Eluned Morgan’s fourth session as first minister comes to a close.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell describes the impact of the UK government's decision to cut the winter fuel payment for most pensioners.

She says, "the Tories started this - their cruelty was catastrophic - but so is the choice Labour is making to stick with their savagery, because forcing people to endure the cold under this merciless private system - which monetises the heat we need to stay alive, cutting off their means of comfort - that is savagery".

From this winter, most pensioners will lose the winter fuel payment unless they are receiving certain benefits such as pension credit, which is widely under-claimed.

First Minister Eluned Morgan replies, "I'm aware that there will be lots of pensioners across Wales who'll be very concerned about this situation, and that's why we are very keen as a government, as is the government of the United Kingdom, to make sure that all of those who are eligible for the winter fuel payments will actually take up that opportunity".

She praises Neath Port Talbot council for its work in identifying eligible pensioners.

She recalls speaking to a pensioner over the weekend who "didn't have any idea that, actually, his pension this year would be going up by 8.5 per cent, and would be going up by 4 per cent next year".

Under the arrangement called the "triple lock", the state pension goes up each year by either 2.5%, inflation, or average earnings growth - whichever is the highest figure.

Earnings figures for the three months to July are used for the yearly increase, and these showed total pay rose at an annual rate of 4%, much higher than inflation.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative MS Janet Finch-Saunders seeks “a statement on the Welsh government's proposals to increase income tax”.

The first minister replies "there are no proposals to increase income tax in Wales".

Janet Finch-Saunders responds, "there is obviously a feeling now that you're just going to tax and tax and tax, so it's quite reassuring that you say there will be no increase to income tax in Wales".

The Welsh government has had the ability to raise or lower the three rates of income tax in Wales since 2019 but has never done so.

The Welsh government's budget will be published in December.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds says "over the past six years, we've seen a startling increase in the number of larger families who are living in relative poverty. Forty-three per cent of children in households of three or more are now at risk of relative poverty. That represents a staggering 100,000 children here in Wales. The two-child benefit cap is a key factor driving that crisis".

She asks whether the first minister supports calls to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

The first minister admits "there are lots of people within the Labour Party who are very uncomfortable about it; that's the truth of it", but refers to the UK Labour government's claim that there is a "£22bn black hole" in the public finances.

The two-child cap prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third child, with a few exemptions.

These benefits help with the cost of raising a child. Parents and carers might be able to get them if their children are under 16 or, if they are in eligible training, up to the age of 20.

In Wales around 28% of children are considered to be living in relative poverty - with a household classed as such if it is getting by on less than 60% of the UK's median income.

That works out as an income of less than £300 a week, after paying for housing costs.

A previous target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 was dropped by the Welsh government in 2016.

Its new strategy promises to "put in place robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms to track progress against key indicators on child poverty".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

After weeks of turmoil behind the scenes in Downing Street, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth raises the issue of Sue Gray’s removal as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and her appointment as envoy for the nations and regions.

Rhun ap Iorwerth's view is that "this appointment undermines the ability of a Welsh first minister to have a direct relationship with Keir Starmer".

He adds, "This also, of course, undermines the Welsh Secretary. Neither the first minister nor the Labour Welsh Secretary are now the first point of contact for Keir Starmer when it comes to dealing with Wales. Just let that sink in. When Labour proclaimed change, little did we think that what it meant in reality was that the first minister would have to be taking her orders from someone now unwanted by the prime minister as his chief of staff and unelected by the public".

The first minister says she'll have a one-to-one meeting with the prime minister on Friday, adding "it's a good thing that the nations and regions are being taken seriously, unlike under the last Tory government."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, North Wales Police

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, expresses alarm that paedophile head teacher Neil Foden may have abused pupils for more than 40 years, with four times as many victims than previously thought.

Neil Foden was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing four children in north Wales between 2019 and 2023.

But a BBC Wales investigation has heard allegations going back to 1979, and from two women who say police told them there were up to 20 potential victims.

But serious concerns have been raised about a review designed to "learn lessons" from Foden's case, despite local council Cyngor Gwynedd vowing a panel overseeing this will be "given all the information it needs".

Eluned Morgan tells the Senedd the review needs to be “thorough” and “sensitive”.

“You need to listen very, very carefully and sensitively to the victims. You need to listen carefully to the councillors who were involved in promoting and appointing him”.

Morgan puts on record her “support and sympathy” for the victims who had come forward.

“The key thing is we learn lessons, and that we try to avoid this kind of situation from happening again”.

Andrew RT Davies says Foden had committed “horrific acts of abuse” and asks “how was an individual who has had accusations put against him of bullying and also inappropriate behaviour, confirmed by disciplinary procedure and outcomes, still able to receive promotion, [and] to become an executive head in the Gwynedd council of two substantial schools?

“Time and time again, when we come to the floor the Senedd and we focus on these tragic cases, it is very often… that there were red flags through the process that could have been picked up.

"But when a report is done little or no action seems to follow about the people who did not act on those red flags.”

Image source, Senedd Cymru

On the day the UK transport secretary has signalled that the HS2 railway line is likely to be extended to London Euston, the first minister says the Welsh government is "still putting pressure on the UK government for fairness in terms of what's happened in relation to investment in that infrastructure".

The HS2 project was designated an "England and Wales" scheme by the UK Treasury.

That means it did not trigger the mechanism that would usually send money to the Welsh government, when UK government spends money on projects in England that Cardiff ministers have powers over in Wales.

That mechanism is known as the Barnett formula.

Image source, HS2

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Llywydd Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister.

Vaughan Gething, who only faced 13 sessions of First Minister's Questions before resigning from the top job earlier this year, asks how the Welsh government will “speed up planning decisions to help grow the Welsh economy”.

First Minister Eluned Morgan replies "planning makes a major contribution to green growth, social housing provision and addressing the nature and climate emergencies. For that reason, accelerating planning decisions is one of my top priorities. A delivery plan setting out proposals to accelerate decisions is being prepared."

Gething highlights the case of Cardiff parkway, a transport and economic development proposal in the east of his Cardiff South and Penarth constituency.

This proposal is endorsed in the Burns report as an alternative to an M4 relief road.

He says "it's almost two years since the planning proposal was called in by a previous Welsh minister. First minister, can you confirm which minister has now been allocated to determine this matter, following the two planning inspector reports, and when could we expect a decision?"

The first minister confirms she will make the final decision on Cardiff parkway.

She says "the Welsh government's planning directorate have received the planning inspector's report for the application. That is now being actively considered by officials, and a decision will be issued as soon as possible."

Image source, Cardiff Parkway Development Ltd

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eluned Morgan’s fourth session of First Minister's Questions.

The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others joining by video-conference.

You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings from 1.30pm.