SCHOOLS across Wales are to receive statutory guidance on restricting pupils’ mobile phone use during the school day, the Welsh Government has announced.

The move follows a consultation and a workforce survey which found strong support for national direction on the issue.

Although most schools already have mobile phone policies, the survey found there was no consistent approach across Wales. It also found that 82% of respondents supported statutory restrictions.

The new guidance for local authorities and schools will set out clearer expectations on how phones should be used during the school day. It will be evaluated over the school year, with ministers leaving open the option of strengthening the rules further if required.

Cabinet Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Anna Brychan said: “Our 100-day plan was clear that we would act, and I have listened to the calls for stronger clarity on this issue.

“This is why the government will publish statutory guidance to provide clear national expectations on how mobile phones are used in schools.

“I want to be clear: as Cabinet Minister, I fully support — and strongly encourage — headteachers to introduce clear and robust restrictions on mobile phone use during the school day, up to and including a full restriction across the school site.

“I am mindful some children will always need exceptions, for medical reasons for example.

“By consulting on guidance at the start of the school year I am giving schools the clarity they want quickly, and creating a safer learning environment by reducing distractions now.”

The Welsh Government said it would also consider the implications of UK Government plans for new restrictions on under-16s’ access to social media.

Ms Brychan said ministers were committed to protecting young people online and would work with school leaders and partners across the education system in Wales as the proposals develop.

The announcement came as the Education Minister set out wider priorities for the sector, including raising standards, strengthening Welsh language provision, improving skills and creating what she described as a system that works for everyone.

The Welsh Government said it would develop a new Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan before the end of the summer and review the curriculum.

Other priorities include reducing workload for education staff, expanding Welsh-medium education, ensuring learners have more opportunities to use Welsh beyond the classroom, and reviewing how universities are funded.

Ms Brychan added: “Education is the key to unleashing our nation’s potential and there is no shortage of talent, energy and innovation in Wales.

“If we want to unlock this potential and build a stronger Wales, we need a stronger education system.

“We will raise standards, strengthen the Welsh language, develop skills and build a system that works.

“By working together, we can provide opportunity, ambition and excellence for all learners, in all parts of Wales and support the workforce that makes it possible.

“This Government has made education a priority because the future of Wales depends on it.”

LOCAL government funding, protection for renters, and asylum seekers were all discussed as Wales’ housing minister took questions from Senedd colleagues on Wednesday June 17.

Siân Gwenllian, whose ministerial role includes local government, housing and planning, took her first question from Reform’s Paul Marr.

Pressing the minister on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and asylum seekers, Mr Marr asked Ms Gwenllian if she knew the total number of HMOs in Wales, and what proportion are occupied by current and former asylum seekers.

The Ceredigion Penfro MS spoke of meeting a 70-year-old veteran in his constituency who had spent several years living in an abandoned camper van because he was unable to secure accommodation.

Mr Marr called on Ms Gwenllian to provide “assurances” that Welsh people facing homelessness will not be “treated less favourably” in the allocation of housing or housing support than those that have been granted asylum status.

Warning the Reform MS to avoid creating divisions by “trying to point the finger at one specific group in our society”, Ms Gwenllian confirmed that 14,954 homes in Wales were HMOs as of March 31, 2025.

She added that data is not collected on residents, and as such there is no data on what percentage are occupied by asylum seekers.

“Our ambition is that everyone in Wales should have a quality home, for an affordable price and in the area that is right for them, including veterans, and including refugees too”, she said.

Ms Gwenllian referred to the First Minister’s statement on immigration and housing on Tuesday June 16, adding that “it’s not immigration that is causing the housing crisis, [and] it’s not asylum seekers that are causing the housing crisis.”

Fellow Reform MS Steven Rodaway also quizzed the minister on the housing shortage and asylum seekers.

Mr Rodaway asked Ms Gwenllian about the “housing demand arising from the Nation of Sanctuary programme”.

Responding, she clarified accommodation for asylum seekers is not a devolved matter, noting that it is the UK Government making those decisions.

Ms Gwenllian also stressed that social housing is not available to asylum seekers who are awaiting decisions.

She also shared the figure for the number of asylum seekers in Wales, as collected by the Home Office, noting that it is around 3,400 people.

Responding to Mr Rodaway, Ms Gwenllian said: “These are people who are fleeing atrocities and war, things that we in this chamber can only imagine in terms of the kinds of lives and the kinds of trauma that these people have experienced and are fleeing.

“So, please don’t try and create divisions by discussing housing problems in the same breath as asylum seekers.

“The housing crisis has nothing to do with asylum seekers. I hope that that message is being heard by those who need to hear that message.

“The housing crisis in Wales has nothing to do with asylum seekers, it has nothing to do with refugees.”

Labour’s spokesperson for local government, Mike Hedges, told the Siambr the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) estimated £1.6 billion of additional funding would be needed to meet budget pressures for local authorities over the next three years.

Mr Hedges added that the auditor general for Wales had said some councils in Wales were at the very edge of financial stability.

He said: “Education and social services account for the majority of local government spending. The WLGA estimates schools and social services alone make up around 60% of financial pressures this year.

“Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide these services and, with ever-increasing demand in these areas, there’s little flexibility in other budgets.”

Mr Hedges questioned if Ms Gwenllian would argue for the supplementary budget to have additional money included for local government.

Describing the current financial situation as an “extremely challenging period”, Ms Gwenllian said her government understands the pressures of schools and local authorities, including the pressures on families and supporting ALN learners.

She said: “The education system and the budgetary arrangements aren’t the same in Wales as they are in England, of course, and it’s clear that there are significant financial pressures in local education authorities in this country as well as in England – and I know that they’ve had to make very difficult decisions to manage this situation.

“We must now progress in working with our partners to develop a long-term, clear transformation plan for ALN – one that is specific, clear and timely – to ensure that the sector can support the needs of learners as well as being operationally sustainable.”

Peter Fox, Conservative spokesperson for finance, local government, and communities, called on Ms Gwenllian to clarify if the government will be looking to restructure local authorities, noting a manifesto pledge to keep the structures of government in Wales, including town and community councils, under “continuous review”.

Mr Fox said this has caused “quite a lot of confusion and concern” amongst local authorities.

In response, Ms Gwenllian confirmed restructuring local government is “not a priority for this government”.

However, she added: “There are a number of things that we could be working on collaboratively with local government to reduce bureaucracy and processes and focus on delivery.

“That’s where the partnership agreement that the Welsh Government has with local government is extremely valuable, so that we can discuss jointly our priorities and look to the future.”

Plaid Cymru’s Leticia Gonzalez asked the minister for an update on work to make renting fairer for tenants.

Ms Gonzalez, who represents the Caerdydd Penarth constituency, said: “Rents in Wales are rising well ahead of wages, with private rents increasing by 8.7% across the country, and even higher in Cardiff, leaving many households vulnerable to debt and poverty.

“At the same time, UK Government policies, such as the Warm Homes programme, include the mandatory move towards energy performance certificate C requirements for all private rented homes by 2030.

“This will inevitably add further cost pressures on landlords, costs that tenants are already worried will simply be passed on through higher rents.

“This is compounded by the reduction in the cost cap available to landlords to carry out necessary upgrades, raising serious questions about how deliverable these standards are in practice within the Welsh private rented sector.”

Ms Gonzalez asked how the Welsh Government would work with the UK Government to seek clarity on how landlords can be expected to fund these improvements without driving up rents.

Ms Gwenllian noted the importance of improving energy efficiency of privately rented accommodation but said she recognises the concern about costs for landlords and for tenants.

Ms Gwenllian, who met with UK Government ministers to discuss the issue, said she made it clear that a number of landlords in Wales are not professional landlords, and the importance of supporting them to understand their obligations under the new standard.

Discussing fair rents, the minister described the situation as “deteriorating”.

She said: “There is a need for us to tackle this issue, and I will be bringing more information forward about how exactly we intend to look at managing rents, and we’ll be looking at work in different countries around the world that have succeeded in doing this successfully.”

CALLS for a new lobbyists register have been backed in the Senedd.

A motion, put forward by Reform UK’s Llŷr Powell, was supported across the party groups in the Senedd on Wednesday June 17.

Opening the debate, Reform’s Francesca O’Brien described it as a “straightforward principle” and said: “The people of Wales have a right to know who is trying to influence the laws and decisions made in their name, and that right is currently not being met.

“Every healthy democracy needs transparency, and for too long this institution has operated under a veil of secrecy on one of the most consequential relationships in politics: the relationship between decision makers and those who seek to influence them.”

Ms O’Brien clarified that lobbying itself is not the problem, noting that charities often lobby for vulnerable people and small businesses lobby for fairer regulations.

She said: “None of that in itself is sinister, and nothing in this motion seeks to discourage it, restrict it or obstruct ordinary people who simply want to make their voices heard to those that represent them.

“What this motion is about is the difference between lobbying that happens in the open and the influence that happens in the shadows, and ensuring that the public can always tell the difference.”

Ms O’Brien acknowledged that Wales is arguably the odd one out in the UK with Scotland and Northern Ireland both having statutory registers, and Westminster having one covering consultant lobbyists.

She said when Transparency International assessed ministerial transparency across the four UK nations, Wales came in third – a record she said is not “to be defended”.

The Gŵyr Abertawe MS said the Senedd now has the opportunity to end the “idea of a closed revolving door for the Cardiff Bay bubble” and get rid of the perception that “politicians have their snouts in the trough”.

Labour’s democracy spokesperson, Huw Thomas, moved his party’s proposed amendment to the motion, which he said “strengthens the aim of the original motion”.

He continued: “I’d like to put on record our thanks to the Standards of Conduct Committee of the sixth Senedd for their work in developing a clearer standards framework, which is more robust and transparent, including reviewing and adding to the code of conduct that we all follow in this place.

“I also praise the work of the standards committee on dignity and respect, with the recall process being particularly important to the health of our Welsh democracy.

“We must always strive for the highest standards of conduct as Members of this Senedd.”

The amendment to the motion also calls on all interested parties to engage positively with the work and recognises the “importance of transparency” in public life in Wales.

Mr Thomas said: “This additional transparency should be welcomed by Members of this Senedd and by everyone, as the point was just made.

“It’s right that this information should be publicly available for people to scrutinise and understand.

“In an expanded parliament, we have a duty to the people of Wales to be as open and as transparent as we can be.”

Labour’s chief whip, Vikki Howells, also weighed in on the debate, drawing on her experience as standards committee chair during the last Senedd term.

Ms Howells noted in the previous committee, concerns had been raised about small charities – who frequently reach out to MSs – being deterred from doing so due to bureaucracy and the costs that go with it.

She said: “Safeguards will definitely need to be taken forward on any register of lobbyists to ensure that there are no unintended consequences whereby, for example, a small charity might feel it has to pay for a lobbyist to take up advocacy on their behalf. I’m sure that’s something we could all agree we wouldn’t want to see.”

The Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr MS also shared her surprise at Reform having brought forward this debate, noting that the “leader of Reform UK Ltd, its former majority shareholder [Nigel Farage], is well known for racking up a staggering sum in donations.”

She continued: “I do welcome Reform UK Ltd’s new scrutiny of the influence of money on politics and, in that purpose, I hope that all parties can work together to make sure we get this right.”

The deputy leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Paul Davies, expressed his party’s support for the motion, saying they would “support any moves to provide greater transparency in our democracy”.

Mr Davies was a member of the Senedd’s standards committee when it considered how a lobbying register should be introduced in the fifth Senedd.

He said: “I very much hope that this Senedd will further look at lobbying in Wales, build an evidence base to develop a register, and provide an update on the lessons that have been learned from other parts of the United Kingdom, because if we are serious about transparency we must be serious about getting this right.

“There is little value in a system that creates bureaucracy without delivering genuine insight, accountability and absolute democratic transparency.”

Mr Davies reiterated that while he supports calls for a lobbying register, it’s essential it’s “developed properly” – a feat he notes will require “cross-party collaboration, detailed work, evidence building, and careful attention.”

Minister for government effectiveness, Dafydd Trystan Davies, noted the presence of “some consensus” across the Siambr.

Revealing Plaid Cymru would be supporting Reform’s motion, he said: “Being open and transparent is one of those values that our First Minister has set out for us as a government.

“Therefore, it follows that if we want to be open and transparent as a government, we would support the fact that this parliament should be open and transparent too.”

Taking an intervention, Dr Trystan Davies was questioned by Andrew RT Davies, from the Welsh Conservatives, who asked if ministers would fall under the proposed lobbying register.

Dr Trystan Davies responded: “In line with our commitment to openness and transparency, we will align our practices as a government with those of the Senedd, as we should do.”

Reform’s Llŷr Powell, who tabled the debate, spoke of the “unusual position” of consensus across the Siambr.

He said: “I want to echo what members have said here today. Bringing in a lobbyist register isn’t about demonising those who work in trying to influence us as members or us in the Senedd. This isn’t about demonising lobbyists or presuming guilt. We accept that lobbying is a crucial part of a healthy democracy, but it must be regulated now.”

The motion was agreed without amendment with 77 in favour, no abstentions, and eight against.