Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Croeso, bawb, i'r Cyfarfod Llawn. Cyn inni ddechrau, dwi angen nodi ychydig o bwyntiau. Cynhelir y cyfarfod hwn ar ffurf hybrid, gyda rhai Aelodau yn y Siambr ac eraill yn ymuno drwy gyswllt fideo. Bydd yr holl Aelodau sy'n cymryd rhan yn nhrafodion y Senedd, ble bynnag y bônt, yn cael eu trin yn gyfartal. Mae Cyfarfod Llawn a gynhelir drwy gynhadledd fideo, yn unol â Rheolau Sefydlog Senedd Cymru, yn gyfystyr â thrafodion y Senedd at ddibenion Deddf Llywodraeth Cymru 2006. Bydd rhai o ddarpariaethau Rheol Sefydlog 34 yn gymwys ar gyfer Cyfarfod Llawn heddiw, ac mae'r rheini wedi eu nodi ar eich agenda.

Eitem 1 yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd, ac mae cwestiwn 1 gan Peter Fox ac i'w ateb gan y Dirprwy Weinidog. Peter Fox.

Thank you. In recent years, we've improved the existing drainage at Llanellen to help with quickening recovery and the reopening time frame for the A4042 in the event of flooding. This year, we will also be conducting a Welsh transport appraisal guidance stage 1 to identify longer term options to help address the flooding issues.

Thank you, Minister, for the response and, yes, the A4042, of which Llanellen bridge is a part, is a trunk road vital to the movement of vehicles across Monmouthshire. It's even more important to enable patients now to access the Grange University Hospital from north Gwent and south Powys. 

Now, as I know, Minister, you're aware, flooding at Llanellen bridge has been a perennial problem. Indeed, the bridge was closed yet again, due to flooding as a result of recent storms that hit the UK just recently. Not only does this result in disruption for residents, but it also creates longer journey times, as I mentioned, for ambulances to the Grange and, for medical emergencies such as that, a delay can have serious consequences.

I welcome the WelTAG process, which I think is going to be happening tomorrow, and I'll be joining that as a stakeholder and I do welcome that. Therefore, can I ask if the Welsh Government is committed to finding a permanent solution to the problem and that the issue will be swiftly tackled once potential mitigation measures have been identified? I say that because WelTAG processes can take many years, and the importance of that needs to be addressed pretty quickly.

Well, yes, as the Member notes, the bridge at Llanellen is a recognised flood-sensitivity site and does sometimes close during storm events or heavy rainfall. The situation has improved there after drainage work was carried out and the road has now opened quicker than previously because of that work. 

The WelTAG process, as you know, is meant to be an open-minded process—it's not meant to start with an outcome in mind. And that's one of the problems we've seen consistently with the way it works, and that's one of the changes we want to bring about—to identify transport problems and work through solutions. But, as you say, the workshop is beginning tomorrow, so let's see where that process takes us.

We do recognise, of course, that, with increasing flooding and wild weather as a result of climate change, we're going to see more storm events and more infrastructure vulnerable to the effects of the weather. And I'm sure Members will have noted the report on Monday from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was a sobering and alarming read, and it told us the situation with climate change was worse than we thought and that there is a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to build a more climate-resilient society. And one of the questions we have to ask is how we protect our infrastructure in such a context. We have a resilient roads fund this year of £18.5 million. We've asked the National Infrastructure Commission, as part of the partnership agreement with Plaid Cymru, to assess how to minimise flood impact on infrastructure, and the roads review is also looking at the role of maintenance and of infrastructure to deal with the changing climate.

Thank you. Our multimillion-pound north Wales metro programme will transform rail, bus and active travel services across the area. I have also announced a north Wales transport commission that will develop a pipeline of transport schemes for north Wales, including Alyn and Deeside.

I'm grateful to the Minister for that response, and, of course, we await the outcome of the roads review you mentioned in the previous question and the decision on the red route in Deeside. Now, of course, the red route was conceived to reduce air pollution in recognition that residents need solutions to this very dangerous problem. If, for example, the red route were not to proceed, the expectation from me and the residents of Alyn and Deeside is that the money allocated to it should be spent tackling air pollution in Deeside, as I believe the case was when the M4 relief road was decided against in Newport. So, can I ask you, therefore, Deputy Minister, what consideration have you given to ring-fencing this money for the area where it originally was allocated to, to be spent on new projects that will help address this very Deeside-specific issue?

Thank you. As you say, the roads review is looking at the red route, along with 54 other schemes, and it's doing that methodically, and it will report in the summer. So, we shouldn't second-guess what the outcome of that process will be, because I'm assuming there will be road schemes going ahead, but I'm also assuming that a large number of them will not be. So, it's entirely reasonable to anticipate what would happen in that scenario. I think I'd just point to him, on the funding point of view, that this is estimated to be a £300 million scheme; we don't have £300 million sitting in our budget, waiting to be spent on this scheme. Indeed, the whole point of the Burns review into the M4 was to find the solution that cost half the price of the proposed M4 and which still addressed the congestion issue. So, what I'm hoping, through the roads review and the Burns commission for north Wales, is that we'll identify transport solutions to problems that are compatible with our climate change commitments, as well as addressing local transport problems, but we need to do it in a way that makes best use of the funding we have available, bearing in mind that I was just telling the Chamber about the grave situation we have with climate change.

Now, there is significant investment going into north Wales, into public transport improvements. From this May, we'll have an increasing number of services on the borderlands line, between Wrexham and Bidston, to two per hour. We'll have a new hourly service between Liverpool and Llandudno from December 2023, and, from December 2024, a new service every two hours between Liverpool and Cardiff, and an hourly service between Shrewsbury and Liverpool. So, I think, after a long and patient wait for the people of north Wales, the infrastructure investment we're putting in is now bearing fruit. The key task for the Burns commission is to stitch that together, because we want people to feel that the easiest way to get around is public transport for the majority of journeys. That's not the reality for most people at the moment, and our exam question is: how do we get that to change?

The prospectus issued in 2016 by the Growth Track 360 partnership—a cross-border alliance of business, political and public sector leaders, including the North Wales Economic Ambition Board and the Mersey Dee Alliance—stated that being able to link into HS2 would reduce congestion, improve business logistics and attract investment and jobs. And in January, the Growth Track 360 partnership welcomed the introduction of the UK High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill, which will facilitate the construction of HS2, where confirmed plans include the new junction north of Crewe station that they had called for. In fact, their vice-chair, leader of Flintshire County Council, said,

'Our industrial, commercial and tourism destinations would receive a tremendous boost through enhanced direct rail connectivity with London, Manchester and Manchester Airport provided by HS2 if our local lines are upgraded at the same time.'

But when the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Mersey Dee north Wales raised a similar issue in the House of Commons—the Vale of Clwyd MP, Dr James Davies—he got quite an encouraging response from the relevant UK Minister, who said that they would engage positively with the union connectivity review, which included connections between Wales and Northern Ireland, published last November. So, what engagement are you having with all these various agencies, to capitalise on the opportunities that they're all seeking, and the general welcome they've all given to January's announcement?

Well, I was pleased that Growth Track 360 warmly welcomed the announcement of the north Wales transport commission, and that responds both to the recommendation of the roads review and to the union connectivity review by Sir Peter Hendy, which called for a multimodal study across north Wales. Obviously, part of that work will be looking at how rail services in the north can connect through to HS2, if and when it arrives, though I think we should be all concerned about the lack of investment in Wales by the UK Government on rail and the lack of a Barnett consequential from the money from HS2. I note he's optimistic in pointing to the benefits to the north of having some connectivity into a line in England, but there is no benefit directly for passengers in Wales, or for infrastructure in Wales, and that should concern us all, across all parties.

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau, ac yn gyntaf y prynhawn yma, llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Natasha Asghar.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Deputy Minister, last week, the economy Minister unveiled the Welsh Government's national space strategy, outlining its ambition to achieve a 5 per cent share of the UK space sector, which would equate to £2 billion a year for the Welsh economy. The strategy is focused on growing the potential of current and future developments in the space sector here in Wales, including space launch training and experience capability, together with the testing and evaluation of new, greener propulsion technologies at Llanbedr. It's clear this announcement calls into question the decision of your roads review panel to cancel the proposed Llanbedr bypass, wasting £1.7 million of taxpayers' money in the process. As the criteria influencing the decision have now surely changed, will you now agree to reconsider this matter and ask the panel to review its decision in view of the potential economic benefits for the area and the whole of Wales?

Well, again, I will just tell Natasha Asghar what I said to the Chamber at the beginning: the panel report on climate change that was published on Monday said the situation facing all of us is worse than they thought—it is at the upper end of the projections of the impact of global warming and the catastrophic impact that will have on our economy and our society. It said we have already been impacted, changes locked in, and there is now a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to build a climate-resilient society. I think we should all take that seriously. We can't de-link these things because we want to score political points about a different issue. The roads review panel, as part of its criteria, looked at the impact of climate change on transport and the pipeline of projects we had, and concluded the Llanbedr scheme was not consistent with the Wales transport strategy and was not consistent with achieving net zero. Now, I don't think that can be lightly set aside. 

If you read the panel report on the airfield, it did show, in terms of access to that site, there were other options, and we have committed to work with Gwynedd council to explore those options to see what can be done. But we still come back to the fundamental point: climate change has profound and far-reaching consequences for us all, and we need to start reflecting that in the decisions we make. It's no good the Conservatives signing up to targets when every single time a decision is made as a consequence of those targets, they call for a different approach. It's not consistent. 

Okay. Thank you, Deputy Minister. I can assure you we are all concerned about climate change. There's no denying that, and I think my colleagues across this bench, and even in Westminster, will agree with me on that. However, having seen the information that was released by the Minister for Economy, it was clear that some of the areas that were in question are protected, so that causes a concern for us as to how this is actually going to be made a reality. 

Coming to my second question, I've already mentioned the cancellation of the Llanbedr bypass wasting £1.7 million of taxpayers' money on a few occasions now in this Chamber. Since then, the roads review panel has cancelled plans to remove the roundabouts at junctions 15 and 16 on the A55, wasting nearly £9 million. So, Deputy Minister, so far your policy has poured £10.5 million of taxpayers' money down the drain, and there are still more than 50 projects to improve Wales's road infrastructure under review at present. I've asked the question before and make no apology for asking it again, as I do not believe that the information is readily available to me or others. So, in the interests of transparency and accountability, if the roads review panel were to cancel each and every single one of the projects currently under review, what would be the total amount of money already spent that would be lost? Thanks. 

Well, the roads review panel hasn't reached a conclusion yet, other than on two schemes it was asked to fast track. On both of those schemes, it's published the rationale for why, on balance, those were the best decisions to go forward. Clearly, schemes have had money invested in them. Many of the investments in the A55 junctions, for example, as we've already discussed in the Chamber but I'm happy to repeat it, were on studies that would be still be useful to the Burns commission in the north for its future work. So, it's not wasted; it has been redirected. 

But, at some point, we need to pull a handbrake on schemes, because the logic of her position is we keep investing in schemes because some investment's been put in regardless of their impact on carbon emissions, regardless of their impact on air quality, regardless of their impact on congestion and climate change. And I don't think that is consistent with what the science is telling us, for needing to look afresh and to take different action. At the heart of this is that all of us have to confront the fact the science is telling us we need to change direction, and changing direction has consequences. 

Okay. Deputy Minister, you were recently reported as saying that electric buses—this will be something that I know you'll enjoy [Laughter.]—should be made in Wales instead of being imported from China, expressing the wish to see an electric bus factory opened here to create greener jobs. In response, Andy Palmer, the chief executive of Switch Mobility, one of the handful of UK-based companies already making electric buses, said he had approached the Welsh Government to build a factory but had received no traction. Recently, electric buses have been bought from China by bus companies in Newport and Cardiff, which is great news. Bus operators have claimed the plan to move the whole of Wales's bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2035 needs a nationwide funding plan, but Wales does not have a Government-run fund to help them with the cost of green vehicles infrastructure, unlike England and Scotland. John Dowie, the director of partnerships of First UK, which owns First Cymru, said it's time for Wales to set up its own scheme that's suited to Welsh circumstances and drive its own agenda, not just wait to pick up the crumbs from England. Deputy Minister, when will you bring forward a funding scheme to support the transition to electric buses in Wales, as they have done in England and Scotland? Thank you.

Well, as Natasha Asghar has already very generously noted, we are investing in the transition to electric buses, particularly in Cardiff and Newport, where they have municipally owned bus companies. I want to do two things to make systemic change, rather than simply making announcements that please the industry. The first is to design a bus system that is coherent and where investment from Wales doesn't leak out. Now, at the moment, we have a fragmented commercial privatised system, where private bus companies are expecting the taxpayer to fund their capital, and then they'd pocket the profit and then don't give us services that are coherent and give people a chance to shift transport modes. That needs fixing, and that's what's going to be addressed in the forthcoming bus White Paper.

Secondly, I want a domestic industry to produce electric buses, and I think there is an economic opportunity for Wales. Rather than investing significant sums—hundreds of millions of pounds—to buy Chinese buses there's a chance to develop a Welsh and British bus industry. You mentioned an investor there. What we don't want is simply to fall back into the inward investment model. There's a chance to build local companies here; build the missing middle that we've often talked about. I set up a taskforce, led by James Davies, the chair and chief exec of Industry Wales, to look at how we can aggregate demand. At the moment, there are a lot of order books coming through the public sector. If we bring them together, pool our orders, there's a chance for a Welsh industry to emerge, and that's the work that we're doing.

Llefarydd Plaid Cymru nawr, Mabon ap Gwynfor.  

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Mae Canolfan Cydweithredol Cymru newydd ryddhau adroddiad sydd yn galw ar i'r Llywodraeth gyflwyno Deddf grymuso a pherchnogaeth gymunedol er mwyn cynorthwyo grwpiau cymunedol i ddatblygu tai fforddiadwy parhaol yn eu cymunedau. Mae'r adroddiad yn dangos sut mae'r system dai presennol, o dan reolaeth y farchnad agored, yn methu pobl a chymunedau Cymru. Wrth fod prisiau tai yn codi'n sylweddol ar draws Cymru a diffyg tai fforddiadwy go iawn i bobl leol, gall polisïau’r ganolfan gydweithredol chwarae rhan bwysig wrth i ni edrych i sicrhau tai cymunedol o dan berchnogaeth leol. Mae'r adroddiad yn galw ar y Llywodraeth i sefydlu comisiwn i annog meddwl arloesol ar berchnogaeth leol o dir ac asedau yng Nghymru, i gyflwyno Deddf grymuso a pherchnogaeth leol, i ddatblygu bas data neu gofrestr o berchnogaeth tir, i sefydlu cronfa cymorth ariannol ar gyfer prosiectau tai sy'n cael eu harwain yn gymunedol, ac i ddatblygu proses ffurfiol ar gyfer trosglwyddo asedau cymunedol.

Ydy'r Gweinidog yn cytuno y byddai cynlluniau o'r fath o fudd i bobl Cymru? Ac a wnaiff hi ystyried cynnwys argymhellion y ganolfan gydweithredol fel rhan o raglen ddeddfwriaethol y Llywodraeth? A gobeithio hefyd y byddwch chi yn cytuno â mi fod y gallu i gymunedau lwyddo i ddelifro ymrwymiadau tai yn ddibynnol ar argaeledd tir fyddai'n galluogi grwpiau i adeiladu tai cymunedol. Pa gamau mae'r Llywodraeth yn eu cymryd i gofrestru perchnogaeth tir ac adnabod tir sydd yn addas at ddatblygu anghenion cymunedol? 

Apologies, I lost a little bit of the translation there, but I got the gist of it, I think, so, forgive me if I haven't got a nuance, especially right at the end there. I don't know why it suddenly cut out for some reason. So, we absolutely welcome the work done by the co-operative centre. We absolutely agree that community-led housing is very much part of the housing solution in Wales and absolutely will contribute towards the delivery of our 20,000 social homes target. We've already reaffirmed that through the programme for government: our commitment to support co-operative housing, community-led initiatives and community land trusts. And I'm very pleased to be able to say that, just last week, we've been able to increase the grant to the co-op centre in order to facilitate a lot of this work. So, really pleased to have been able to do that.

The absolute core principle, as Mabon says, is to enable people to take more control of how their housing is delivered and managed. So, our support through the Communities Creating Homes programme, which is delivered by the Wales Co-operative Centre, has engaged and supported 64 groups since the start of the programme, in 2019, so far. There are also a number of opportunities available at the moment, particularly in rural communities, and I am pleased the current programme for support has influenced policies, including our Nest scheme, and it links to wider Welsh Government policies and programmes to provide real opportunities to overcome some of the barriers facing community-led groups.

But I agree that more needs to be done to facilitate this and to embed it, if you like, in the culture that we want to have. We're doing a piece of ongoing work to explore what additional support is needed through a future community-led housing programme. We've also been in discussions with the Wales Co-operative Centre regarding funding for community groups for several months now, and I'm looking forward to hearing the outcomes of those discussions as well. We meet very regularly—I meet with them, and my officials meet very regularly—with the Wales Co-operative Centre.

I welcome the report, but some of it—. Unfortunately, we haven't had an interaction over it yet, so I'll be looking forward to having that interaction. So, for example, it's clearly an expensive duplication of effort for Welsh Government to mimic the work of the UK Land Registry, but there's a real validity in making the available information much more readily accessible to community groups, and we're doing a big piece of work with DataMapWales that will help realise the ambitions laid out in the report for that, for example. There are a number of things where I'll be wanting to go through the report and just point out where we are, where we're happy to accept the recommendation, and where we've already actually taken some steps towards doing what's recommended there.

I'm really happy as well to have been able to facilitate community land trusts and co-operative housing with a registered social landlord partner to access the social housing grant, and I'm sure the Member is aware of the Solva community land trust, which we're looking at as a sort of pilot to see how well that works. We have a number of other groups doing it as well. So, in principle, I completely agree. We need to work through some of the detail to make sure that we've got the best bang for our buck—sorry, a terrible cliche, but you see where I'm going. We're also, as it happens, doing some of it, but not quite in the way the report sets out. So, in principle, we're absolutely on board with that, and I'm really keen to see as large a number of people come together in co-operative housing as we can manage in Wales. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn i'r Gweinidog am yr ateb yna ac, i'r record, hoffwn ddiolch i Vikki Howells am gyflwyno'r adroddiad yn y grŵp trawsbleidiol y bore yma. Mae yna gefnogaeth drawsbleidiol i ddatblygu cynllun o'r fath, ac felly dwi'n edrych ymlaen i weld y camau fydd yn cael eu cymryd i'r perwyl yma.

Os caf i fynd ymlaen i retroffitio, os gwelwch yn dda. Mae tlodi tanwydd yn broblem anferthol, fel rydych chi'n gwybod, ar draws Cymru, ac rydw innau'n gwybod fel Aelod dros Ddwyfor Meirionnydd am effaith andwyol tlodi tanwydd ar y cymunedau yno. Mae gennym ni'r stoc dai hynaf yng ngorllewin Ewrop ac maen nhw ymhlith y tai lleiaf effeithiol o ran ynni. Mae hyn yn arwain at lawer o bobl yn gorfod dewis rhwng gwresogi eu tai neu gael bwyd—dewis na ddylai neb orfod ei wynebu. Mae prisiau tanwydd ar eu huchaf ac mae'r cap ar bris ynni am gynyddu 54 y cant o 1 Ebrill, fel rydych chi'n gwybod. Mae'r rhai hynny ar dariff rhagosodedig sy'n talu trwy ddebyd uniongyrchol am weld cynnydd o rhwng £693 a £1,971 y flwyddyn ar gyfartaledd. Bydd hyn yn gwthio dros 0.25 miliwn o bobl yng Nghymru i fewn i dlodi tanwydd. 

Mae angen inni fynd i'r afael â thlodi tanwydd rŵan, yn fwy nag erioed, drwy ymateb i'r argyfwng a gwella effeithlonrwydd ynni tai. Hefyd, mae'n werth nodi bod 10 y cant o allyriadau carbon Cymru yn dod o anheddau preswyl, a bydd datrys tlodi tanwydd yn ein cynorthwyo i fynd i frwydo yn erbyn newid hinsawdd. Mae'r sector tai cymdeithasol am fod yn allweddol wrth inni ddadgarboneiddio ein tai a sicrhau bod y budd economaidd o wneud hynny yn aros yng Nghymru. Mae'n her sydd angen ei gweithredu o fewn y 10 mlynedd nesaf. Bydd y Gweinidog yn gwerthfawrogi, wrth gwrs, na fydd dadgarboneiddio tai yn medru cael ei weithredu heb y cyfuniad cywir o grantiau, cyllid preifat, safonau rheoleiddio a llwybr clir—road map—wedi cael ei osod. 

Mae'r gyllideb derfynol—

Cwestiwn, plis, Mabon ap Gwynfor.

Rwy'n dod ato rŵan, diolch yn fawr iawn am eich amynedd. 

Mae'r gyllideb derfynol—

Dyw e ddim yn ddi-ben-draw. [Chwerthin.]

—yn neilltuo £35 miliwn yn ychwanegol o'r cyfalaf trafodiadau ariannol—y financial transactions capital—i arbrofi a datblygu modelau ariannu newydd er mwyn helpu cyflymu maint a pha mor sydyn y gellir dadgarboneiddio tai yng Nghymru. A all y Gweinidog gadarnhau os bydd y sector tai cymdeithasol yn medru cael mynediad neu fudd o'r ariannu yma—[Torri ar draws.]

Later on, maybe. Later on.

A sut bydd y gronfa yn cael ei defnyddio er mwyn medru cyflymu'r polisi a'r ariannu dadgarboneiddio tai?

Good question. [Laughter.]

Yes. I'm very tempted to just say 'yes' and sit down. [Laughter.]

Absolutely, we've already done something in Wales that has not been done in the rest of the UK, and that is, through the Welsh housing quality standard, we've brought all our social housing up to energy performance certificate D, which is a long way up from where it was before. We were repeatedly told that that wouldn't be possible when we started on that journey, so I'm delighted to say that, with one exception, which we've accepted for COVID reasons, everyone else has done it, and that one exception will have finished that process by the end of this year now.

So, we're in discussion with our councils and social landlords already about what the Welsh housing quality standard 2 will look like, and what will be expected, whether we'll be asking them to bring housing up to EPC B or A, what we will do with the housing that can't be brought up to that standard and what other measures can be brought to bear. We're also learning the lessons from the Welsh housing quality standard 1, because for the vast majority of homes it was very successful, but for some homes it was not successful and it led to some problems with condensation and damp, which I know Members will be familiar with, and I certainly am in my own constituency. So, we've learned that lesson. We've put the optimised retrofit programme in place to figure out what each house in Wales actually needs, so what combination of insulation type, tech, roof type and so on is required to get properties up to the highest EPC rating that they can achieve.

We also haven't yet announced the successor to the Arbed scheme. The Arbed scheme was very good for many people in fuel poverty in Wales, because it replaced very inefficient boilers with much more efficient ones, but they were still gas and they were still contributing to carbon, so we don't want to do that, but it's not sufficient to just say, 'We'll give you an air source heat pump,' because, as I've said many times in this Chamber, you may as well be heating the field behind your house for some houses. So, we need that combination.

As we did with the Welsh housing quality standard, we will overskill the workforce through the social housing projects, so that we can then offer grants to people in the private sector, knowing what will suit their type of house and knowing that we will get good value for money. I think I'm about to be asked a question on the order paper by another Member of the Plaid group about some of the issues we've had, and what we are trying to do is learn the lessons there, so that we aren't fitting the wrong type of tech solution to the wrong kind of property. So, these things are always very successful for the vast majority of people who have them, but then we have had problems with some housing, so we're trying to learn those lessons and to make sure that we get the right solution in the right place. So, we'll be shortly announcing the new Welsh housing quality standard to bring that up.

There's a piece of work to do in the private rented sector to make sure that we have the right incentives, so people don't just come out of the sector but bring their houses up to quality, which I've mentioned many times, and there are a range of other things that we can do for owner-occupiers, including using carrots and sticks in the local tax system, which we'll want to bring to the floor of the Senedd.

Diolch, Siân. Seven hundred and forty-two households in Arfon benefited from home energy efficiency improvements under the Arbed 2 scheme, estimated to have saved them on average around £300 on their domestic energy bills annually.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, ond rydych chi yn gwybod am y problemau sydd wedi codi efo'r cynllun hefyd, a dwi yn diolch ichi am eich cefnogaeth efo hyn cyn belled. Dwi ar hyn o bryd yn helpu—

Bydd yn rhaid i fi dorri ar eich traws, Siân Gwenllian. Rŷn ni'n cael problem gyda'r cyfieithu ar hyn o bryd—

It's intermittent. I can hear it sometimes, and not—

Okay, we'll take a technical break in order to sort the—. No, that's absolutely fine. So, we're going to take a short technical break now.

Reit, fe fedrwn ni ailgychwyn nawr, a gwnaf i ofyn i Siân Gwenllian i ofyn ei chwestiwn atodol i'r Gweinidog. Siân Gwenllian.

Diolch ichi am eich cefnogaeth efo'r mater yma, achos rydych chi yn gwybod bod yna nifer o broblemau wedi bod yn codi yn fy etholaeth i. Dwi yn dal i helpu nifer o etholwyr efo ceisiadau am iawndal gan y contractwyr neu'r cwmnïau gwarant, ond does yna'r un o'r achosion yma wedi cyrraedd pen ei daith yn llwyddiannus hyd yma, ac mae yna o leiaf pum achos dwi'n gwybod amdanyn nhw yn wynebu sefyllfa lle mae'r cwmni adeiladu a'r cwmni gwarant wedi mynd i'r wal, felly does yna ddim iawndal ar eu cyfer nhw. Er mai cynllun gwahanol sydd wedi achosi problemau yn ardal Maesteg, dwi yn credu bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn mynd i roi cymorth i etholwyr sydd mewn sefyllfa debyg iawn i fy etholwyr i yn Arfon yn yr ardal honno. Cynllun gwahanol ydy hwnna, ie, ond yr un ydy'r egwyddor, sef y dylid rhoi cymorth i bobl lle mae'r cwmnïau adeiladu a'r cwmnïau gwarant wedi mynd i'r wal. Cynlluniau Llywodraeth oedd y rhain; cynllun Llywodraeth Cymru oedd Arbed 2, ac fe gymerodd bobl ran yn y cynlluniau ar argymhelliad y Llywodraeth. Felly, os ydy pobl ardal Maesteg i gael ad-daliad, onid ydy hi'n deg disgwyl i bobl yn fy etholaeth i gael eu trin yn gydradd a'u bod hwythau hefyd yn cael arian er mwyn adfer eu cartrefi?

Diolch, Siân. I have some sympathy with what you're saying, obviously. What we've been doing, as you know, is working with Fortem Energy Services, the scheme manager for Arbed 2, to review the position of all residents who benefited from the external wall insulation and ensure that they're aware of the process for redress where issues have arisen. Because what we're trying to do is make sure that people do take the routes for redress where they're still available to them. So, we make sure that where the company is still there, if they're at fault in the installation, they pick up the price for that, and similarly with the guarantor.

But, you're quite right; in recognition of the plight of householders elsewhere, for other UK schemes where both the construction company and the guarantor are no longer available because they've gone out of business or for a variety of other complicated reasons, we have agreed to work with the councils there to fund remedial works and some compensations—mostly remedial works, though—for those, as well as in Caerphilly for works at Bryn Carno. I'm more than happy to explore with you whether that would be something we could ask the local council with you to see whether they would be happy to do that. But I can emphasise that we do want people to pursue all of the remedies available to them through the normal routes first, and I know you've been working on that. So, if you want to send me details of that, I'm more than happy to have a conversation with the council and yourself about whether there's anything further we can do.

Thank you to the Member for Arfon for raising this really important question, because like her, residents have been in touch sharing their disaster stories, really, of the scheme in some of their properties. Minister, you highlighted some of the money that has been made available to Bridgend council, for example, and I'd hope that Gwynedd Council would want to work with you and others to support those residents. The question I have is about future schemes. You talked right at the start, I think, about lessons learnt for future schemes. I wonder if you think there's a greater role for councils to play in identifying these properties and supporting home owners for similar schemes in the future.

I absolutely do think that. One of the issues we've had is where we have had small construction companies that have gone out of business as a result or the guarantor scheme has gone down. So, we'll certainly be looking to explore guarantor schemes where the council acts as the ultimate guarantor, but we want to be very careful that we're not transferring a liability and a risk that properly sits with the private sector into the public sector for no reason, and letting people off the hook. I can't emphasise enough that we want people to pursue the private routes that they have all the way to the end, and we have a number of advice services in place to help people do that. I do think that where people have exhausted that avenue there must be some further avenue for them to get remedial works. I can't emphasise enough, though, that what we're talking about are remedial works, and not compensation, because those are two very different things. So, this is to put your house into the position it ought to have been in if the works were correctly done in the first place, and no doubt there will be some element there about bills and all the rest of it. We're very keen that people are put into that position, because the whole point of the scheme was to put people in a position where their house was well insulated and their fuel bills were reduced, and what we don't want is a house continuing to emit carbon and have high energy costs despite having benefited from one of these schemes. We are absolutely looking exactly at that in designing both the Arbed 2 scheme and a number of other schemes we're looking at.

Cwestiwn 4, Natasha Asghar. 

Thank you very much. I do apologise, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much. Deputy Minister, if you're serious about combating climate change and tackling the frequent delays on our railways—

You need to read the question on the order paper first.

Sorry. My apologies. 

That's okay.

Thank you, and it's nice to hear from you again. 'Llwybr Newydd', the Wales transport strategy, sets out how we will reduce carbon emissions by encouraging more active travel, greater use of public transport as well as supporting the uptake of low-emissions vehicles.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Deputy Minister, if you're serious about combating climate change and tacking the frequent delays on our railways, you must ensure Wales has a modern rail service. However, your own Government's figures show that 69 per cent of Transport for Wales trains are over 30 years old, and 44 per cent are 35 years or older. This presents an opportunity to replace our ageing trains with hydrogen trains, which are currently being trialled in Germany. This zero-emission train emits low levels of noise, with exhausts being only steam and condensed water, enabling us to meet climate change targets. So, can I ask, Deputy Minister, what consideration have you given and what discussions have you had with regard to decarbonising transport in Wales by replacing our ageing trains with hydrogen trains to improve rail services and improve the environment? Thank you.

Thank you. I've seen the latest disingenuous social media campaign on this by the Welsh Conservatives about the record over 20 years. Let me just say—[Interruption.] Andrew R.T. Davies says he's telling the people what's right. Well, first of all, you need to explain what the devolution settlement is. I'm happy for my officials to arrange a briefing session for Members of the Conservative Party to explain what is devolved and what is not devolved and how the Barnett formula works. That might be an instructive exercise for them. [Interruption.] Llywydd, it's hard to hear—even through his mask, the Member is still quite loud. [Interruption.] What I don't like is glib social media campaigns that hide the truth, which is that the UK Government is underfunding the Welsh passengers. That's the truth, Andrew R.T. Davies. Over the last—[Interruption.] Llywydd, please, this is not a conversation. I've been asked a question, I'm trying to give an answer with a running commentary from the man in the mask. For the last 20 years—

All men are in masks. Let's stop the references to masks, please, and let's allow the Deputy Minister to answer the question that was asked of him.

Over the last 20 years, Llywydd, for 12 of which the Conservatives have been in power in the UK, where rail infrastructure is not devolved, Wales has received less than 2 per cent of the £102 billion that the UK Government has spent on rail enhancement. We have 20 per cent of the level crossings across England and Wales, we have 11 per cent of the stations, we have 11 per cent of the rail track, we have 5 per cent of the population, and yet we only get 2 per cent of the funding. Forty-one per cent of the rail track in England is electrified, 2 per cent of the rail track in Wales is electrified. What's made it worse is that the Department for Transport comparability factor used for Barnett formula calculations for Wales has dropped from 89 per cent to 36 per cent. This means there's less money for Wales, despite significant increases in rail spending for England. That is fundamentally wrong, something that the Conservatives on the Welsh affairs select committee have recognised, and in a cross-party effort have said the UK Government needs to make sure that HS2 spending is Barnettised properly across the UK, and Wales gets its 5 per cent share. I've heard nothing from the Conservative benches, despite me asking several times for a cross-party effort on that, and I would still welcome it, instead of making cheap shots and not directing blame where blame is. [Interruption.] Llywydd, it is an unacceptable intervention from the Conservative benches, and it's a shame I have to draw attention to it. Despite that, we are investing £800 million on a new fleet of trains that will serve 95 per cent of passenger journeys across Wales from 2024. The first of those are already being tested, and will begin serving passengers in north Wales this year.

Deputy Minister, as you know, a key element of the south Wales metro, funded by a Welsh Labour Government, will be the introduction of cleaner, greener, environmentally friendly electric tram-trains on the core Valley lines, including between Aberdare, in my own constituency, and the capital. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact that these trains will have on reducing our carbon emissions?

A modern metro system is an integral part of a joined-up public transport system. It's a part, it's only a part, and there needs to be other parts as well. We need to integrate the bus services, which are the workhorse of the public transport system and carry the majority of people, along with active travel for that final bit of the journey. We know that over half of all car journeys are under five miles. These are currently being driven, clearly, and they could be done by foot and by bike. A system that links all these up into a modern metro system has significant potential, along with behaviour change interventions, to achieve modal shift, which is part of our transport strategy and part of our net-zero plan. The vision of the metro is to provide a turn-up-and-go service. People will do the easiest thing to do. Currently, we have designed a system where the easiest thing to do is to drive, and we need to change that so the easiest thing to do is to use public transport and active travel. The investment we're seeing in the south Wales metro, which is the largest civil engineering project of its kind in Wales at the moment—over the next few years we'll begin to see the manifestation of that in a major way—will be a significant step forward alongside the other measures that we're working on.

Diolch, Cefin. The Welsh Government offers a wide range of support to help businesses reduce their environmental impact. This includes our Business Wales resource efficiency advisers, who, since 2016, have supported 170 Pembrokeshire businesses in improving their environmental sustainability strategies.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Weinidog. Ychydig o wythnosau yn ôl, ces i'r pleser o gwrdd ag awdurdod porthladd Aberdaugleddau a chael cyfarfod buddiol iawn ynglŷn â'u cynlluniau nhw ar gyfer y dyfodol. Daeth hi i'r amlwg yn y cyfarfod hwnnw, wrth i Gymru geisio cynyddu ei hymdrechion i gyrraedd ei thargedau net zero wrth fanteisio i'r eithaf, wrth gwrs, ar gyfleoedd twf gwyrdd, bod angen i'r prif gyflogwyr olew a nwy yn sir Benfro drawsnewid o'u sectorau traddodiadol er mwyn lleihau allyriadau carbon a datblygu diwydiannau gwyrdd newydd o gwmpas porthladd Aberdaugleddau, er enghraifft, sy'n cynnal dros 4,000 o swyddi da yn lleol. Felly, yn ogystal â phroject morol Doc Penfro, sy'n rhan o fargen ddinesig bae Abertawe, fel y gwyddoch chi, a wnewch chi amlinellu a yw Llywodraeth Cymru'n barod i fuddsoddi ymhellach ac yn uniongyrchol mewn rhai o'r technolegau megis hydrogen a gwynt o'r môr, a hefyd cynlluniau i ddal carbon, carbon capture, er mwyn darparu swyddi gwyrdd yn ardal sir Benfro gan ddatgloi cyfle posibl gwerth £5 biliwn i'r rhanbarth ac i Gymru?

Yes, absolutely. I'm very happy to do just that, because we're very keen to unlock those green jobs. You will know that our Net Zero Wales plan highlights how we're looking to reduce emissions whilst delivering those wider benefits that you've just outlined. At this point in time we've provided £6 million of environmental protection scheme grant support to Valero, to assist its decarbonisation efforts. That's locked £120 million of investment in the installation of a cogen plant to reduce emissions and take them off grid. We've provided a raft of innovation support, including £100,000 to pump prime the Milford Haven Energy Kingdom project development, which has leveraged in £4.5 million of UKRI funding. As you said, Cefin Campbell, Pembrokeshire businesses play an important role in the south Wales industrial cluster. One of those businesses, RWE, has launched a net-zero centre to maximise the potential of hydrogen, floating offshore wind and carbon capture, and I was very pleased to speak at the ports conference highlighting their efforts. The Welsh Government is funding a £100,000 phase 2 feasibility study for the supply of green hydrogen into Pembrokeshire and Milford Haven, using the ERM Dolphyn offshore wind floating hydrogen production technology.

These companies are all key to the Celtic sea cluster and our emphasis on the offshore renewable industry. We've also got the decarbonisation and COVID challenge fund open to food and drink businesses, so outside of the energy business itself, to seek to aid recovery within the Welsh food and drink sector, which has been adversely affected by the pandemic. We also offer a range of general business advice, information and signposting, as well as specialist strands of advice such as resource efficiency and signposting on green policies to reduce carbon emissions across Wales through Business Wales, and a number of Pembrokeshire businesses have got in touch with us over that. And the last one to just highlight is the Milford Haven Energy Kingdom project in Pembrokeshire, which is that £4.5 million project, which shows the vital role hydrogen can play in a decarbonised energy future. I just wanted to highlight that one point, because that's the key—the transfer over from fossil fuels to a different kind of technology that protects the very highly skilled jobs that are part of that Pembrokeshire cluster.

Minister, earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting the National House Building Council award-winning Pludds Meadow development in Laugharne, in my constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, a site operated by Salem Construction, who are producing high-quality, energy-efficient homes on the outskirts of one of Carmarthenshire's most famous towns. The builders had a real desire to minimise their carbon footprint, using local staff and items such as air source heat pumps to heat their homes. Will you outline what support the Welsh Government is providing to businesses such as Salem Construction to help reduce their carbon emissions even further, both through the way in which their businesses are run and by continuing to produce homes that emit a small carbon footprint? Diolch.

Yes, we absolutely welcome the move by a large number of small and medium-sized producers right across Wales to low-carbon housing. We will also be bringing forward changes to our building regulations—my colleague Lee Waters will be bringing forward changes to the building regulations to make sure that the building regulations for everyone are at that sort of standard, and I'm very happy to have the way led for us by a number of SME companies, such as the one you mentioned there. 

We provide a wide range of general business advice through Business Wales, as I've just said in answer to Cefin Campbell, which includes resource efficiency, support on green policies to reduce emissions and so on. We also are very happy to work with any green housing supplier to help us use them to build our social housing and to build out mixed-tenure estates so that we have similar housing right across the piece, so that we don't have people going into fuel poverty in the future. And we also are very keen—. Again, the Deputy Minister and I have a construction forum, which is a housing sub-group, and we are very keen to have SMEs such as the one you mentioned come along to that construction forum to share good practice and to hear about a range of other loans and other opportunities we have—stalled sites funds and so on—to bring forward land for development that will allow the SMEs that build such lovely housing to access funding to bring further developments into use in Wales as fast as possible. 

Thank you. We've recently launched a local air-quality management support fund to help authorities tackle air pollution, and have awarded over £350,000 for this financial year. The grant supports action on the ground and we'll continue to work collaboratively with local authorities to deliver cleaner air for Wales.

Thank you for that, Minister. It is crucially important that we get our policies to tackle air pollution right, given the effect on public health, respiratory conditions and other health conditions and, of course, the effect on our environment. And I think these problems are particularly acute in our more disadvantaged communities. So, the sooner we get practical policies in place that are going to make a real difference the better. And I think one example of that is the conversion of our taxi fleets to electric vehicles or certainly more environmentally friendly fuels. And I just wonder, within the money that's been made available, Minister, that you describe and the joint working between Welsh Government and local authorities, to what extent there's an assessment of the state of readiness of our local authorities to make these practical improvements and to work with them to make those positive differences as quickly as possible. Because it really is an urgent problem for our communities, and the sooner we get these practical improvements in place, the sooner public health and our environment will benefit. 

We already are working on practical improvements. The example in Newport of free bus travel for the month of March is a perfect example of a practical scheme to trial something to see what impact it has, to see whether or not the cost of it is justified by the benefits of it, to see what the uptake is, to understand what the barriers are, to further inform our work as we look to achieve modal shift. There are further practical examples in Newport on active travel, with the Burns delivery unit and the independent board chaired by Simon Gibson to deliver the Burns plan—and we saw the interim report of the Burns board recently, and I met John Griffiths and his colleague from Newport West in Newport to discuss it—where we are seeing significant work on a pipeline of schemes for Newport now, which will result in very large investment for the city for active travel. So, I think there are two examples there of practical schemes already under way. 

John Griffiths also mentions what we can do to encourage taxis to convert to electric vehicles and, as he knows, we currently have a pilot of a 'try before you buy' scheme in the Cardiff capital region, in Pembrokeshire and in Denbighshire, to incentivise taxi drivers to try electric vehicles with a view to them then buying them. We're going to be evaluating that to decide whether or not that is the best use of our scarce resource, given the way the market is already moving; it is already competitive to buy an electric car versus a new petrol car. And we'll be evaluating those projects and taking a further view of what other practical schemes we can do, as we develop our clean air plan and bring forward legislation.

I certainly recognise the substantial economic opportunity north Wales can realise from renewable energy. I'm working with the Minister for Economy and other Cabinet colleagues to capture the benefits from our energy transition, including through the regional energy strategy and the north Wales economic framework.

Thank you very much, Minister, for your response, and I'm really pleased to hear that you too see the opportunities that renewable energy has for us in north Wales and Wales as a whole. If we're ambitious enough, we could see a transformation in our economy through the green economy that's right in front of us. As I'm sure you're aware, there are a number of significant renewable energy projects popping up all over north Wales at the moment, whether it's wind, solar or marine energy projects. One of my concerns, though, is us not realising the full opportunity and potential we could take from those. So, from making sure that our docks are properly utilised and that jobs can be created there, whether it's at Holyhead, Mostyn or elsewhere on the north Wales coast, and not losing those jobs to perhaps the docks at Liverpool or elsewhere—. So, I just want to hear a bit more about how you plan to ensure that some specific sites are being well utilised, that apprenticeships are being driven in north Wales and that young people, especially, have opportunities for great jobs in the region off the back of these projects.

I absolutely agree entirely with you there, Sam Rowlands. There are significant opportunities from optimising the social value of our natural resources, including through the generation of local clean energy. And as you rightly identify, it's not the quantity of renewables being developed that generates the wealth but the development of all the local ownership structures, supply chains and employment opportunities that come with it. So, we've initiated, funded and supported four regional energy strategies that will start to identify the scale of change needed to achieve the low-carbon energy system. The strategies are all co-developed by the regional partnerships and are accompanied by an economic assessment of how to lever in the most social value out of the undoubted renewable largesse that we have right across Wales.

The vision presented within the north Wales energy strategy is estimated to result in an additional 24,400 net jobs and associated increase in gross value added of around £2.4 billion in the period to 2035, compared to business as usual. And that is absolutely associated with the delivery of accelerated deployment of renewable electricity-generation technologies and enhanced levels of energy efficiency to go with it. It estimates that there'll be over 1,200 more growth jobs associated with the provision of low-carbon heating technologies in that scenario, associated with a further £192 million of GVA. 

So, I absolutely agree with you it's absolutely incumbent on all of us to work towards making sure that we emphasise community ownership, or some proportion of community ownership where possible, and by community ownership that can also include local authority ownership and Government ownership where appropriate to assist communities to get a foothold in the ownership structure. But it also includes making sure that we have the right skills base to attract the right jobs here, so that we have not just the maintenance and renewal jobs, but the engineering, design and construction jobs that come with them—the top-end jobs and the management jobs that come with that as well. So, absolutely on the same page as you, and we're working very hard with our regional partnerships to ensure just that. 

Yn olaf, cwestiwn 8, Tom Giffard.

Thank you, Tom. The Welsh Government funds risk-management authorities, such as local authorities and Natural Resources Wales, to reduce flood risk. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water are responsible for managing their own sewerage assets. We encourage all parties to work collaboratively to address the risk of flooding to all our communities.

Thank you, Minister, for that answer. You may be aware of the decision made by Welsh Water to close the Vardre bridge that spans the River Tawe at Clydach in my region. A structural survey undertaken by Welsh Water three years ago found that the bridge was unsafe and instead of repairing it, they simply closed the bridge. Local residents have contacted me to say they're concerned that now debris is building up and forming a dam that could lead to serious flood issues in the area, particularly as the river is known to rise to meet the bridge during heavy rainfall. The closure of the bridge is also causing significant disruption in the community. For example, Vardre Rugby Football Club use this bridge to access their pitches for their players and supporters, and they're now forced to take a detour of over a mile from their changing rooms to their pitch. The rugby club also were active in the community and cleared the debris around when it was in use, but now it's closed they're unable to do that, and therefore that causes that flooding concern in the community I mentioned earlier.

So, can I ask the Minister what value you expect Welsh Water to place on the importance of an asset to a community when considering what action it takes on it? Also, what maintenance and flood-prevention work do you expect Welsh Water to undertake on an asset like that, which is closed to the public? Finally, will you seek clarification from Welsh Water on behalf of the people of Clydach on their future plans for the Vardre bridge and whether they'll consider either maintaining or reopening the bridge, on which so many of the residents of that community rely? 

I'd expect Welsh Water to take into account a hierarchy of issues. The first is to prevent flooding. That's absolutely the first—loss of limb or life and to prevent flooding; that's the first thing they have to do. So, if they're looking at a building up of debris around the bridge and so on, they are expected to clean that out. They are expected to work in conjunction with Natural Resources Wales and the local authorities, and other agencies with responsibility for that, including—I don't know the example you give, but including the riparian owners and so on, to make sure that that is in an optimal condition to cope with any additional storm and so on. So, that's the first thing they need to do. Then the second thing they need to do is to make sure that all local amenities are recovered as fast as possible and to make sure that they do that in as timely a way as possible.

I'm not familiar with the incident you're talking about, so I'd encourage you to write in to me with details of the incident, and then I can look at the specifics for you. But, in general, obviously, the first thing is to prevent the flooding and loss of life and limb, then to make sure that infrastructure assets are as safe as they can be, and then to ensure that amenities are recovered as soon as possible.

Diolch i'r Gweinidog.

Yr eitem nesaf, felly, yw'r cwestiynau i Weinidog y Gymraeg ac Addysg, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Delyth Jewell.

Ddoe cyhoeddais adroddiad blynyddol 'Cymraeg 2050' ar gyfer blwyddyn ariannol 2020-21. Mae'n nodi cynnydd yn erbyn ein targedau. Pan fydd canlyniadau cyfrifiad 2021 wedi'u cyhoeddi, byddwn yn ailedrych ar y taflwybr ystadegol tua'r filiwn, fel yr addewais fis Gorffennaf y llynedd wrth gyhoeddi ein rhaglen waith ar gyfer 2021-26.

Diolch, Weinidog. Mae'r Gymraeg yn perthyn i bawb, dim ots os ydyn ni'n siarad yr iaith ai peidio.

But unpleasant commentary recently has sought to reawaken divides over Welsh. Jeremy Bowen, Jonathan Meades and others have rightly been criticised, but this could, ironically, be an opportunity, because the Government's plans with 'Cymraeg 2050' could centre not only on increasing the numbers of people who speak Welsh, as vital as that is, but centre also on creating favourable conditions. Surely, part of this has to entail increasing the sense of ownership that non-Welsh speakers feel for this language that enriches all of us in society. Some of the fiercest campaigners I know for Welsh-medium education are the very people who were denied the chance to learn Welsh when they were little. So, Minister, how do you think that Government plans and targets can work in concert with the need to increase this level of support for Welsh among those who can't speak it? How can we ensure that everyone living in Wales and everyone who feels this sense of belonging to Wales—that they feel that the language, too, belongs to them and that they have a part to play in its story?

I would, if I may, just associate myself entirely with the sentiment in the question; I couldn't agree more with the world view that you've described in your question. It is fantastic that 86 per cent of adults in Wales have pride in the Welsh language, whether they speak it or not. Just let that statistic sink in; it's fantastic as a sort of starting point for the analysis.

I think one of the things we must do is make sure, as I was saying in the statement yesterday, that we encourage everybody, even if they have a word or two of Welsh, and most people in Wales have a word or two of the language, just to use them, because, actually, it's by creating the use of Welsh, even in that small way, in the public space that we'll help each other along that journey.

There are lots of people who feel put off by, maybe, feeling their Welsh isn't what they would like it to be, and I think we should, actually, change the expectation and say, 'Use the Welsh that you have got; learn a few more words and use a bit more every day.' In that way, we'll make real progress towards the million Welsh speakers and doubling the use of Welsh every day.

'Cymraeg 2050' acknowledges the importance of Welsh-speaking communities as places that facilitate the use of the language in every aspect of everyday life. However, with the Welsh Government only delivering 4,616 of the 12,000 new homes required annually in Wales, there is a huge shortage of houses for our youngest generations to remain in their home towns or villages. In fact, a cumulative total of 14,240 young people in the 20 to 29 age group left four Welsh counties between 2012 and 2016. [Interruption.] The consultation on the Welsh language communities housing plan highlighted that you are considering options to help local people to access affordable housing. Minister, many Welsh-language young people are from farms and, as such, their families do own land. Technical advice note 6 allows for new isolated residential development in the open countryside for rural enterprise workers, but have you ever considered undertaking some discussions with the Minister for Climate Change to maybe expand—[Interruption.] Yes, you could do it now.

Allow the Member to carry on with her question. I'm sure she's coming to it very soon. 

I am. To expand on TAN 6 that maybe children of farmers can more easily gain planning permission to build homes on their own family land. Diolch.

Well, I think the question was a model of cross-Government scrutiny, in terms—[Interruption.]—in terms of its breadth and its scope, which is commendable. I think somewhat at odds with the comments I heard the Member made this morning about the proposals that the Government are bringing forward in relation to council tax to the benefit of some of those communities that she identifies rightly in her question—[Interruption.] That she identifies rightly in her question—

Carry on, Minister, yes.

—as being a particular concern for many of us in this Chamber. I know from the discussions that we've had in a private setting that she shares many of those concerns as well. I would dispute the figures that you've given in relation to housing provision, and I know my colleague here, the Minister for Climate Change, is passionately disputing them as well to my side here. But I welcome her commitment to making sure that our Welsh-speaking communities, where Welsh is a main language, retain their vibrancy and their prosperity into the future. I hope she's taken the opportunity of responding to the consultation that closed during last week and I'll look forward to reading her comments if she has.

Mae prifysgolion wrth gwrs yn gyrff annibynnol ar y Llywodraeth, ac yn gyfrifol felly am eu materion gweinyddol eu hunain. Does gan Weinidogion Llywodraeth Cymru ddim awdurdod i ymyrryd yn y trafodaethau hynny ond, wrth gwrs, rŷn ni'n gobeithio y byddan nhw'n cyrraedd diweddglo hapus. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Weinidog. Braint oedd cyfarfod â rhai o’r streicwyr heddiw ar risiau’r Senedd ac roedden nhw'n canmol fy nghyfeillion i Sioned Williams a Mike Hedges am y gefnogaeth y maent wedi’i rhoi iddyn nhw.

Dylai pensiwn teg fod yn hawl sylfaenol i bob gweithiwr yng Nghymru, ac mae’r ffaith eu bod nhw'n torri pensiynau diwedd cyflogaeth gan 35 y cant yn hollol warthus, a hynny wedi'i seilio ar dystiolaeth sydd wedi'i dyddio bellach. Mae’r wybodaeth newydd yn dangos bod y deficit yn y pensiwn wedi torri yn ddifrifol yn ystod y pandemig, ac mae ffigurau cyllideb prifysgolion wedi bod yn iachus iawn, gyda nifer y myfyrwyr sy’n mynd i brifysgolion wedi aros yn gyson a chynyddu. Mae hynny’n dangos safon y gweithwyr sydd gyda ni yn y system addysg uwch.

Dwi'n derbyn yr hyn rŷch chi'n ei ddweud, bod prifysgolion a sefydliadau addysg uwch eraill yn annibynnol, ond mae yna ddylanwad gyda chi, Weinidog, a dwi'n gobeithio y byddech yn gwneud mwy na jest dymuno’n dda, ac yn defnyddio eich dylanwad i ysgrifennu at yr is-gangellorion, dangos eich cefnogaeth chi i weithwyr y system addysg uwch a dweud wrth yr is-gangellorion fod yn rhaid iddyn nhw ddod yn ôl at y bwrdd i negodi. Diolch yn fawr.

Wel, roeddwn i eisoes wedi gwneud fy nisgwyliadau’n glir i’r sector. Mae'n bwysig bod y negodiadau sy'n digwydd yn cyrraedd setliad sy'n adlewyrchu cyfraniad a buddiannau'r staff. Mae hynny'n bwysig o ran y gallu i sicrhau darpariaeth addysg uwch, ond hefyd o ran sicrhau ein bod yn gallu denu pobl i mewn—myfyrwyr ac i ddysgu hefyd. Rwyf hefyd wedi esbonio bod angen bod yn dryloyw ac yn atebol o ran y penderfyniadau sy'n cael eu gwneud a'r incwm sy'n dod i mewn i'n prifysgolion ni. Felly, rwyf wir yn gobeithio y bydd hyn yn gallu cyrraedd diweddglo sydd yn adlewyrchu buddiannau’r staff hefyd.

We all want to see a resolution to this dispute, Minister, and I do understand, obviously, that higher education is an autonomous body and they are responsible for the negotiations in this particular aspect. Students have had a lot of disruption to their education over the last couple of years with COVID and now industrial action. We're in a critical window for most students, who have to have dissertations in by April, to get their marks ready for their degrees, hopefully. Would you support, where facilities have been withdrawn and services have been withdrawn to students, that they should be reimbursed? Because, obviously, students have paid in to those universities in expectation of tutorial time and face-to-face educational time, and if there's industrial action happening in the HE sector that isn't being provided and, in any other sector, you'd expect some recompense. So, would you support reimbursing students who haven't had that service provided to them?

Well, universities have provided a range of different means by which students can continue their education, even in the very, very challenging circumstances of the last two years, in fact. And that has involved offering a blended approach, which I'm sure none of us would want to see as the norm, but it has been a way in which students' experience has been able to be maintained, with, I think, some innovation in some campuses in particular. Where students feel that they have a particular concern about a particular course, then they have recourse through their student unions—I'd encourage them to take that up—and through the universities themselves.

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Laura Jones.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I think we both share a desire for education to be futureproof in Wales, especially at a time post-Brexit, which is presenting and will present so many international opportunities going forward. We need to ensure that pupils from Wales have the very best chances and are truly able to compete on a global stage. I spoke recently in the Chamber about the benefits of providing both modern and international languages across our educational settings, so I won't repeat. And it seems clear, from the money that the Welsh Government have put into this aspect of learning, that you acknowledge those benefits also, Minister. So, I'm wondering how, even though you've ploughed a total of £5.7 million into your Welsh Government's Global Futures programme, with the funding increased 71.8 per cent since 2015, GCSE entries in French and German have declined by 41.2 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. By contrast, in England, there were noticeable increases in French and English from 2019-20. And for the first time since records began, in England, Spanish attracted over 100,000 entries—almost double the 2005 total. It is clear that, in comparison, Minister, something in the Global Futures programme is failing. Could you please explain to the Senedd how any new moneys for this failing programme are going to reverse this downward trend? Thank you.

Well, I would dispute the impression that the question gives, I'm afraid, which is that this is a Wales-specific challenge. That doesn't make it any less of a challenge in Wales, but it does tell us something about the nature of the challenge, which is that there's a picture of a general decline, actually, in modern foreign languages right across the UK. So, I think it's an unhappy situation that all four parts of the UK have to wrestle with. I do think that the work that partners through the Global Futures programme have been doing has—. The focus of that has been to promote and to raise the profile of modern foreign languages in schools in Wales generally. We are working with Estyn, with the regional consortia, with universities, with Qualifications Wales, and, in that mix, there's a wealth of experience and resources in addition to support our schools in Wales. But I think one of the key opportunities for us, as we bring forward the new curriculum, and the reform to our qualifications, is to widen the choice available to our learners, and I think that extra flexibility we anticipate will help us in this challenge as well.

Thank you, Minister. I'll just repeat: by contrast, in England, there were noticeable increases in French and Spanish from 2019-20, and that, since records began, Spanish has increased to 100,000 plus. It's completely different to our numbers, which are declining. Also, we have seen the modern foreign language teachers numbers in German and French decline by 14 per cent and 15 per cent respectively over the last five, six years. Is one of the causes of the Global Futures programme failing the lack of teachers coming forward, and, if so, what steps are you doing to rectify that, please, particularly, as you said, because the new curriculum presents us with so many opportunities, as does, potentially, changing the school day? So, we need to have these teachers in place so people are able to have those modern language opportunities if they desire, going forward. Thank you.

I agree with the challenge that the Member describes in terms of recruitment. We have, of course, got an incentive scheme to encourage teachers into subjects such as some of the ones that she's referred to, which have been challenging in terms of recruitment in the past. And actually, those schemes do in fact lead to beneficial outcomes. I do think that it's a mix of challenges, really. One of the aspects of our education reform that I think may have a bearing on how this could look different in the future is the internationalisation of the education system generally in Wales through the Taith programme, which, although probably the focus has been on higher education, also benefits further education, schools as well, and youth services. So, I think there's a very exciting opportunity as part of that to raise the profile in our schools, alongside the new curriculum, of the importance of modern foreign languages, as well as the teaching of Welsh, of course. 

Thank you, Minister. Now moving to a more sobering subject, but an important one to address today, Minister, the situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking, and certainly not something I'm sure any of us thought we'd ever see again in Europe. It was made clear yesterday that we all want to see Wales as a refuge for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict. In order to accommodate the children and give them the education they need and deserve when they are here, we need to be prepared. 

Minister, with a general lack of teachers across Wales, and a large number of schools oversubscribed, what steps are you taking to ensure that we are able to welcome these children into our Welsh education system with open arms?

Well, I dispute the point that the Member makes in terms of the general lack of teachers in our system. I don't think that's a remotely fair reflection of the situation that we are in, but I would associate myself with the sentiment in her question about how important it is for us in Wales to be able to extend our welcome to those leaving and fleeing Ukraine. And the Member will have heard the points that the First Minister made yesterday in the Chamber in relation to our ambitions as a nation in relation to that, and you may also have heard the comments that there are discussions with local government partners in relation to how we can work together to make sure that we are best placed to welcome those who may move here—and we hope that they do—and that will be part of those discussions. 

Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Sioned Williams. 

Diolch, Llywydd, a hoffwn ddatgan diddordeb bod fy ngŵr yn gweithio i Brifysgol Abertawe. 

Today, students from Wales are taking part in a strike organised by the National Union of Students, and the aim of the strike is to imagine a new vision for education, and is also a show of support for the industrial action taken by members of University and College Union, which has seen staff at Swansea University and the Open University in Wales strike over insecure contracts, unfair workloads and cuts to their pensions. This new vision of accessible and fully-funded higher and further education, with proper pay, pensions and conditions for staff is something we desperately need.

On 28 January, the UK Government's universities Minister announced that the repayment threshold and interest rate thresholds applying to plan 2 and plan 3 student loans would be frozen in 2022-23. The thresholds have previously risen with average earnings. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said this effectively constitutes a tax rise by stealth on graduates.

Minister, you have confirmed that the freeze would apply to Welsh graduates, despite education policy and significant parts of the student finance system being devolved. The Welsh Government seem powerless to oppose this freeze, which will add hundreds of pounds on to the tax bills of Welsh graduates already facing the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, and this isn't the only area where students are facing increasing costs. The average student rent in Wales has risen by 29 per cent in the last three years, which now, in fact, means it now takes 60 per cent of the maximum student support package in Wales, and all the while we know students are facing a rise in energy bills as a result of the incoming price cap increase. 

So, can I ask the Minister what the Welsh Government is doing to support students and graduates during the cost-of-living crisis? Diolch. 

Can I just comment on the first point that the Member makes in relation to our ambitions for the education system in Wales? And I agree with her that the principle that underpins the higher education system in Wales is much more progressive than the ones that she was describing as happening over the border in terms of student finance. She will obviously know that every Welsh full-time undergraduate student receives a minimum of £1,000-worth of grant and additional support, regardless of where they choose to study in the UK, and we have a more progressive policy in relation to part-time study as well. 

I think a less remarked, or a less often spoken about, difference that we have in Wales as well is that the Welsh Government makes provision to cancel up to £1,500 of maintenance loan debt for each student that starts repayment. That's the only part of the UK that does that, and we're very proud of having a more progressive system of finance here in Wales. 

In relation to the point that she made about the loan threshold, which I made a written statement about in the last week or so, part of the challenge that we face here in Wales is that, whereas a lot of the powers sit in our hands in relation to student finance, the implementation of a different policy on the ground is not in our hands. That's a question for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in many respects and other non-devolved bodies. And, when a policy decision is made, as it was in this case, at very short notice, it provides really no room to be able to respond to it in a different way here in Wales. She will have seen, though, in the last few days a range of other proposals that have come out from the UK Government in relation to student finance reform, and I have asked officials to work with Treasury officials and UK Government officials to see what better room for manoeuvre we can have in Wales so that we can make different choices here than those that are made in very different circumstances across the border. 

Diolch, Weinidog. Qualifications Wales was established in August 2015, and is an independent regulatory body set up to ensure that qualifications are effective for meeting the reasonable needs of learners in Wales and to promote public confidence in qualifications and the Welsh qualifications system. Qualifications Wales must produce an annual report detailing how it has exercised its functions. However, there is no legal requirement for Qualifications Wales to be reviewed independently after a set time frame. The current arrangements do not allow for regular independent review to ensure that the body is working in the best interests of the education sector and has the appropriate powers to fulfil its purpose, especially when we think now of the substantial changes currently being made to qualifications and GCSEs that we've seen recently. 

In England, Ofqual employs a standards advisory board, made up of independent assessment specialists, to review research and make recommendations on maintaining standards. Similarly, the Scottish Qualifications Authority Act 2002 ensured that an advisory council was established as a part of the SQA. This council provides consistent advice to SQA and Scottish Ministers and allows for incidental or supplementary provision as Scottish Ministers think fit. So, I'd be interested to hear whether the Minister agrees it would be beneficial for Qualifications Wales to follow these examples of statutory governance structures and to be regularly and independently reviewed to help meet the core aims of the body. Diolch.  

Well, I will need to remind myself in a different context of the statutory underpinning of some of the points that the Member raises in her question and some of the particular questions of detail around governance that she refers to, and I'm very happy to do that. But what I would say at the moment is that there is a very significant programme of reform under way in relation to qualifications in Wales, where I know, in the discussions that we've had in the co-operation agreement, we have a common ambition that there is an ambitious and radical set of reforms to our qualifications in Wales to reflect the new curriculum, but also to reflect the changing landscape in the vocational qualification world, for example. And there are a number of opportunities that we all have at this point in time to engage with Qualifications Wales to help shape some of that, so that the work that they undertake on our behalf commonly best reflects the needs of learners in Wales. So, I would encourage anybody with an interest in how those qualifications work in the real world and the benefit they bring to our learners to engage. There's a real opportunity for us all to do that now. 

From our meeting in December, you will, I know, be aware that we can't legally prevent schools from collecting and using biometric data. However, as a consequence of the discussions and the issues that the Member helped us understand better, officials are currently revising the guidance for schools and local authorities to ensure that where data is collected and used, it is done in the appropriate way.

Thank you. In March 2020, the European Data Protection Board imposed a fine on a Polish school for using biometric data, or fingerprints, for 680 children in the school canteen in exchange for their school meals. Whilst it was noted that the school had received written consent from parents, the board stressed that biometric data was not essential for lunchtime practices. They could not carry out means that do interfere with children's privacy. Minister, you can imagine my horror when it was brought to my attention that these same practices are taking place in schools across Bridgend and Porthcawl and all over Wales. Even more worryingly, the use of biometric data is being sold to schools and parents by unscrupulous companies as a safer option. Minister, I cannot emphasise this enough: it is not safe or proportionate. Passwords and PIN codes can be reset. Once your biometric data is compromised, it is compromised for life. It stops the children, for the rest of their lives, being able to use their fingerprint for security reasons. We're also teaching our children and normalising them using their bodies in exchange for meals as part of a transaction in our schools everywhere. I believe this topic needs a debate of its own, but, in the meantime, will the Minister ensure that data protection is a priority for this Government and ensure that, at the very least, children do not fall victim to data breaches as emerging technologies enter our schools?

This is a very, very important matter, and I absolutely applaud the Member for her consistent and, if I may say so, expert advocacy of this issue, both in the Chamber and beyond. Schools have the option, as she says in her question, to use biometric systems as one of the authentication methods that they use to provide, for example, cashless catering in the context of free school meals and so on. That has helped remove some of the stigma.

However, as I say, as a consequence of the discussions that we've had, officials have been engaging with the Information Commissioner's Office, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, as well as the Biometrics Commissioner for England and Wales, in order to revise that guidance. The guidance will include detailed information regarding schools' obligations in relation to data protection, impact assessments and, importantly, children's rights impact assessments prior to making a decision to introduce a biometric system. It'll be published on our website and it'll be available to parents, to carers, and to young people themselves. The privacy of young learners is absolutely fundamental, and the guidance will reinforce the message that participation in a biometric system is not mandatory and that parents and carers must provide written consent before any biometric data can be collected. And I hope she would welcome the fact as well that a child-friendly version of the guidance will also be published so that children and young people in Wales understand their own rights to privacy in how they engage with these kinds of questions in schools. We'll be seeking direct feedback from young learners later this month regarding the content of that guidance.

Minister, I've seen the benefit of biometric data in schools, as a local authority councillor. It was introduced to help reduce the stigma around free school meals. When everyone is using the same queue and the same payment system, it does reduce the potential for bullying and harassment. However, some parents and children and rightly worried and concerned about the use of the biometric data and where their details are being stored and whether they are very secure. So, Minister, will you take this opportunity to reassure parents and concerned individuals about the risks of data breaches following the installation of biometric devices, and can you confirm whether there have been any data breaches in schools or colleges across Wales? Diolch, Llywydd.

I thank James Evans for that question. I refer him to the answer I gave to Sarah Murphy a moment ago in relation to that. I'm not aware of any schools or colleges in Wales using the newer biometric technology such as facial recognition systems, for example, but I will reassure him, as I did with Sarah Murphy, that the guidance will set out for schools and parents and carers, but also for learners, the framework of rights and their entitlements in relation to this. Also, in an area where the technology is often changing very rapidly, we will undertake to keep that proactively under review as new technologies emerge.

Our generous student support package and the NHS Wales bursary scheme enables students in these fields, along with our institutional investment in high-cost subjects, including medicine and dentistry. We are committed to establishing the north Wales medical school, which will complement existing high-quality medical education in Wales.   

I'm grateful to the Minister for that answer. The coronavirus pandemic has shown us all just how important and key social workers are, and if we are to encourage people into the social work profession I think we need a parity of bursary with the NHS bursary you mentioned. People who look to go through this training are often older and they're often from a very diverse background. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of those this afternoon, and they really do need this bursary. Minister, you'll be aware of a petition currently going through the Senedd committee's process, and that calls for removing all barriers to entering the profession and it calls for a parity of the bursary and a parity of esteem in that offer. Can you commit to that parity of bursary and, if so, when?

Well, as the Member says, social work students are unable to access the NHS bursary, but they can access the social work bursary through Social Care Wales, and that provides them with funding towards the cost of their living and tuition fees. Obviously, I'm aware of the representations, including those to which the Member refers, that the bursary funding doesn't provide the same level of funding as its NHS counterpart, and we are currently reviewing and assessing our options with respect to the funding of social work training. From 2022-23, all postgraduate social work students in receipt of the bursary will now be able to access the reduced student finance loan, which closes a loophole that has prevented them from receiving that kind of loan prior to now.

Minister, we need to do all we can to encourage more young people to consider studying for a career in health and social care in Wales, particularly in north Wales, as you mentioned before, to prevent this brain drain that we often talk about. No amount of money will solve the crisis facing health and social care. It's not a shortage of funds causing our growing waiting lists; it's a shortage of people. So, what steps are you taking to encourage more people into STEM subjects? And what discussions have you had with Welsh universities regarding steps they can take to make it easier for Welsh students to study in this field?

There is a range of interventions, on which I worked together with my colleague the Minister for Economy, in schools in relation to this, and there is a need to make sure that the STEM subjects are accessible and attractive to all students, actually. There is sometimes gender bias within those subjects. So, I certainly think there is more that we can all do in that regard.

Some of the reforms I was just talking about—reforms to qualifications in the future—are designed specifically to open up greater opportunities for a wider range of GCSEs, many of which are STEM-adjacent subjects, for example in the fields of engineering and manufacturing. I think that will create a different culture and different set of expectations within our schools, and open up greater opportunities for people to study STEM or STEM-relevant subjects.

Working with partners, including local authorities and Mudiad Meithrin, we are making significant investment in Welsh-medium early years provision via our capital grants, the Sefydlu a Symud programme, and our investment in the workforce. We also fund Welsh-medium places through Flying Start, the childcare offer, and our early education provision.

Thank you, Minister, for that answer. Now, Cynon valley has a number of flourishing meithrins, in Penderyn, Aberdare, Mountain Ash and Abercynon, and it is important that they are sustainable and can access suitably qualified staff. The extra financial support from Welsh Government for meithrins that you announced a little while ago is of course very welcome, and I know you referred to Cam wrth Gam in your statement on St David's Day yesterday, setting out the ambition of the Government to nurture the Welsh language. But can you provide a little more information on how Welsh Government is working to encourage, promote and support people into careers in Welsh-medium childcare?

I thank the Member for that really important supplementary question. The last meeting I had before coming into the Chamber today was in fact with the Deputy Minister for Social Services, who was reviewing the 10-year workforce plan for the sector, and identifying with her what more we can do to encourage young people into Welsh language provision in early years settings more broadly. But there is a broad and varied programme of support in place for the childcare, play-work and early years workforce in relation to learning and improving Welsh, which includes programmes like Camau, which is an online, entry level self-study course, and accessing workplace learning. There are also a number of options open to people considering joining the childcare sector, with apprenticeships and full and part-time courses available both in Welsh and in English. We're aware, obviously, as her question implies, that the number undertaking those courses through the medium of Welsh is lower than we want them to be, and we'll be working to improve this over the course of the Senedd term.

Gweinidog, ddoe cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru gyllid ar gyfer 11 o brojectau cyfalaf i ehangu addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg, a dwi'n falch o weld £2.5 miliwn yn cael ei ddyrannu i Ysgol Caer Elen yn fy etholaeth i, i ariannu 60 o leoedd cyfrwng Cymraeg ychwanegol i blant yn y tymor hir. Mae'r cyllid hwn i'w groesawu ac yn sicr o helpu gwella mynediad i addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg yn sir Benfro, er mae hi yn hynod o bwysig bod plant yn gallu cael mynediad i ddarpariaeth blynyddoedd cynnar cyfrwng Cymraeg ym mhob rhan o'r sir. Felly, a allwch chi ein diweddaru ni ar y trafodaethau rŷch chi wedi eu cael gyda Chyngor Sir Penfro ynglŷn â gwella mynediad i addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg? Ac a allwch chi hefyd ddweud wrthym ni pa drafodaethau sydd wedi’u cynnal gyda Mudiad Meithrin, sydd hefyd yn chwarae rhan bwysig iawn wrth gyflwyno teuluoedd i’r Gymraeg drwy gynlluniau Cylch Ti a Fi a Chlwb Cwtsh, er enghraifft?

Wrth gwrs, mae’r awdurdod wedi cyflwyno’r cynllun strategol addysg Gymraeg yn ddiweddar i fi er mwyn cymeradwyo. Rwy'n edrych ar hynny ar hyn o bryd. Mae pob awdurdod yng Nghymru wedi cael gofyniad i fod yn uchelgeisiol ynglŷn â'r hyn maen nhw'n darparu o ran addysg Gymraeg dros y ddegawd nesaf. Dyma'r tro cyntaf i ni allu symud i gynllun dros ddegawd, a dwi'n credu bydd hynny'n hwyluso'r cynllunio ieithyddol, yn cynnwys ein hysgolion ni, wrth gwrs, ond hefyd y blynyddoedd cynnar.

Mae gennym ni gynllun o fuddsoddiad gyda Mudiad Meithrin dros dymor y Senedd hon. Rŷn ni wedi cyrraedd y nod diweddaraf o ryw 43. Mae 12 yn cael eu hagor yn y flwyddyn ariannol hon fel rhan o 60 dros dymor y Senedd hon hefyd. Rŷn ni'n gwybod bod y siawns y bydd rhywun yn mynd ymlaen i addysg Gymraeg lawer yn uwch os ydyn nhw wedi bod mewn addysg blynyddoedd cynnar Cymraeg hefyd, felly rwy’n rhannu gyda'r Aelod y flaenoriaeth i hynny.

We are committed to supporting the physical health and well-being of all learners in Wales. That is why the promotion of the lifelong benefits of physical health, including sport, is a mandatory part of every curriculum in every school and setting in Wales for three to 16-year-olds.

Thank you, Minister. Thanks for that response. Minister, you will already be aware that the UK's chief medical officers have recently published the first ever guidelines on physical activity for disabled children and young people. It is now recommended that disabled young people take part in around 20 minutes of exercise a day and strength and balance activities three times a week. These guidelines will go some way in helping to support disabled children and young people to improve their physical and mental health, as well as closing the wider health gap between disabled and non-disabled people. However, it's important that schools and other educational facilities help to facilitate participation in sport and physical activity for all students, and that can be quite difficult when there's a lack of appropriate equipment and facilities, and a very crowded curriculum.

Minister, what discussions have you and your officials had about the impact of the new guidance on the teaching of sports in schools, and what more support can the Welsh Government provide to schools to ensure that they have the equipment needed so that all children and young people have equal access to sport and physical activity?

Officials are considering that in the way that you imply in your question at the moment. I completely agree with the point that you're making, that it's vital that access to sporting activities and physical activities in schools are available and accessible to all our learners. I think that's a principle that underpins the importance of health and well-being in our new curriculum, and I made a speech a couple of weeks ago where I was keen to emphasise that the curriculum is a curriculum for all our learners, and so it needs to be regarded in that way, and we will look at what more we can do in terms of professional learning and resources to make sure that that part of the curriculum is as inclusive as it possibly can be.

Thank you.

COVID-19 has disrupted almost every part of our lives, but for many young people, they've missed out on those crucial first opportunities to take part in sports that interest and excite them, and these are some of the most important formative years. We all know the benefits that sports can bring to both the physical and mental well-being of our young people, and we must ensure that children do not miss out on those benefits for years to come because of the pandemic.

What role does the Minister see our schools having in making sure that our youngest generation still get these opportunities, and what more can we do to encourage more participation in school sports?

I think schools have a very, very important role in making those opportunities available, and the mandatory expectation for physical health in the new curriculum from September onwards I think reflects the important role that schools have to play in that. We work hard in the Government to continue to ensure that all schools can offer that range of high-quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

You will have heard the Deputy Minister yesterday talking about the new 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' strategy, but also that daily active offer as part of that strategic approach for all our learners, and part of that is around making sure that all our children and young people have access to settings where physical and mental health remains a priority. And so, making sure that the curriculum provides an outcomes-focused programme through the Welsh network of healthy school schemes will be an important contribution to that; the daily active offer, which I've mentioned as well, together with work that we do with Sport Wales and other third sector organisations to ensure that every child has access to sport and physical activity opportunities. She will also know about the winter of well-being package that has been rolled out over the last few weeks, and, obviously, an important part of that is providing additional sessions around the school day to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being, both in English and in Welsh.

I'm pleased that Swansea's proposed £150 million school estate investment continues to move at pace, with four projects already completed. This means more than £38 million has been invested in schools in Swansea during second-wave investment through the sustainable communities for learning programme. 

Can I thank the Minister for that response? Last month, I attended the official opening of the new Tan-y-lan school, where my grandchildren attend, and this month, I will be attending the opening of the new Tirdeunaw school. Of the six comprehensive schools in Swansea, three have been rebuilt on the same site, one completely refurbished and one is a relatively new school. The only school that's only had emergency work done on it is Bishop Vaughan, the local Catholic school. Will the Minister meet with the Catholic Education Service, Swansea Council and the school to discuss a way of rebuilding the school on the current site?

I'm hoping to join you at the opening of the Tirdeunaw school, in fact, so I look forward to that opportunity. Obviously, we're aware that a number of voluntary-aided schools are in need of replacement and refurbishment, and my officials continue to work with local authorities and diocesan authorities to look at the funding options available. I will, in fact, be meeting with representatives from the Catholic Education Service and the diocesan directors of education next week to discuss the challenges that the sector faces, and I'd be very happy to meet with Swansea Council and schools' representatives to specifically discuss the issue that the Member has raised.

Mae swyddfa Comisiynydd y Gymraeg wedi bod yn ymchwilio i'r mater hwn. Dim ond cyhoeddiadau y mae'r Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency yn eu cynhyrchu sy'n berthnasol i'w cynllun iaith. Felly, ar hyn o bryd, nid yw'r deunydd ymarfer ar gael yn y Gymraeg, ond byddaf i'n parhau i weithio gyda swyddfa'r comisiynydd i geisio datrysiad i hyn.

Diolch yn fawr iawn. Dwi wedi bod yn trio cael datrysiad i hyn drwy'r DVSA a drwy ofyn am gefnogaeth Llywodraeth Cymru ers rhyw wyth mlynedd, dwi'n meddwl, erbyn hyn. Mae o mor rhwystredig. Yn syml iawn, mae croeso ichi wneud prawf theori'n Gymraeg, ond does yna ddim deunydd ymarfer ar-lein, ffug brofion ac ati, ar gael o gwbl. Dwi'n gwybod am lawer oedd eisiau gwneud prawf theori yn Gymraeg, ond wnaeth ddewis gwneud yn Saesneg oherwydd hyn, a dwi'n gallu deall pam. Dwi'n gwybod hefyd am rai sy'n teimlo eu bod nhw wedi bod dan anfantais wedyn oherwydd nad oedd y prawf yn eu hiaith gyntaf.

Rŵan, mi gafodd Cai Phillips, cyn-Aelod o'r Senedd Ieuenctid, afael ar ffigurau drwy gais rhyddid gwybodaeth yn dangos bod 382 o bobl wedi gwneud prawf gyrru ymarferol yn Gymraeg yn 2018-19, ond dim ond 53 wnaeth y prawf theori yn Gymraeg. Mae'r patrwm yr un fath mewn blynyddoedd eraill hefyd. Ac fel rydyn ni wedi'i glywed, mae'r DVSA yn dweud, 'Dim ni sydd angen gwneud hyn; mater i'r sector breifat ydy o a does yna ddim cystadleuaeth am y Gymraeg.' Ond allwn ni ddim gadael hyn i lawr i rymoedd y farchnad, mae angen ymyrraeth.

Rŵan, mae cyn-Weinidogion, ac fel rydyn ni wedi'i glywed, Comisiynydd y Gymraeg, wedi dweud eu bod nhw'n rhannu fy anfodlonrwydd i, ond plis gawn ni fwy o ymrwymiad na'r ychydig eiriau yna, er mor bositif ydyn nhw, i bwyso ar y DVSA ac yn wir i weithio ar y DVSA—i weithio efo nhw—a pheidio ag ildio rŵan tan mae hyn yn newid, nid yn unig oherwydd ei fod o'n bwysig o ran egwyddor, ond oherwydd yr angen ymarferol am y profion yma?

Wel, mae'r Aelod yn dweud bod hyn yn rhwystredig, mae e'n rhwystredig. Mae'n sefyllfa bryderus iawn, byddwn i'n dweud. Mae pobl yn amlwg yn mynd i edrych ar argaeledd deunydd adolygu Cymraeg pan fyddan nhw'n penderfynu pa ffordd i ddewis gwneud eu prawf. Felly, mae hynny'n risg amlwg, fyddwn i'n dweud, ac mae'n hen bryd i'r DVSA gydnabod eu cyfrifoldebau yn y maes hwn a darparu deunydd yn y Gymraeg hefyd. Felly, does dim diffyg eglurder ynglŷn â beth yw'r gofyniad a beth yw cyfrifoldeb y DVSA yn hyn o beth.

Fel y gwnaeth yr Aelod grybwyll, mae'r mater wedi cael ei drafod sawl gwaith ar hyd y blynyddoedd, fan hyn ac mewn mannau eraill. Dyw agwedd y DVSA ar y mater ddim wedi newid, ac yn sgil hynny mae swyddogion y comisiynydd am drafod hyn gyda Chyngor Llyfrau Cymru i weld a oes opsiynau amgen y gallan nhw ein cynorthwyo ni gyda nhw yn hyn o beth. Bydd swyddfa'r comisiynydd hefyd yn trafod y mater gyda swyddfa Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru. Rwy'n awyddus i gefnogi gwaith y comisiynydd yn hyn o beth gan fod ymchwiliad yn digwydd. Felly, byddaf i eisiau gweithio ar y cyd â nhw i weld beth mwy y gallwn ni ei wneud i annog y corff i wella ei wasanaethau Cymraeg. Byddaf i'n codi'r mater gyda'r dirprwy gomisiynydd pan fyddaf yn ei gweld hi nesaf. Ond, mae'n ddigon clir beth yw cyfrifoldeb y DVSA yn hyn o beth.

Diolch i'r Gweinidog.

Y cwestiwn amserol sydd nesaf, ac mae'r cwestiwn i'w ateb gan y Gweinidog materion gwledig ac i'w ofyn gan Mabon ap Gwynfor.

We've worked with our industry stakeholders to identify the impacts on Welsh agriculture. This work underpinned our representations to the UK Government that any trade deal must not disadvantage Welsh farmers or compromise our high animal and environmental standards.

Diolch yn fawr iawn i'r Gweinidog am yr ateb yna. Rŵan, beth bynnag ydy sbin Llywodraeth Geidwadol San Steffan, y gwir ydy y bydd y cytundeb yma yn gadael ffermwyr Cymru ar fympwy marchnad nad sydd ganddyn nhw unrhyw reolaeth drosto. Os bydd rhywbeth yn newid yn y farchnad gig oen, yn arbennig o safbwynt Tsieina neu'r Unol Daleithiau, yna bydd llawer iawn mwy o gig o Seland Newydd yn cyrraedd y glannau yma neu'r Undeb Ewropeaidd, gan danseilio ein ffermwyr ni. Heb dariff, does gan ffermwyr Cymru ddim dweud a dim byd i'w hamddiffyn. Mae Plaid Cymru wedi rhybuddio ers talwm y bydd y cytundebau masnach yma yn cael effaith andwyol ar ffermwyr Cymru. Mae Undeb Amaethwyr Cymru wedi rhagamcan y bydd effaith y cytundeb gydag Awstralia, er enghraifft, yn arwain at gwymp o £29 miliwn yn GVA diwydiant cig coch Cymru. Tra nad ydy o'n bosib inni wneud yr un rhagamcangyfrifon ar gyfer cytundeb efo Seland Newydd, mae'r data sydd ar gael yn awgrymu y bydd effaith y ddau gytundeb yma yn arwain at gwymp o rywle oddeutu £50 miliwn yn GVA marchnad cig coch Cymru.

Hoffwn i ofyn i chi fel Gweinidog, felly: ydych chi'n credu bod hyn yn bris sydd yn werth ei dalu? Mae ffermwyr Cymru'n fwy agored i niwed a ddaw o gytundeb gwael na ffermwyr eraill y wladwriaeth hon. Hefyd, ydy'r Gweinidog yn cytuno â fi fod angen i Lywodraeth San Steffan gynnal asesiad llawn o'r cytundebau masnach yma ar ffermwyr Cymru?

Yes, I do. I think it is that cumulative impact, because it's very clear to us and probably to your party, and certainly to the stakeholders we spoke to, that one of the things we were very concerned about with the Australia deal is that it would set a precedent and you can see now with the New Zealand deal that that is absolutely the case. So, I do think that an assessment is needed. Now the deal has been signed, obviously our officials and I need to scrutinise that next chapter. But we warned them; this is what we told them would happen. We're very concerned about the animal health and welfare standards and the environmental standards. I think New Zealand have very similar standards to us, if not higher, perhaps, in some cases, where Australia certainly doesn't. But it is that cumulative impact—you know, what's the next trade deal going to do? So, I think it is important that we monitor it very carefully. We repeatedly raised concerns with the UK Government about this, but I'm afraid they haven't listened to us.

Minister, I'm grateful to the Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd for bringing this question forward today, but it is important to note and remember that this trade deal is worth much more and is much broader than agriculture alone. This isn't spin—[Interruption.] This isn't spin, as the Member said. This deal is the most advanced agreement that New Zealand has signed with any nation bar Australia. Despite the chuntering of the Member from Blaenau Gwent on the back benches, it is one of the most environmentally green deals ever, confirming commitments to the Paris agreement and net zero. It will liberalise tariffs on the largest list of environmental goods in any free trade agreement to date and encourage trade and see investment in low-carbon services and technology. It will also ensure that produce not able to be grown or produced here in Wales, such as Marlborough sauvignon blanc, manuka honey and kiwifruit, become more affordable to Welsh consumers. At the current time, 210 Welsh businesses export goods to the value of £23 million—[Interruption.] They may wish to shut me down, however these are the facts, Llywydd.

No, you won't be shut down unless I say so, and you can carry on, in my opinion.

Diolch i ti, Llywydd. At this time, 210 Welsh businesses export goods to the value of £23 million to the New Zealand market, and the indication is that, across the whole of the UK, the value of this relationship is likely to increase by almost 60 per cent. While I understand the agricultural industry's concerns that Wales will be flooded with an influx of New Zealand lamb, we already know that New Zealand do not even use half of the quota that they are allowed to export under existing rules. In fact, New Zealand sheep meat exports to the UK have fallen by nearly a half over the last decade. With Wales currently exporting agri-produce to the value of £1.8 million to New Zealand, and £23 million of export in total, could I ask the Minister what plans she has to help the Welsh agricultural sector further grow this market, and what discussions is she having with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that we make full advantage of this trade deal with New Zealand?

The Member does a sterling job in putting a very positive spin on this trade deal. The question I was asked—[Interruption.]

Let the Minister respond, please.

The question I was asked was about the impact on agriculture, and you will appreciate that's where I've had my focus. It is important that we do look at how we can expand our exports. You will be aware that the Minister for Economy is currently in Dubai at Expo 2020, where, yesterday, for St David's Day, Welsh food and drink was promoted on the UK pavilion for the whole day. We've just had Gulfood, where Welsh Government supported eight food and drink companies, and we're continuing to work with Hybu Cig Cymru to make sure that we do expand new markets for our very high-quality Welsh lamb and beef. But that does not take away the concerns that we have about the New Zealand trade deal. You are quite right; New Zealand doesn't currently meet its tariff-free quotas for lamb, and that's primarily due to the costs and the distance of exporting to the UK, as compared to the far nearer and obviously larger Chinese market. But there is a risk that New Zealand will pivot away from China, in particular due to current trade friction. Of course, New Zealand does, as I say, send the majority of its beef, for instance, to China and the United States. These are large markets that will still demand the majority of exports, but it's the cumulative impact that we are particularly concerned about.

I'm grateful to take part in this question, and I thank Mabon for laying it. Unlike Samuel Kurtz, who will try to defend the indefensible, and has swallowed, obviously, the little black book or whatever it is he's been given to do that, I don't feel quite so assured, and I'm sure the farmers in my area and his area won't feel quite so assured either. It is a fact—let's keep to the facts here—that Australian animal welfare is lower. [Interruption.] This now is, you're quite right, a New Zealand trade deal. We all know that there is a high dependency in our area on exporting Welsh lamb, and it is, in my view, the best lamb in the world; there is no question about that. But we can't ignore the fact that there is going to be a cumulative effect of all these trade deals. It doesn't matter how you try to talk it up. And that in itself will have a negative impact on the farmers here in the UK, particularly here in Wales. Brexit was supposed to deliver freedom. Well, it isn't going to deliver much freedom for these farmers when they haven't got any money in their pockets. So, my question to you, Minister, is: above and beyond what the Welsh Government is already doing to support Welsh farmers, which is much more than the UK Government, by the way, what more is the Welsh Government able to do, considering that the budget for farmers has already been decreased by excessive amounts of money, so that Welsh Labour ensures the future of Welsh farming here in Wales, unlike the Tory Government who are determined to destroy it? 

Joyce Watson makes some very important points. The UK Government, however the Tories over there defend them, cannot pretend that they've ever supported farmers in the deals that they have brought forward since we've left the European Union, and you only have to look at my budget to see how much money farmers have lost from the UK Government in their funding to the Welsh Government. The Member will be aware that work is well under way to bring forward an agriculture Bill this year. That will ensure our future plans take into account the potential impacts of trade deals. That's something I've been very keen for officials to work through. What we want to do is make agriculture much more resilient and competitive. And, of course, we've always said, haven't we, that our rural communities are so important for our culture, for our heritage of Wales and, of course, for the Welsh language, and farmers are right at the heart of that.

Diolch i'r Gweinidog.

Yr eitem nesaf yw'r datganiadau 90 eiliad. Un sydd heddiw, a hwnnw gan Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Heddiw, dwi eisiau talu teyrnged i griw bad achub Trearddur.

Today, the Trearddur Bay RNLI lifeboat station and crew make history by becoming the first station ever to receive a silver gallantry medal for a rescue onboard a B-class Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat. Cast your minds back to the storms of May last year. As most of us took shelter, the crew of the Atlantic 85 were called into action, launching at the very limits of the boat’s capabilities, in gale force 9 winds, to rescue a surfer in trouble. They found her at the mouth of the bay, within a few metres of the jagged rock face, struggling to keep her head above water. The prestigious silver accolade goes to helm Lee Duncan in recognition of his leadership, seamanship and exemplary boat handling. He manoeuvred the boat with amazing precision and timing to reach the casualty, allowing the crew to quickly recover her from the water. As well as Lee Duncan’s silver award, bronze medals are being given to the volunteer crew, Dafydd Griffiths, Leigh McCann and Michael Doran, recognising their courage. I met Dafydd at the station a few days after the rescue, and he described it as one of the worst incidents he’d seen in over 20 years of RNLI volunteering. The entire Trearddur Bay team involved in the rescue are recognised with a chief executive’s commendation. The crew don’t do what they do for recognition, but this is a very public reminder of the bravery and the selflessness of RNLI volunteers everywhere. 

Mae Ynys Môn yn falch ac yn ddiolchgar iawn, iawn i chi.

Eitem 5 sydd nesaf, dadl ar gynnig deddfwriaethol gan Aelod, effaith gorlifoedd stormydd. Galwaf ar Alun Davies i wneud y cynnig.

I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring forward this legislative proposal. Members who have had the opportunity to note the legislation I propose—well, those eagle-eyed Members, certainly—will note a certain familiarity with the wording. It is, of course, the wording that was accepted as an amendment in the House of Lords last October. When I brought forward this piece of legislation last October, it was with the intention of seeking to understand where does Wales stand, what is the legislative and statutory framework for the management of releases into watercourses in Wales, because I think we do need to fully understand. I'm glad the Minister herself is answering this debate, because I think it would be very useful for us to understand the statutory framework that exists in Wales. I should say that since I brought this forward, I understand that the climate change committee as well has taken an opportunity to look at this subject, and I think we're all looking forward to reading the report of that committee.

My concern is that the framework that currently exists in order to regulate this part of the statute book is somewhat complex. I question whether it is fit for purpose, and I look forward to the Minister providing us with the reassurance that it is. To my understanding, the current legislative framework is largely established by, first of all, the Water Industry Act 1991, but then the Water Act 2003 and the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017, which provide for the primary mechanism for assessing and managing the water environment. These regulations then place a statutory duty on Welsh Ministers to prevent deterioration and to improve all water bodies to 'good' status by 2027. I'd be grateful for the Minister's confirmation that she is committed to meeting that objective.