Cabinet meeting: 19 January 2026

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

Apologies

• Lynne Neagle MS
• Vikki Howells MS

Officials

• Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary 
• Rachel Garside-Jones, Director Office of the First Minister and Delivery
• Rebecca Dunn, Head of Cabinet Division 
• Toby Mason, Head of Strategic Communications  
• Sinead Gallagher, Deputy Director Cabinet Office
• Luke Young, Special Adviser 
• Sarah Dickins, Special Adviser
• Madeleine Brindley, 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 
• Helena Bird, Permanent Secretary’s office
• Kath Hallett, First Minister’s Office
• Tracey Burke, Director General Climate Change & Rural Affairs
• Judith Paget, Director General Strategy
• Andrew Slade, Director General Economy, Energy and Transport  
• Jacqueline Totterdell, Director General Health 
• Emma Williams, Director General Education, Culture & Welsh Language
• Nicola Williams, Director Legal Services
• Andrew Jeffreys, Welsh Treasury

1.1 Cymeradwyodd y Cabinet gofnodion 12 Ionawr 2026 / Cabinet approved the minutes of 12 January 2026.

USA announcement on tariffs

2.1 Cabinet noted the Prime Minister had publicly responded, earlier that day, to the President of the United States of America’s plans to impose import tariffs of 10% from 1st February and 25% on 1st June on goods from the UK and other European nations who oppose his plans to take over Greenland.

2.2 The tariffs would have a disproportionate impact on Wales, where 59% of its exports were destined to the USA, compared to 32% for whole of the UK. This would impact more than 1,000 companies.

Institute for Government

2.3 The First Minister informed Cabinet she would be attending an event at the Institute for Government in London on Thursday to discuss her priorities, relations with Westminster, the upcoming Senedd election and the future of devolution. The First Minister would also be attending a number of media briefings.

Cabinet business

2.4 Cabinet noted the focus of the majority of that day’s business would be Ministerial Portfolio achievements in advance of statements being made in the Senedd the following day, exceptionally there were no formal Cabinet papers to consider.

3.1 Cabinet considered the Plenary Grid and noted that voting time would be around 6:05pm on Tuesday and around 5:55pm on Wednesday.

4.1 The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing provided Cabinet with an update on delivering Women’s Health Hubs, in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day.

4.2 There had been good progress with the actions in the Women’s Health Plan. The plan had been developed by the NHS and was an opportunity to close the gender gap in modern medicine and properly address women’s health needs.

4.3 Materials for young people and school nurses had been developed to facilitate learning about women’s health conditions. In addition, Women’s Health Research Wales had been launched, which would fund four projects to provide real-world demonstrations of new technology and services to improve healthcare outcomes for women and girls.

4.4 The focus of the statement would be on Women’s Health Hubs. The Hubs would provide a holistic approach to the delivery of women’s healthcare, bringing together professionals and local stakeholders to provided integrated health services, while acting as an interface between primary and secondary care. The flexibility within the provision would mean the Hubs would look different in each area, to help the Health Boards respond to local needs, but all would be delivering to an agreed implementation guide.

4.5 By the beginning of March, pathfinder Hubs would be delivering services across all the Health Boards. Although, service delivery through the Hubs would commence that week in some parts of Wales, and over the coming weeks more services would be delivered, including specialist GP provision for menopause care, pelvic physio and contraception clinics.

4.6 Progress had also been made in upskilling the workforce in women’s health, and Health Education and Improvement Wales were also developing training that would be accessible to all NHS staff via the dedicated portal. Furthermore, an evaluation had been commissioned to consider how best to develop and embed the model in Wales.

5.1 The Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership provided an update to Cabinet on Creative Wales and its contribution to and impact on the growth of creative industries, in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day.

5.2 That week was the 6th anniversary of the establishment of Creative Wales. The statement would highlight the growth of the industry, the impact, along with the international recognition of the sectors and activities, all directly supported by Creative Wales. This included a £1.7 billion turnover in 2024, a 12.6% increase on 2023 and wider cultural returns.

5.3 For example, 70 Film and TV productions had been supported since launch. The investment of £33.8 million had generated a Welsh spend of £419 million and had helped improve the global visibility of Welsh productions, including those in the Welsh language. Support for the fast-growing gaming sector had been upscaled, following major wins for Wales Interactive. In addition, Rocket Science had already met its target of employing 50 people, ahead of schedule.

5.4 More than £1.3 million had been invested in the music sector, including £700,000 for grassroots venues, protecting vital spaces for artist development.

5.5 One of the top priorities was to develop skills, and the government had offered 580 paid entry level and upskilling trainee placements and apprenticeships on funded productions since 2020. In addition, the Creative Skills Fund had supported 34 training projects delivering bespoke training for individuals and companies across the priority sectors. Furthermore, there was ongoing collaboration with partners, such as the National Film and Television School Cymru, Culture Connect Wales and the union-led Cult Skills to improve skills, mental health and wellbeing support across the sector.

5.6 A social partnership forum had also been established to ensure routine and constructive engagement between the Government, employers and creative and cultural Trade Unions.

5.7 Both the recent Investment Summit and British Irish Council had showcased creative industries in Wales and the impact on both the economy and communities.

5.8 Cabinet welcomed the update.

6.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Social Partnership, Trefnydd and Chief Whip provided Cabinet with an update on the Welsh Government’s income maximisation programmes in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day.

6.2 Improving access to financial support for people across Wales was a key government priority, such as ensuring that people were claiming what they were entitled too, though the Claim What’s Yours campaign. So far, 90,000 people had responded to the campaign, with many securing extra income that they did not know they could claim.

6.3 In addition, reducing costs and maximising household income was the first objective within the Child Poverty Strategy. Throughout the current Senedd, the focus had been clear in tackling stigma, raising awareness, giving people access to advice and making it easier for people to receive their entitlement to the Welsh benefits. Through the adoption of the Welsh Benefits Charter, local authorities were implementing an important culture shift towards a system based on rights and entitlements.

6.4 The Disabled People’s Rights Action Plan, launched in December, prioritised income maximisation for disabled people. The government was providing a £100 payment to households with a Disabled Band Reduction who also received help from the means tested Council Tax Reduction Scheme. This payment was designed in line with the Welsh Benefits Charter, requiring no application forms or documents to be provided to prove eligibility. Local authorities were using existing data to make payments directly to eligible households.

6.5 Working with local authorities and the WLGA, the principles of the Welsh Benefits Charter was being embedded into the administration of Welsh benefits, making the system more coherent and person centred. A steering group of experts was driving this work forward, and progress was being made towards a ‘tell your story once’ approach when local authorities determine entitlement for Council Tax Reduction Scheme, Free School Meals and the School Essentials Grant.

6.6 The government had also funded a pilot where 12 local authorities to use Policy in Practice’s LIFT analytical tool on their income datasets to identify residents who were missing out and encourage them to claim their entitlements. Participating local authorities had, so far, carried out 47 benefit take-up campaigns, targeting over 20,000 households across Wales.

6.7 The Single Advice Fund was at the centre of the income maximisation work, with every person using one of the services being offered an income maximisation check. Since 2020, the services had helped people claim £213 million of additional income.

6.8 The government was also funding the Dangos training programme to help frontline workers support people to claim their entitlements. More than 7,000 frontline workers had completed the training.

6.9 Income maximisation was an on-going effort, given that people’s circumstances change, impacting entitlement.

6.10 Cabinet welcomed the update.

7.1 The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs provided Cabinet with an update on the implementation of the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips Act 2025, in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day.

7.2 The previous week, allocations of over £80 million had been announced for 10 local authorities and Natural Resources Wales, to support the work on more than 400 tips across Wales. In addition, with £143 million committed by the UK government, along with the Welsh Government funding, more than £230 million had now been secured for coal tip safety across Wales, reflecting the shared responsibility for the legacy issue. To support delivery at pace, this funding was being delivered through a 4-year, multi-year grant model, giving Local Authorities certainty to plan and deliver complex schemes.

7.3 Public safety remained the foremost priority. Since 2020, monitoring and maintenance of disused coal tips had been significantly strengthened, with more than 3,000 inspections completed through a comprehensive programme funded by the government and delivered by the Mining Remediation Authority. This regime ensured risks were identified early and that necessary maintenance and remediation works were carried out promptly. Importantly, no immediate stability issues had been identified following the severe storm events at the end of last year, and no issues had been identified to date on the current winter inspections.

7.4 Significant progress was being made in putting in place the structures, systems and resources needed for the authority to be fully operational by 1 April 2027, with Fiona Jones appointed as the authority’s inaugural Chair. The authority would be based in the Merthyr Tydfil office. The CEO appointment process was underway, and the appointment was expected to be made in the spring.

7.5 The government was building workforce capacity through strong partnerships and with a clear delivery focus, combining immediate recruitment with a sustainable skills pipeline. Working with initiatives such as Talent Beyond Boundaries, the armed forces employment programmes, WLGA and MEDR, clear pathways were being put in place to support and build resilience in the sector for the future.

7.6 A government-funded pilot, the Environmental Engineering Placement Scheme, delivered by the WLGA, was creating a pipeline of new talent into the profession. Six placements were currently hosted by local authorities, offering practical experience in flood risk management and mining remediation. While still at an early stage, the scheme had proved highly popular, with demand exceeding available places.

7.7 Robust systems were essential for the authority to operate effectively from day one. Work was well underway to ensure the necessary IT systems and guidance was in place. Two specialist IT service providers had been asked to develop the core software systems required to deliver its functions.

7.8 Key statutory enablers for the authority were being progressed, with both the statutory guidance and regulations governing appeal processes in the process of being drafted and cleared ahead of consultation later in the year. Together, these measures would provide a clear, compliant operational framework.

7.9 These measures ensured the authority would be fully prepared to deliver its vital role from day one, while safeguarding communities and strengthening confidence in the approach to tip safety.

7.10 Cabinet welcomed the update.

8.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales provided Cabinet with an update on delivering transport for all, in advance of a statement to the Senedd the following day. The statement would set out progress in delivering a safer, fairer, more affordable and inclusive transport system across Wales.

8.2 The £1 bus fare pilot for children and young people had already been used for over 2 million journeys up to the end of December 2025, helping them reach school, college, work and leisure opportunities at lower cost, while easing pressure on families during a challenging time.

8.3 The Bus Services (Wales) Bill was passed by the Senedd on 9 December 2025. The Bill provided new powers to design a more reliable, accountable, publicly focused bus network that responded to community needs.

8.4 In addition, there had been over £1 billion of investment in the Core Valleys Lines and South Wales Metro to deliver a modern, integrated, and electrified network. The programme was electrifying 170km of track, 99% of which was complete. Furthermore, the Network North Wales vision had introduced new rail and bus services within the first 6 months whilst securing long-term investment for major enhancements and delivering services to England. A cross-border Chair had been appointed to oversee delivery.

8.5 Transport for Wales had made significant progress in delivering the government’s aims and was rated as one of the best rail providers in the UK.

8.6 In terms of roads, by the end of the current Senedd it was anticipated that £118 million would have been spent to repair more than 500km of defects and potholes. In 2025 sections 5 and 6 of the A465 were opened, completing the 20-year project to dual the whole of the A465 from Abergavenny to Neath. In addition, the A40 improvements in Pembrokeshire had been completed, improving access to key ports and commercial infrastructure in West Wales.

8.7 The work with all 22 local authorities to implement “the right speed on the right road” approach had been completed and there had been sustained investment to expand safe walking, wheeling and cycling routes across Wales. In 2024–2025, the Active Travel Fund had provided over £50 million in funding for Local Authority schemes, thereby supporting new infrastructure and improvements across Wales.

8.8 In addition, increased regional transport devolution and coordination through Regional Transport Plans was providing the foundation for the new Regional Transport Fund, with over £100 million of funding to implement the plans in 2026–2027.

8.9 The Travel for All approach was also resulting in practical support to address safety concerns, including improved lighting, visible staff, and new help points being introduced at stations.

8.10 Cabinet welcomed the update and put on record its thanks to all those involved in making the transport improvements in Wales.

Cabinet Secretariat
January 2026