomes for children and young people. The focus of the statement would be around the central pillars of wellbeing, belonging and inclusion. Ensuring the education system supported the wellbeing of all children and young people was critical to ensuring they felt safe, included and were able to engage with learning and return to school settings.

5.3 During the current Senedd, the rollout of the Curriculum for Wales had been completed, with the first cohort of learners now in Year 10. This curriculum focussed on progress and attainment, while taking account of individual learner needs to ensure they were all able to reach their potential. In addition, the transition to the Additional Learning Needs system had been completed, ensuring support was there for the children who needed it most.

5.4 Over £1.5 billion had been invested in schools and colleges through the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, which ensured schools and colleges were fit for purpose, while providing the technology and facilities children needed and deserved.

5.5 The school improvement landscape had been transformed, with more school-to-school support, a greater role for local authorities, and with the new national learning body, Dysgu, there was a continuous cycle of improvement across the sector.

5.6 The tertiary education sector had also been transformed with the establishment of Medr, taking forward policies to increase participation in Further and Higher Education. The approach to Junior Apprentices was supporting children to progress through a range of vocational routes, and there was increased support through the EMA. Furthermore, Seren was supporting the aspirations and ambitions of the most able learners.

5.7 The government had invested significantly in approaches to tackle disengagement to encourage children back into school. Furthermore, there had been a recent announcement about action to tackle poor behaviour. This included, working with the four police forces on a programme of support and with Cardiff Council on a new protocol to manage weapons in school and education settings.

5.8 There was a need to increase support in early years and parenting to help tackle the societal pressures schools were facing, with more joined up work across the public sector. Work was continuing to embed approaches to wellbeing support.

5.9 The outcome of the considerations of the expert literacy panel would be announced shortly, which would help improve educational standards.

5.10 There was more to do, but there had been significant achievement by the education workforce in supporting every learner in Wales.

5.11 Cabinet welcomed the update.

6.1 The Minister for Children and Social Care provided Cabinet with an update on work undertaken to support the social care workforce in Wales, in advance of the statement to the Senedd the following day.

6.2 The workforce had faced unprecedented pressures in recent years but continued to deliver with professionalism and resilience. The statement would focus on actions and next steps to further strengthen and sustain the workforce.

6.3 The government would continue to provide annual funding of around £29 million to Social Care Wales and £45 million directly to local authorities through a workforce grant, alongside the usual settlement.

6.4 The workforce survey had seen an increase in staff morale, job satisfaction and a feeling of being valued by the people they supported. However, there was a need to do more, not least in ensuring that those who studied health and social care courses in college went into the Social Care profession rather than taking posts in the health sector. The statement would include important steps to improve the sustainability of the workforce.

6.5 A Social Care Fair Work Forum had been established to improve the terms and conditions for the workforce. Its initial priority was to advise and support the implementation of the real living wage, with a recent evaluation demonstrating substantial progress in improving pay equity during a challenging period. Some workers were not receiving the uplift which would be addressed in 2026-2027, through increased monitoring.

6.6 Through the Forum and Task and Finish Groups, wider priorities on improving pay, terms and conditions had been progressed. This included a voluntary pay and progression framework, which would be published shortly.

6.7 The Social Care Workforce Partnership had developed exemplar HR policies for the workforce, particularly the independent sector, the first of these, Recognition Agreements and Disciplinary and Grievance, would also be published shortly.

6.8 In addition, the government would be consulting on the proposed structure and operation of a Social Care Negotiation Body, which would be able to enforce pay levels for the workforce.

6.9 In terms of progression opportunities, care academies would help ensure that social care was considered as a lifetime opportunity. As such, the government was investing £1.5 million to support the first phase of a National Social Care Academy, to fulfil the vision to build a nationally recognised, locally delivered academy that would empower individuals to pursue a career in the sector.

6.10 The UK government’s recent immigration changes had created uncertainty for overseas care workers, and in response the government had established a role for the National Advisory Service to help those displaced to seek alternative employment.

6.11 Cabinet welcomed the update.

7.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language provided Cabinet with an update on achievements supporting the Government’s aim of one million Welsh speakers, and increasing its daily use by 2050, in advance of his statement to the Senedd the following day.

7.2 Although the 2021 census had shown a small decline in Welsh speakers, there were encouraging signs, with a general increase in the percentage of year one pupils studying through the medium of Welsh over the last decade. In addition, the provisions of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act set a clear long-term pathway for expanding and strengthening provision across the sector, particularly through Early Years and Flying Start.

7.3 A Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities had been established to advise how to sustain and strengthen Welsh as a community language and provide recommendations to government, while considering the structural challenges facing Welsh-speaking areas.

7.4 One of the most significant actions taken was addressing the impact of second homes in communities. Following the Second Homes: Delivering new policies in Wales report, a number of cross-government interventions had been introduced to address the challenges of high numbers and issues around affordability for local people. The Dwyfor Second Homes Affordability Pilot had trialled numerous interventions to help reduce the impact of the high concentration of second homes.

7.5 In addition, there was the Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan, bringing together economic development, language planning and community development support. While the ARFOR programme had provided financial support to strengthen economic resilience in traditional Welsh speaking areas.

7.6 A major theme in the commission’s work was to designate areas of higher density linguistic significance, and the government was proposing a 3-phase pathway towards designation.

7.7 The first would provide recognition of Areas of Higher Density Linguistic Significance within the revised Cymraeg 2050 Strategy, the second would put the concept into action by strengthening how linguistic considerations were factored into policy frameworks, with the third exploring the potential for primary legislation to establish a statutory designation system.

7.8 The commission was expected to publish its second report, on the position of the Welsh Language in other areas before the end of March.

7.9 Cabinet welcomed the update and noted the significant amount of work that had been achieved across a number of policy areas to support and sustain Welsh as a living community language.

8.1 The First Minister introduced the paper, which asked Cabinet to note the work of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on North Wales during the 6th Senedd and the specific North Wales commitments in the Programme for Government and investment across the area.

8.2 The sub-committee had met 9 times and focused on the region’s distinct opportunities and challenges, while addressing issues around post-pandemic recovery, transport, education, skills and health and social care.

8.3 During these meetings, the sub-committee had engaged with local authority leaders, representatives from the Health Board, Tertiary Education, the Police and Fire Services, which had all strengthened collaboration across North Wales. In addition, the sub-committee had enhanced cross-border relationships with the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities and Irish Consuls, supporting joint responses on issues, such as the Holyhead Port closure and shared economic and service challenges.

8.4 The group had also discussed major regional programmes such as the £1 billion North Wales Growth Deal, Network North Wales, the North Wales Medical School, Theatr Clwyd and improvements within the Health Board area.

8.5 Cabinet noted the paper.

9.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip introduced the paper, which asked Cabinet to endorse the themes, engagement and development of the Future Trends Report (FTR) 2026/2027.

9.2 The purpose of the FTR was to draw together, in one accessible place, a range of information to assist Welsh citizens and policy makers in understanding the major trends and drivers that were likely to shape the future of Wales. The report would be specifically designed to be used by public bodies, Public Service Boards (PSBs), and town and community councils, and its underpinning, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, enabled this type of long-term policy development and thinking.

9.3 Bringing together trends into a single report was only one of the ways in which Welsh Government would support the futures ecosystem in Wales. The FTR utilised predictions of future trends for the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales to understand the challenges that Wales would face in relation to the well-being goals. It provides evidence-based consideration of where Wales is headed to assist the public sector in Wales to make informed long-term decisions.

9.4 The next report would be informed by the previous iteration and feedback received on it from delivery partners. Evaluation of the 2021 FTR concluded there were 4 areas for improvement around future trends work, including: awareness and accessibility, use and application; data and content; and analysis and scenarios.

9.5 The evaluation contained several recommendations for improving and enhancing the content and delivery of the FTR, including promoting inclusivity and participation.

9.6 These areas would all be addressed for the next iteration of the FTR, and the plan was to focus on 10 key themes, all of which aligned to multiple of the 7 well-being goals, as well as broader priorities for Wales such as the climate and nature emergencies.

9.7 The next iteration of the FTR would be published by May 2027, and the methodology and approach would be used to enable publication by the end of 2026 at the earliest and spring 2027 at the latest.

9.8 Key aspects of the delivery would include an internal Oversight Group, with membership from key policy areas, knowledge and analytical services and others across Government. In addition, there would be understanding of diverse user needs, the commissioning of experts and policy teams within and outside Welsh Government. A literature review would be undertaken alongside diverse engagement with stakeholders including workshops with young adults, agreed specific protected characteristics, academic and lived experience experts. Finally, there would be engagement with children and young people through centring the voice of the child/young person in analysis.

9.9 Cabinet welcomed the paper and recognised the importance of monitoring the productivity and demographic change impacts in Wales, alongside global developments.

9.10 Cabinet approved the paper and noted that, given the multi-year nature of this programme, it would require a future Government to prioritise support for the delivery of the programme over the next 18 months.

10.1 Cabinet noted the St David’s awards would be taking place later that week.

Cabinet Secretariat
February 2026