Plaid Cymru claimed victory in celebratory scenes on the steps of the Senedd in May, after it inflicted a heavy and historic defeat on Welsh Labour. Since then, it has been an occasionally rough ride for Rhun ap Iorwerth's minority administration. After 100 days in charge, Plaid ministers say they have laid the foundations to improve public services, and have already made a "tangible" impact in areas like childcare.
But the government failed to get over its first significant hurdle in the Senedd, when its supplementary budget was rejected by the entire Senedd opposition. Meanwhile opposition parties claim little has changed since Plaid took charge. Plaid Cymru formed the first non-Labour Welsh government in May, with the party six seats short of a majority of 49.
It won the election on a platform of challenging Westminster to give Wales more control over its own affairs, a promise of a major programme to boost childcare, and to cut waiting times. The party set out a plan for the first 100 days ahead of the election, which it said showed how serious it was about governing. It was criticised at the time as a "plan to have a plan", with the party promising to commission a number of reviews or strategies.
The Welsh government said it had made progress on a number of issues in its first few months, including extending free school meals to more secondary school pupils, a new north-south coach service, and a multi-year funding deal for farmers. But there's a been a focus on a few big areas over the last few months. Early on, Plaid came under pressure to spell out how it would deliver its landmark childcare policy, which would see free care expanded over a four-year period.
Currently parents in work or training can get up to 30 hours a week for children aged three or four. Plaid want to expand this so at least 20 hours is available from nine months to four years old. Opposition parties have repeatedly pressured Plaid ministers for answers as to how this will work, demanding costings and a timetable for how the expanded scheme will work - leading a minister to promise more detail.
There were questions from councils, who said the proposal faced serious challenges because of a lack of resources and staff. The Welsh government now says that all local authorities are on track to provide 12.5 hours of free child-care to two-year-olds via the Flying Start scheme by next March. Plaid ministers want to phase the rest of the scheme over time - but until that is spelled out the party will continue to face scrutiny over how it's achieved.
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