The new Welsh Government has marked its first 100 days in office by pointing to a series of commitments it says are already being delivered, while acknowledging that much of the work to improve public services and living standards will take considerably longer to show results.

The Plaid Cymru-led administration, which took office following May's Senedd election, says its first 100 days have been about establishing the foundations for longer-term change. Ministers have highlighted action on NHS waiting times, childcare, education, school meals, farming and transport, as well as efforts to strengthen Wales's relationship with Westminster.

Among the headline measures is an increase in the incentive for people training to teach priority secondary-school subjects. The payment has risen by £5,000 to £20,000 for eligible trainees in subjects including mathematics, science, Welsh and computing. The aim is to help address recruitment and retention difficulties in the teaching workforce.

The Government has also expanded childcare support, with £55 million announced in June to accelerate the roll-out of funded childcare for two-year-olds. Free school meals are being extended to more secondary-school pupils from September, although the precise impact will depend on take-up and how effectively schools and councils deliver the scheme.

There is also a significant commitment to Welsh agriculture. Farmers have been promised £340 million a year for three years to March 2030 through the Sustainable Farming Scheme, giving the sector more certainty over future funding. That is potentially important for an industry which has faced considerable uncertainty over agricultural policy and the transition to a new support system.

Transport has provided another visible example of the Government's ambitions. A new daily north-south coach service, TaithCymru, is due to begin between Bangor and Carmarthen on 25 October. It is expected to cut journey times by more than an hour and provide another public transport link between communities which are not directly connected by rail.

However, perhaps the biggest test facing the administration remains the NHS.

The Government has made reducing waiting times one of its central priorities and announced £145 million of additional funding for the health service, including £100 million aimed at waiting lists, £25 million for new surgical and diagnostic hubs and £20 million for essential maintenance.

But this is also where the scale of the challenge becomes clearest. NHS waiting lists had risen in April, before the new Government came into office, and Ministers have acknowledged that simply putting additional money into the system will not be enough. Changes to the way patients move through the health system and the creation of additional capacity are intended to deliver more lasting improvements.

There has also been a significant political obstacle during the first 100 days. The Welsh Government's first supplementary budget was rejected by the Senedd in July. The Government had proposed an additional package of funding for priorities including the NHS, childcare, free school meals, social housing and schools. The rejection did not stop public services operating, because the existing annual budget remained in force, but it demonstrated the difficulties the new administration faces in securing support for its spending plans.

Opposition parties have used that point to question whether the Government is delivering enough tangible change. Reform Wales has argued that waiting lists, congestion and household financial pressures remain unresolved, while the Conservatives have similarly criticised what they describe as an emphasis on plans, reviews and processes rather than immediate results.

There is some evidence to support the Government's argument that important groundwork has nevertheless been completed. Ministers have established new groups and structures, begun work on surgical hubs, published a new priorities dashboard and started negotiations with Westminster over issues including funding, HS2 consequentials and further constitutional powers for Wales.

The new dashboard is perhaps the most significant development from the point of view of accountability. It is intended to allow people to follow progress against the Government's 100-day commitments and, over time, see whether policies are actually producing measurable improvements. The Government says the first version is only the beginning and will be developed as more information becomes available.

That distinction is important. Announcing a policy, allocating money or establishing a taskforce is not the same as demonstrating that people's lives have improved. The £20,000 teacher incentive, for example, may help recruitment, but its success will ultimately depend on whether schools can fill difficult vacancies and retain teachers. Similarly, investment in the NHS will need to translate into shorter waits rather than simply increased spending.

The same applies to childcare, school meals and transport: the Government can establish programmes, but their real impact will be judged by families, pupils, teachers, patients, farmers and communities.

For North Wales, the new administration's approach could be particularly significant. The TaithCymru service will provide a new north-south connection, while the Government has also promised greater attention to rail investment and has continued to raise concerns about funding and the long-standing HS2 settlement.

The Government is therefore entering its next phase with a mixture of early successes and substantial challenges. It has been able to point to a number of concrete announcements within its first 100 days, but many of its biggest promises — particularly on NHS waiting times, education and the economy — will require years rather than months to properly assess.

Marking the milestone, Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution Dafydd Trystan Davies said the first 100 days had demonstrated that the Government would not accept "drift or delay", while stressing that the milestone was only the beginning.

The next test will be whether the foundations laid during those first 100 days develop into measurable improvements — and whether the Government can maintain public and political support while delivering them.