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

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Conservative Altaf Hussain expresses concerns about the impact of "hate groups" on community cohesion.

He says, "when the world's richest man took over traditional and online media, that allowed the amplification of hate speech. Not satisfied with giving Nazi salutes, the owner of X is giving a platform to far-right agitators and providing a microphone for their lies and propaganda. Misinformation is helping to fuel antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and helping to drive converts to Al Qaeda. The Stockport slaughterer was assisted in his conversion to terrible videos the social media platform refused to take off-line. Here on the streets of Wales, we have seen the rise of hate groups like patriotic alternatives."

He asks what actions are being taken "to prevent these hate groups and their lies dividing our communities".

The first minister replies that "social media can have a very negative impact on that community cohesion you have emphasised that is so critical to making sure that we work as a nation, as a community, together for the good of all our people. And, actually, the last thing we need in this country is to be divided. Certainly, having people from outside Wales lob terrible suggestions about what might be happening, I think, is something we just need to be very careful about."

She adds that the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan "is demonstrating our commitment to developing a nation where everybody feels like they can contribute and be a part".

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The first minister says the UK government's launch of an independent commission to look at the long-term future of social care in England is "not going to have any direct bearing on our existing plans for the development of a national care service in Wales, but we will be keeping a close eye on developments in England because we'll need to consider any cross-border impacts for Wales as their plans progress."

Plans for a national care service in Wales would be based on the principles set out in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

Last week, the SNP Scottish government scrapped its flagship plan to create a national care service because it did not have the support it needed in parliament to pass its plans into law.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Ahead of the 5th anniversary of the UK officially leaving the European Union (EU) on 31st January, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth calls for re-setting Wales’ relationship with Europe.

He says a Plaid Cymru government would introduce a new European Alignment Act to enable Welsh law to be aligned as closely and quickly as possible with essential European standards when it is in Wales’ best interests.

He says, "Let's get in the single market at least. Let's get in the customs union. Let's look at people's jobs here" and asks whether the first minister agrees.

The first minister replies "I'm not going to pretend to you that I wouldn't like to see a much closer relationship with the European Union. I think the issue for us is: will they have us? Are they going to open those opportunities for us, because, frankly, as a nation, over all those years of a Tory government, we didn't behave very well? And so, allowing us back in is not going to be as straightforward as you and I would like to think."

She highlights Taith, the Welsh government’s international learning exchange programme, which provides opportunities for learners, young people and staff in every type of education and youth setting to travel abroad to learn, as well as allowing organisations to invite their international partners to come and visit Wales.

Following a speech to Eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels in December - the first given by a UK chancellor since Brexit - Rachel Reeves repeated that the UK would not rejoin the single market and customs union or Freedom of Movement, as outlined in the Labour manifesto.

But she did not rule out keeping UK laws in line with EU regulations for farm, food and goods exports, a policy known as "dynamic alignment".

The UK has previously said it is seeking a veterinary agreement, which could mean meat, fish, dairy, and live animals face fewer checks when crossing a UK-EU border.

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Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, refers to the labour market overview published by the Office for National Statistics.

He says, "the figures showed that you’re a record-breaking Labour government, but you’re breaking records for all of the wrong reasons, because the data shows that Wales has the highest level of unemployment in the United Kingdom and the highest level of economic inactivity and the lowest average take-home pay in Great Britain."

He adds, "at the last budget, one of the flagship policies set out by your colleagues in the UK Labour government was to increase employers’ national insurance contributions. Now, that, of course, means that any organisation - a business, a charity or anybody else - that’s thinking about hiring people now faces extra tax on those jobs and that’s on top of the extra tax on existing jobs as well. Now, you’ve boasted about having a close relationship with your UK Labour government colleagues, so can I ask you this: did anyone in the UK Labour government discuss the idea of pushing up employers’ national insurance with you in advance of that announcement? If so, what was your response? And do you now accept that that policy is making it more expensive for businesses and others to employ people and to create jobs and is pushing unemployment higher?"

The first minister replies "I’m sure people across Wales and the UK will know the most difficult impact that has been on businesses in recent years is huge increases in inflation, but also increases in interest rates, and all of these things are as a result of the calamitous leadership of the Tory government in the past."

According to labour market data for UK countries from the Annual Population Survey, in the year ending September 2024, the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over in Wales was 2.9%, down 0.9 percentage points compared with the previous year. The UK rate was 3.7%, unchanged over the year.

The employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 in Wales was 72.9% in the year ending September 2024, down 1.2 percentage points on the previous year. The UK rate was 75.4%, down 0.3 percentage points over the year.

According to the Welsh government, "These estimates were previously classed as accredited official statistics. The APS has seen a fall in sample sizes over recent years, given this and the fact that the survey has not been reweighted to latest population estimates, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has agreed that this accreditation should be temporarily suspended and that the estimates should be re-designated as official statistics (OSR), external. It is still appropriate to use these statistics, however users should note the increased uncertainty around estimates derived from the APS."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds - whose vote is likely to be crucial in getting the Welsh government budget through the Senedd in March - asks "what assessment has the Welsh government made of the impact of inheritance tax changes on family farms in Wales?"

She says "We really want to know the impact assessment on family farms in Wales. I sat in a room in Hay with Brecon and Radnorshire farmers - five of them, and every single one of them was going to be affected by this new inheritance tax. They had done a detailed analysis, with the backing of accountants, of 15 farms in Brecon and Radnorshire; all but one of them were affected by the new rules. This policy, first minister, is discriminatory against the widowed, the widower, people who are suffering from illnesses that may lead to their early death, and those who are old. This is an appalling policy, and one that I think the Welsh government does not need right now as it introduces the sustainable farming scheme."

The first minister replies that "figures from HM Treasury suggest that most farms will be unaffected by the changes announced by the UK government."

She later adds, "I recognise that there is a disconnect between what the farmers' unions in Wales are saying and what the Treasury is saying... So, there have been a number of representations made to the UK government."

When other opposition politicians call on Labour to reverse the proposals, Eluned Morgan cites HMRC figures saying that the current tax rules disproportionately benefit big estates, which drives up land prices and makes it difficult for young farmers to get on the property ladder.

But she adds the tax changes had “caused concern to many people across rural Wales”.

“Certainly I am concerned about the impact that this is having on their mental health”, she says.

The UK Labour government's chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced inheritance tax would be payable on agricultural assets from April 2026.

Inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20% - half the usual inheritance tax rate.

The UK Treasury said across the UK it expected 2,000 estates to be affected from 2026-27, with around 500 of those claiming agricultural property relief.

BBC Verify has reported that the likely number of farms affected in the UK each year is around 500.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Senedd Cymru

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

Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams expresses concerns about access to employment support and reskilling programmes.

She says, "since the Welsh government’s employability skills programme ended in March 2023, there has been no similar programme put in place. So, what work is being done to develop a new national employability programme to target economically inactive people who need help to be able to return to the workplace?"

First Minister Eluned Morgan replies, "if you’re talking about young people, then we do have the young person’s guarantee, which has supported over 45,000 young people. If you’re discussing adults of course, then programmes like Communities for Work are in place, and 6,000 people have been helped through that. And, of course, there is ReAct [Redundancy Action] which is appropriate for the area that you mention [Neath Port Talbot] - 4,700 grants have been made available for people too. And, of course, there are apprenticeships - £144 million is spent on apprenticeships that cover all ages. And we are on schedule to ensure that 100,000 people benefit from that."

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eluned Morgan’s sixteenth 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.