With lots of information available, we wanted to share some key things that have happened since the Senedd election 2026 and what we want to see the government do in the coming months to make Wales the best country for people with a learning disability to live, learn, love and work.

Like many people, you may have gone to the ballot box and voted in the Senedd election on 7 May 2026. You may have watched the results being announced on TV or on social media. Your chosen party may or may not have got in. You may now be asking: “What progress has been made since May?”.

Good question! Let’s take a look.

We have a new political party in charge of Wales

Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd for the first time and formed a new Welsh Government. They won the most seats in the Senedd election; however, they did not get enough seats for a majority.

This means that it might be difficult for them to get enough votes in the Senedd to make important decisions and laws because the other parties could vote against them. We saw this happen recently when the Plaid Government tried to pass their budget and Labour refused to support it.

A political party needs to win 49 seats or more in the Senedd for a majority, but Plaid Cymru has decided to form a minority government. This means they will need to work together with other parties to make sure they have enough votes to make decisions and laws.

 

We have a new First Minister and Cabinet

Following the election, we have a new First Minister and Cabinet to lead the Welsh Government.

Key appointments include:

  • Rhun ap Iorwerth as First Minister. Rhun ap Iorwerth was elected First Minister on 12 May 2026, taking over from Eluned Morgan.
  • Sioned Williams as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality. Sioned was the Chair of both the Cross-Party Group on Learning Disability and Human Rights during the last Senedd.
  • Mabon ap Gwynfor as Cabinet Minister for Health and Care.
  • Delyth Jewell as Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health (including responsibility for learning disabilities).
  • Nerys Evans as Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health.

 

We have new Senedd Committees

Committees are groups of Members of the Senedd (MSs) who make sure the government are doing what they should for the people of Wales. They make decisions, ask questions about money being spent by the government and public services, and investigate any issues.

The new Committees for the Seventh Senedd include:

  • Health and Social Care
  • Equality, Human Rights and Social Justice
  • Early Years, Children, Young People and Education
  • Local Government, Housing and Planning

These committees are important because many decisions affecting disabled people, health services and social care will be looked at and talked about over the next 4 years.

 

That’s great, but what about learning disability policy?

In July 2026, Delyth Jewell MS spoke about the new Government’s commitment to improving services for people with a learning disability.

She set out 3 steps for how the government will do this and these are:

  1. Publish information on Welsh residents with a learning disability who are receiving specialist inpatient care in Wales and England.
  2. Develop a quality statement to help improve the quality, consistency and experience of care for people with a learning disability.
  3. Introduce a 3-year learning disability transformation programme to look at how health services, social care and housing can work better together to support people with a learning disability.

Within these steps, they have made commitments to:

  • Improve care and support for people in local communities.
  • Help people stay well and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
  • Make sure learning disability services are responsible for support they provide.
  • Check that learning disability services are working well.
  • Collect better information to improve these services.
  • Keep putting the Learning Disability Strategic Action Plan into action.

The new Plaid government also made a commitment in its election manifesto to deliver the important recommendations in the ‘From Hospitals to Homes’ report. The report was created by the Stolen Lives Homes Not Hospitals Task and Finish Group and raised concerns about the inappropriate sectioning and hospitalisation of people with a learning disability and autistic people.

 

What happens next?

For people with a learning disability, their families and carers, support organisations and the third sector, the coming months will provide a clearer picture of how the new Welsh Government plans to turn its priorities into action.

At Learning Disability Wales, we’ve been getting to know the new Senedd members, understanding their roles and responsibilities, and continuing to share challenges faced by people with a learning disability and their families, but also the learning disability sector.

We will continue to work with the new Members of the Senedd over the next 4 years to address our manifesto asks, which are:

  • Promote the importance of accessible information
  • Support the Stolen Lives campaign
  • Close the disability employment gap
  • Reduce health inequalities
  • Support parents with a learning disability
  • Reduce loneliness and social isolation
  • Prioritise adequate funding for the learning disability sector
  • Support the All Wales People First Manifesto

 

How you can get involved

We are currently working to re-start the Cross Party Group on Learning Disability, which is made up of Members of the Senedd from at least 3 of the political parties in the Senedd plus members of the Learning Disability Consortium:

The group aims to discuss and promote the issues that affect the lives of people with a learning disability in Wales and their families/carers.

Everyone is welcome to come along to meetings of the Cross Party Group, so if you’re interested in joining or just want to find out more, keep an eye on our Cross Party Group on Learning Disability web page for updates.