Cabinet meeting: 8 June 2026

• Rhun ap Iorwerth MS (Chair)
• Sioned Williams MS
• Mabon ap Gwynfor MS
• Anna Brychan MS
• Heledd Fychan MS
• Llŷr Gruffydd MS
• Siân Gwenllian MS
• Rt. Hon. Elin Jones MS
• Adam Price MS
• Dafydd Trystan Davies MS
• Rt Hon. Elfyn Llwyd
   
• Mark Hooper MS (item 4)
• Delyth Jewell MS (item 5)
• Nerys Evans MS (item 5)

Officials

• Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary
• Rachel Garside-Jones, Director Office of the First Minister
• Toby Mason, Director Strategic Communications
• Carwyn Wycherley, Deputy Head of Cabinet Office
• Aled ap Dafydd, Senior Special Adviser
• Elin Roberts, Senior Special Adviser
• Emily Edwards, Senior Special Adviser
• Francess Ifan, Senior Special Adviser
• Cai Elis, Special Adviser
• Rebecca Jones, Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Christopher W Morgan, Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Katie Mason, Cabinet Secretariat
• Andrew Slade, Director General Economy, Energy and Transport (item 4)
• Peter McDonald, Director of Transport and Digital Connectivity (item 4)
• Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer (item 5)

1.1 Cabinet approved the minutes of 27 May.

100 Day Plan

2.1 The Prif Weinidog recognised the work that was underway on the 100 day plan and that some ministers would be making announcements that week on progress.

The Fire at Tata Steel works

2.2 The Prif Weinidog referred to the recent fire at Port Talbot Steelworks and put on record his thanks to all those involved in tackling the blaze and the clean-up operations.

2.3 The Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy informed Cabinet that he had met with the Chief Executive of Tata Steel UK earlier that day. They also discussed the press reports where it had been suggested the electric steel-making furnace may be delayed due to problems with electrical connectivity.

3.1 Cabinet considered the Plenary grid and noted an oral statement on Key Infrastructure Resilience had been added to the agenda for the following day, with the first opposition debates and short debate of this Senedd taking place on Wednesday.

4.1 The Deputy Minister for Transport introduced the paper, which asked Cabinet to note the long-standing capacity, reliability and resilience challenges on the M4 around Newport and the Menai Strait, and that incremental measures alone had a limited impact.

4.2 Successive governments had considered major roadbuilding, public transport improvements and network management measures and, as such, had already generated a substantial evidence base. The challenge was to decide a realistic and deliverable way forward.

4.3 The M4 around Newport remained one of the most constrained and strategically important corridors in Wales. It was under sustained pressure, affecting the reliability of journeys for people and freight, and it was an issue the public and stakeholders expected the government to address. It was also one of the most important economic corridors in Wales and its performance mattered to businesses, communities and impacted investment across the country.

4.4 A wide range of solutions had already been examined, the most significant was the M4 Relief Road, or Black Route. That proposal was developed in considerable detail but was cancelled in 2019. However, simply revisiting the Black Route would not be a serious or responsible answer. The costs would be substantial, the environmental impacts remained significant, and it would not represent a credible deliverable proposition for the government.

4.5 Neither could it be assumed that the Burns Commission recommendations, important though they were, would provide the whole answer. The commission had set out a compelling long-term vision for the corridor and remained the basis of current policy. However, delivery had been slower than intended. The rail elements remained some years away and progress on bus and active travel measures had been constrained by wider budget pressures.

4.6 There may be a small number of targeted opportunities to explore, such as speeding up Burns delivery, exploring creative road network management and making hard choices on the priority of east-west regional traffic flows. The task was to identify where practical interventions could make a meaningful difference, and to pursue those opportunities at pace.

4.7 There was also a need to consider the trade-offs involved, given the M4 was not simply a strategic route between South Wales and England. It formed part of Newport’s wider transport system. Therefore, measures to improve east to west movement on the M4 or A48 might create pressures elsewhere in the network, particularly within Newport, and any future package needed to consider this impact and the role of public transport.

4.8 However, there was no simple solution. Should the delivery of the Burns recommendations be accelerated, such as improving bus services, making better use of the existing road network and investment in maintenance, there needed to be realism about what could be achieved, not least as it was a coastal corridor of closely connected cities, growing populations and finite road space.

4.9 In the longer term, if travel demand continued to grow, a greater proportion of journeys would need to be accommodated by public transport, as there was insufficient road space for everyone to travel by car.

4.10 Recognising these challenges should not lead to the conclusion that little could be done. Rather, it reinforced the importance of taking practical steps now and building a package of measures that improved resilience, reliability and connectivity over time.

4.11 Therefore, it was proposed there should be a short focused internal review, which would be published, to assess the available options and identify a way forward.

4.12 In terms of the Menai Strait, the issue was more about resilience. Progress was already being made on measures to improve reliability, including work relating to wind restrictions on the Britannia Bridge. However, it was noted the Government did not own the asset, which was the property of Network Rail, and the structure was Grade 2 listed, which would have implications for planning permission.

4.13 Due to the age and strategic importance of the existing crossings, there was a strong case for considering the long-term need for a third crossing, particularly in the context of future economic and energy developments on Ynys Môn.

4.14 As with the M4, the objective was to ensure the Government was planning ahead for a challenge that would increasingly become important over time, rather than waiting until resilience issues led to a critical constraint on economic activity and connectivity.

4.15 Cabinet welcomed the paper and agreed that, when recognising the scale of what needed to be addressed there was a need to be empathetic to the issues faced by local communities

4.16 Cabinet approved the paper.

5.1 The Prif Weinidog welcomed Isabel Oliver, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), to the meeting and invited her to present an analysis of the health of the nation.

5.2 The CMO informed Cabinet that her role was to provide clinical leadership and independent professional advice to the Welsh Government about health, public health and wellbeing matters. She was also working with organisations across Wales to reduce health inequalities, while leading the medical profession with the aim of improving the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes.

5.3 Wales was facing a number of sociodemographic changes, with over 1 in 5 people now aged 66 or over and 1 in 10 over the age of 75. In addition, 1 in 5 children were living in deep poverty. The working age population was around 62%, however 9% of these adults were not in employment, due to long-term ill health.

5.4 Although life expectancy had improved, those experiencing ill health later in life had increased, with healthy life expectancy deteriorating. This was having a greater impact on women and those from deprived communities.

5.5 However, much future ill health was preventable, with around 23% considered to be avoidable. Around 40% of cancers were also preventable through action on modifiable risk factors. The number of people living with overweight or obesity was increasing, now affecting 60% of adults and almost 1 in 4 children.

5.6 Furthermore, risk factors amongst women during pregnancy, such as smoking or vaping, had increased in recent years and was contributing to greater complexity in maternity care resulting in poor birth outcomes.

5.7 Preventive measures did work, such as with smoking, where rates had significantly decreased in recent years. However, there was a need to address the rise in the use of e-cigarettes.

5.8 In terms of mental health, around 1 in 3 adults were reporting low mental wellbeing, with almost one quarter of people currently registered with GPs having a diagnosed mental health condition. In 2024, around 30% of primary school learners reported elevated or clinically significant emotional difficulties. Overall, demand for support was high across all ages, particularly young people.

5.9 With general health, the number of GP referrals had doubled in recent years, thereby increasing waiting lists and putting pressures on Health Services. This was partially due to an increase in chronic conditions but there were also changes with the way services were delivered and improved patient pathways resulted in better outcomes.

5.10 Over the next 10 years, demographic change and multimorbidity were likely to accelerate, thereby increasing demand. In addition, economic pressures and wider societal factors were also likely to sustain high demand for mental health support, especially amongst children and young people.

5.11 Furthermore, climate change represented a major amplifier of both physical and mental health. Other factors that were likely to have a high impact included potential pandemics and emerging infections, with high impact risks, along with seasonal respiratory viruses, which could be avoidable.

5.12 Nevertheless, there were opportunities to improve health and wellbeing, through prevention, with focuses on addressing inequalities, while investing in children and young people. It was also important to provide services that met the needs of communities, while having a stronger focus on health outcomes.

5.13 Cabinet welcomed the update and recognised there had been global societal challenges since the pandemic, particularly in terms of mental health and the impact on children and young people.

5.14 Cabinet thanked the CMO for her presentation.

Cabinet Secretariat
June 2026