Y Cyfarfod Llawn
Plenary
28/06/2022Cynnwys
Contents
Yn y fersiwn ddwyieithog, mae’r golofn chwith yn cynnwys yr iaith a lefarwyd yn y cyfarfod. Mae’r golofn dde yn cynnwys cyfieithiad o’r areithiau hynny.
In the bilingual version, the left-hand column includes the language used during the meeting. The right-hand column includes a translation of those speeches.
Cyfarfu'r Senedd yn y Siambr a thrwy gynhadledd fideo am 13:30 gyda'r Llywydd (Elin Jones) yn y Gadair.
The Senedd met in the Chamber and by video-conference at 13:30 with the Llywydd (Elin Jones) in the Chair.
Croeso, bawb, i'r Cyfarfod Llawn. Cyn i ni ddechrau, dwi angen nodi ychydig o bwyntiau. Cynhelir y cyfarfod hwn ar ffurf hybrid, gyda rhai Aelodau yn Siambr y Senedd ac eraill yn ymuno trwy 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 y cyfarfod yma, ac mae'r rheini wedi'u nodi ar eich agenda chi.
Welcome to this Plenary session. Before we begin, I want to set out a few points. This meeting will be held in hybrid format, with some Members in the Senedd Chamber and others joining by video-conference. All Members participating in proceedings of the Senedd, wherever they may be, will be treated equally. A Plenary meeting held using video-conference, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Welsh Parliament, constitutes Senedd proceedings for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Some of the provisions of Standing Order 34 will apply for today's Plenary meeting, and those are noted on your agenda.
Cwestiynau i'r Prif Weinidog fydd yr eitem gyntaf ar ein hagenda ni y prynhawn yma, a cyn i mi alw'r cwestiwn cyntaf, dwi eisiau gwahodd y Prif Weinidog i wneud datganiad byr.
The first item is questions to the First Minister, and before I call the first question, I will invite the First Minister to make a short statement.
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Wythnos diwethaf, yn ystod cwestiynau'r Prif Weinidog, ymatebais i gwestiynau ar y streiciau rheilffyrdd. Yn dilyn hynny, rhoddodd Network Rail fanylion pellach ar ei weithredoedd yn ystod y streic. Cadarnhaodd nad oedd unrhyw staff wedi eu hadleoli o Gymru. Ysgrifennais at arweinydd yr wrthblaid ar 24 Mehefin yn esbonio hynny. Wedi hynny, gyda chytundeb Network Rail, rhennais y llythyr gyda chi ac arweinydd yr wrthblaid. Byddaf yn rhoi copi yn y llyfrgell i'r Aelodau. Rwy'n hapus, wrth gwrs, i'r cofnod adlewyrchu hyn. Diolch yn fawr.
Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. During First Minister's questions last week, I answered a question on the rail strikes. Network Rail has since shared further details about their actions during the strike. They confirmed that no staff had been relocated from Wales. I wrote to the leader of the opposition on 24 June explaining that, and subsequently, with the agreement of Network Rail, I shared the letter with you and the leader of the opposition. I will place a copy in the library for Members. I am happy, of course, for the record to reflect this. Thank you.
Diolch, Brif Weinidog, am yr esboniad hynny. Mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf, felly, gan Joyce Watson.
Thank you for that explanation, First Minister. The first question is from Joyce Watson.
1. Beth mae Llywodraeth Cymru'n ei wneud i gefnogi dioddefwyr cam-drin domestig? OQ58286
1. What is the Welsh Government doing to support victims of domestic abuse? OQ58286
Llywydd, I thank the Member for that question. Our five-year national strategy, published last month, sets out the Welsh Government's commitments for supporting victims of domestic abuse and other forms of violence. Its six objectives aim to ensure comprehensive support for victims, wherever they live in Wales.
Llywydd, diolch i'r Aelod am y cwestiwn yna. Mae ein strategaeth genedlaethol bum mlynedd, a gyhoeddwyd fis diwethaf, yn nodi ymrwymiadau Llywodraeth Cymru i gefnogi dioddefwyr cam-drin domestig a mathau eraill o drais. Nod ei chwe amcan yw sicrhau cefnogaeth gynhwysfawr i ddioddefwyr, lle bynnag y maen nhw'n byw yng Nghymru.
I thank you for your answer, First Minister. Yesterday, I launched a report on support services for children and young people who experience violence and abuse at home. Domestic violence doesn't just affect the adults involved; around one in five children are impacted, and the law recognises them as victims in their own right. But there's an urgent need for tailored support for them because, without early support, it can lead to a lifetime of adverse impacts. So, I commissioned Welsh Women's Aid to audit provisions across Wales, and what we found is a postcode lottery. So, I'd be most grateful if you would read our report and discuss our findings and recommendations with Cabinet colleagues. The Minister for Social Justice spoke at the launch and has been very supportive. Julie Morgan and Lynne Neagle, Jeremy Miles and Jayne Bryant have all engaged with the project too. So, it would be good to have the Welsh Government's input at every single level.
Diolch i chi am eich ateb, Prif Weinidog. Ddoe, lansiais adroddiad ar wasanaethau cymorth i blant a phobl ifanc sy'n gweld trais a cham-drin gartref. Nid yw trais domestig yn effeithio ar yr oedolion dan sylw yn unig; effeithir ar tua un o bob pump o blant, ac mae'r gyfraith yn eu cydnabod fel dioddefwyr yn eu rhinwedd eu hunain. Ond mae angen dybryd am gymorth wedi'i deilwra ar eu cyfer oherwydd, heb gymorth cynnar, gall arwain at oes o effeithiau andwyol. Felly, comisiynais Cymorth i Fenywod Cymru i archwilio darpariaethau ledled Cymru, a'r hyn y gwnaethom ei ganfod yw loteri cod post. Felly, byddwn yn ddiolchgar iawn pe baech yn darllen ein hadroddiad ac yn trafod ein canfyddiadau a'n hargymhellion gyda chyd-Weinidogion yn y Cabinet. Siaradodd y Gweinidog Cyfiawnder Cymdeithasol yn y lansiad ac mae wedi bod yn gefnogol iawn. Mae Julie Morgan a Lynne Neagle, Jeremy Miles a Jayne Bryant i gyd wedi ymgysylltu â'r prosiect hefyd. Felly, byddai'n dda cael mewnbwn Llywodraeth Cymru ar bob lefel unigol.
Well, Llywydd, I congratulate Joyce Watson on her use of the facility that the Commission makes available to Members to be able to carry out research in issues of local and, in her case, of national significance. I have my copy of the report with me, so, of course, I'm very keen that it should be widely read. It will certainly be discussed by Cabinet colleagues. It includes a series of conclusions from the research and, very importantly, a series of practical actions that it suggests the Welsh Government and others could take to make sure that children who are victims of domestic abuse receive the help and the support that they need.
Wel, Llywydd, rwy'n llongyfarch Joyce Watson ar ei defnydd o'r cyfleuster y mae'r Comisiwn yn ei ddarparu er mwyn i Aelodau allu cynnal ymchwil i faterion o arwyddocâd lleol ac, yn ei hachos hi, o arwyddocâd cenedlaethol. Mae gen i gopi o'r adroddiad, felly, wrth gwrs, rwy'n awyddus iawn iddo gael ei ddarllen yn eang. Bydd yn sicr yn cael ei drafod gan gyd-Weinidogion yn y Cabinet. Mae'n cynnwys cyfres o gasgliadau o'r ymchwil ac, yn bwysig iawn, cyfres o gamau ymarferol y mae'n awgrymu y gallai Llywodraeth Cymru ac eraill eu cymryd i sicrhau bod plant sy'n dioddef cam-drin domestig yn cael y cymorth a'r gefnogaeth sydd eu hangen arnyn nhw.
During the passage of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015, I moved amendments calling for the national strategy to include provision of at least one perpetrator programme, noting that Choose2Change was the only then current Respect-accredited programme in Wales. Questioning your predecessor First Minister in 2016, I referred to this and stated that the then Minister, although not accepting the need to include reference to perpetrator programmes, committed the Welsh Government then to gathering further evidence on taking forward pre-custodial perpetrator programmes. I asked him what action his Government was taking to facilitate that. He responded:
'these are issues being taken forward by the ministerial advisory group and, of course, via the strategy.'
So, what specific action has your Government therefore taken since, where your second violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence national strategy, published last month, six years later, refers only to the Welsh Government's intention to build on the work already done in this area by increasing our collective focus on these individuals?
Yn ystod hynt Deddf Trais yn erbyn Menywod, Cam-drin Domestig a Thrais Rhywiol (Cymru) 2015, cynigiais welliannau yn galw am i'r strategaeth genedlaethol gynnwys darparu o leiaf un rhaglen i gyflawnwyr, gan nodi mai Choose2Change oedd yr unig raglen a achredwyd gan Respect yng Nghymru ar y pryd. Wrth holi eich rhagflaenydd Prif Weinidog yn 2016, cyfeiriais at hyn a dywedais fod y Gweinidog ar y pryd, er nad oedd yn derbyn yr angen i gynnwys cyfeiriad at raglenni cyflawnwyr, wedi ymrwymo Llywodraeth Cymru wedyn i gasglu rhagor o dystiolaeth ar ddatblygu rhaglenni cyflawnwyr cyn carcharu. Gofynnais iddo ba gamau yr oedd ei Lywodraeth yn eu cymryd i hwyluso hynny. Ymatebodd:
'mae'r rhain yn faterion sy'n cael eu datblygu trwy gyfrwng grŵp cynghori'r Gweinidog ac, wrth gwrs, drwy'r strategaeth.'
Felly, pa gamau penodol y mae eich Llywodraeth wedi'u cymryd ers hynny, pan fo eich ail strategaeth genedlaethol o ran trais yn erbyn menywod, cam-drin domestig a thrais rhywiol, a gyhoeddwyd y mis diwethaf, chwe blynedd yn ddiweddarach, yn cyfeirio at fwriad Llywodraeth Cymru i adeiladu ar y gwaith a wnaed eisoes yn y maes hwn drwy gynyddu ein gwaith o ganolbwyntio ar y cyd ar yr unigolion hyn?
Llywydd, I think the Member makes some important points, and he's right to say that the renewed strategy seeks to build on the progress that has already been made; it would not be possible to build on progress if progress had not already happened during the first five years. I referred in my answer to Joyce Watson to the six objectives of the renewed five-year national strategy. The third of those objectives deals directly with the matters that the Member has raised this afternoon. So, of course the strategy has a focus on perpetrators of domestic violence, of course the strategy intends that those people should face up to the responsibilities for their own actions, but it also sets out ways in which practical programmes can be mobilised to help people who wish to reform and to place their lives on a different and better basis.
Llywydd, rwy'n credu bod yr Aelod yn gwneud rhai pwyntiau pwysig, ac mae'n iawn iddo ddweud bod y strategaeth newydd yn ceisio adeiladu ar y cynnydd sydd eisoes wedi'i wneud; ni fyddai'n bosibl adeiladu ar gynnydd pe na bai cynnydd eisoes wedi digwydd yn ystod y pum mlynedd cyntaf. Cyfeiriais yn fy ateb i Joyce Watson at chwe amcan y strategaeth genedlaethol bum mlynedd newydd. Mae'r trydydd o'r amcanion hynny'n ymdrin yn uniongyrchol â'r materion y mae'r Aelod wedi'u codi y prynhawn yma. Felly, wrth gwrs, mae'r strategaeth yn canolbwyntio ar y rhai sy'n cyflawni trais domestig, wrth gwrs mae'r strategaeth yn bwriadu i'r bobl hynny wynebu'r cyfrifoldebau am eu gweithredoedd eu hunain, ond mae hefyd yn nodi ffyrdd y gellir rhoi rhaglenni ymarferol ar waith i helpu pobl sy'n dymuno diwygio a rhoi eu bywydau ar seiliau gwahanol a gwell.
Prif Weinidog, I also commend the work of Joyce Watson—the tireless work she's done in this field since her election in 2007. And I'm sure she'll be pleased that I've also read the report, so that's two of us, Prif Weinidog, who have read it, and I'm sure many others have also. We have made some very important steps with regard to victim care, with the establishment of the victims commissioner in 2019 and the domestic abuse commissioner in the same year. However, a mother of a murdered child asked me recently why haven't we got a Welsh victims commissioner, somebody much closer to us. So, do you think, Prif Weinidog, that we should have a Welsh victims commissioner that is answerable to this place rather than the Home Office? Diolch yn fawr.
Prif Weinidog, rwyf i hefyd yn cymeradwyo gwaith Joyce Watson—y gwaith diflino y mae wedi'i wneud yn y maes hwn ers ei hethol yn 2007. Ac rwy'n siŵr y bydd hi'n falch fy mod i hefyd wedi darllen yr adroddiad, felly dyna ddau ohonom, Prif Weinidog, sydd wedi ei ddarllen, ac rwy'n siŵr bod llawer o rai eraill wedi gwneud hynny hefyd. Rydym wedi cymryd rhai camau pwysig iawn o ran gofal dioddefwyr, gyda sefydlu'r comisiynydd dioddefwyr yn 2019 a'r comisiynydd cam-drin domestig yn yr un flwyddyn. Fodd bynnag, gofynnodd mam i blentyn a lofruddiwyd i mi'n ddiweddar pam nad oes gennym gomisiynydd dioddefwyr yng Nghymru, rhywun yn llawer agosach atom. Felly, a ydych yn credu, Prif Weinidog, y dylem fod â chomisiynydd dioddefwyr yng Nghymru sy'n atebol i'r lle hwn yn hytrach na'r Swyddfa Gartref? Diolch yn fawr.
Llywydd, as a Government, we've worked closely with the victims commissioner, Vera Baird QC. I think she has done a very effective job. She has shown a real interest in what happens in Wales. And I think that that system has so far served us well. Of course, we are always open to ways in which the system can be improved, but I think that this is one of those aspects where—. And I would pay particular tribute to the current postholder, because of the energy and the commitment and the interest that she shows in devolved as well as non-devolved areas. I think that we've had a good service from that commissioner, and, at the moment, I think our views are that we should continue to make the most of the service that we receive.
Llywydd, fel Llywodraeth, rydym wedi gweithio'n agos gyda'r comisiynydd dioddefwyr, Vera Baird QC. Rwy'n credu ei bod wedi gwneud gwaith effeithiol iawn. Mae hi wedi dangos diddordeb gwirioneddol yn yr hyn sy'n digwydd yng Nghymru. Ac rwy'n credu bod y system honno wedi ein gwasanaethu'n dda hyd yma. Wrth gwrs, rydym bob amser yn agored i syniadau am ffyrdd o wella'r system, ond rwy'n credu mai dyma un o'r agweddau hynny lle—. Ac rwy'n talu teyrnged arbennig i ddeiliad presennol y swydd, oherwydd yr egni a'r ymrwymiad a'r diddordeb y mae'n eu dangos mewn meysydd datganoledig yn ogystal â meysydd nad ydyn nhw wedi'u datganoli. Rwy'n credu ein bod wedi cael gwasanaeth da gan y comisiynydd, ac ar hyn o bryd, rwy'n credu mai ein barn ni yw y dylem barhau i fanteisio i'r eithaf ar y gwasanaeth a gawn.
Prynhawn da, Prif Weinidog. Gwych eich clywed chi ar y radio y bore yma hefyd. A gaf i hefyd ddweud 'diolch' wrth Joyce Watson am y gwaith y mae hi wedi ei wneud yn y maes yma?
Good afternoon, First Minister. It was excellent to hear you on the radio this morning too. And may I also thank Joyce Watson for the work that she has done in this field?
Can I just bring the focus back to children and child protection? They are, as you've said, and as Joyce has said as well, other victims of domestic abuse that we need to have at the forefront of our minds. I want to pay tribute to all of those who are working to protect children—our midwives, our health visitors, our schoolteachers, those working in education, and our social workers as well. As you know, I have a degree of experience in working in social work, and I really just wanted to ask you how the Welsh Government is making sure that our social workers here in Wales are having the resources that they need to support them, and that we as a Senedd are responsible for monitoring and supporting them in the work that they do? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
A gaf i droi'r sylw yn ôl at blant ac amddiffyn plant? Maen nhw, fel yr ydych chi wedi ei ddweud, ac fel y mae Joyce wedi ei ddweud hefyd, yn ddioddefwyr eraill cam-drin domestig y mae angen i ni eu rhoi ar flaen ein meddyliau. Hoffwn dalu teyrnged i bawb sy'n gweithio i amddiffyn plant—ein bydwragedd, ein hymwelwyr iechyd, ein hathrawon ysgol, y rhai sy'n gweithio ym maes addysg, a'n gweithwyr cymdeithasol hefyd. Fel y gwyddoch, mae gen i rywfaint o brofiad o weithio ym maes gwaith cymdeithasol, ac roeddwn i'n awyddus iawn i ofyn i chi sut y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn sicrhau bod ein gweithwyr cymdeithasol yma yng Nghymru yn cael yr adnoddau sydd eu hangen arnyn nhw i'w cefnogi, a'n bod ni fel Senedd yn gyfrifol am eu monitro a'u cefnogi yn y gwaith y maen nhw'n ei wneud? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Llywydd, diolch i Jane Dodds. Wrth gwrs, dwi'n cytuno â phopeth roedd hi'n dweud am y gwaith y mae pobl yn ei wneud yn y rheng flaen, yn enwedig pobl sy'n gweithio ym maes anodd a heriol gofal plant.
Llywydd, I thank Jane Dodds. Of course, I agree with everything that she said about the work that people do on the front line, particularly those working in the challenging and difficult area of looking after children.
I think the point that Jane Dodds made is an important one, Llywydd. This is the responsibility of all public servants who come into contact with children who show evidence of themselves having been affected by the experience of domestic violence. On the objectives that I referred to of the national strategy, the fifth of the six objectives focuses on the training needs of the workforce, to make sure that people who we ask to do these difficult jobs have the training that they need, have the resources that they need, and, in line with the fourth objective of the plan, to enable them to move their activity upstream, as we would say, so that they are able to focus more on early intervention and prevention, rather than having to arrive as an ambulance service, trying to rescue children from the experiences that will already have affected them.
Rwy'n credu bod y pwynt a wnaeth Jane Dodds yn un pwysig, Llywydd. Mae hyn yn gyfrifoldeb i'r holl weision cyhoeddus sy'n dod i gysylltiad â phlant sy'n dangos tystiolaeth bod profiad o drais domestig wedi effeithio arnyn nhw eu hunain. O ran yr amcanion y cyfeiriais atyn nhw yn y strategaeth genedlaethol, mae'r pumed o'r chwe amcan yn canolbwyntio ar anghenion hyfforddi'r gweithlu, er mwyn sicrhau bod pobl y gofynnwn iddyn nhw wneud y swyddi anodd hyn yn cael yr hyfforddiant sydd ei angen arnyn nhw, yn cael yr adnoddau sydd eu hangen arnyn nhw, ac, yn unol â phedwerydd amcan y cynllun, eu galluogi i symud eu gweithgarwch i fyny'r afon, fel y byddem yn ei ddweud, fel y gallan nhw ganolbwyntio'n fwy ar ymyrraeth gynnar ac atal, yn hytrach na gorfod cyrraedd fel gwasanaeth ambiwlans, gan geisio achub plant rhag y profiadau a fydd eisoes wedi effeithio arnyn nhw.
2. Prif Weinidog, sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn sicrhau nad yw cost trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn effeithio'n andwyol ar bresenoldeb disgyblion cynradd ac uwchradd? OQ58258
2. First Minister, how does the Welsh Government ensure that the cost of public transport does not adversely affect the attendance of primary and secondary pupils? OQ58258
Diolch yn fawr i Heledd Fychan. Llywydd, mae disgyblion cynradd sy'n byw ymhellach na 2 filltir o'r ysgol a disgyblion uwchradd dan 16 oed sy'n byw ymhellach na 3 milltir o'r ysgol yn cael trafnidiaeth i'r ysgol am ddim. Cafodd adolygiad o'r Mesur teithio gan ddysgwyr ei gyhoeddi ar 31 Mawrth, a bydd adolygiad manylach yn dilyn yn awr.
I thank Heledd Fychan. Llywydd, primary pupils who live further than 2 miles from school and secondary pupils under the age of 16 who live further than 3 miles from school receive free school transport. An initial review of the learner travel Measure was published on 31 March, and a more detailed review will now follow.
Diolch, Prif Weinidog. Gyda'r argyfwng costau byw yn rhoi pwysau cynyddol ar rieni a gofalwyr, mae yna fwyfwy o bobl yn cysylltu gyda fy swyddfa ynglŷn â phris trafnidiaeth yn effeithio ar bresenoldeb. Ategwyd hyn ymhellach pan gysylltodd Ruben Kelman, Aelod o'r Senedd Ieuenctid dros Ogledd Caerdydd, gyda mi bythefnos yn ôl, gan rannu canlyniadau arolwg a redodd Ysgol Uwchradd Llanisien, lle holwyd rhieni am eu profiadau gyda thrafnidiaeth ysgol. Yn frawychus, nododd 39 y cant o'r rhieni bod eu plentyn wedi gorfod colli'r ysgol oherwydd nad oeddent yn medru fforddio cost y bws. Roedd y mwyafrif o'r disgyblion hyn yn byw jest o dan y trothwy o 3 milltir, sef y trothwy ar gyfer trafnidiaeth am ddim. Nodwyd fod un disgybl yn barod wedi colli naw diwrnod eleni ac wedi colli 15 y flwyddyn flaenorol oherwydd bod ei theulu methu fforddio cost y bws. Dyma oedd geiriau un rhiant:
Thank you. With the cost-of-living crisis placing additional pressures on parents and carers, more people are contacting my office with regard to the impact of the cost of transport on attendance. This was emphasised further when Ruben Kelman, a Member of the Youth Parliament for Cardiff North, contacted me a week ago, sharing the results of a survey at Llanishen High School, where parents were asked about their experience of school transport. Frighteningly, 39 per cent of parents noted that their child had had to miss school because they weren't able to afford the cost of the bus. The majority of these pupils were living just under that threshold of 3 miles, which is the threshold for free transport. It was noted that one pupil had lost nine days this year and had lost 15 the previous year because her family weren't able to afford the cost of the bus. These were the words of one parent:
'Over the last few months, I have analysed what bills can be delayed in paying, so my daughter can attend school. It's soul destroying. Please help us parents.'
'Dros yr ychydig fisoedd diwethaf, rwyf wedi dadansoddi pa filiau y gallaf ohirio eu talu, fel y gall fy merch fynychu'r ysgol. Mae'n ddigon i'ch digalonni. Helpwch ni rieni os gwelwch yn dda.'
Felly, Prif Weinidog, sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn mynd i helpu rhieni a gofalwyr sydd yn methu fforddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus?
So, First Minister, how is the Welsh Government going to help parents and carers who can't afford public transport?
Wel, diolch i Heledd Fychan am y pwyntiau pwysig yna. Fel dywedodd hi, rydym ni'n gallu gweld y costau byw yn cynyddu bron bob wythnos. Wythnos diwethaf, roedd yr ONS wedi cyhoeddi'r ffigurau misol sydd gyda nhw yn dangos bod costau byw wedi mynd lan 9.1 y cant ym mis Mai, ond bod costau trafnidiaeth wedi codi, yn yr un ffigurau, 13.8 y cant. So, gallwn ni weld, wrth gwrs, yr effaith mae hwnna'n ei chael ar amodau pobl ledled Cymru. Dwi wedi gweld yr adroddiad, oedd wedi cael ei gyhoeddi ar ôl y gwaith roedden nhw wedi ei wneud yn yr ysgol yn Llanisien, ac mae'n bwysig, wrth gwrs, i glywed beth mae pobl yn yr ymchwil yna wedi dweud. Mae mwy nag un ffordd i ddatrys y problemau roedd pobl yn codi. Mae'n bwysig i ni wneud mwy i helpu pobl sy'n byw tu fewn i'r dalgylch i gerdded neu i seiclo neu i gael ffordd ddiogel i fynd i'r ysgol. Rydym ni'n buddsoddi, fel Llywodraeth, swm o fwy na £200,000 yn y rhaglenni hynny dros y tair blynedd nesaf.
Ond, ar ddiwedd y dydd, mae'n rhaid i fi ddweud wrth yr Aelod ac Aelodau eraill mai dim ond un swm o arian sydd gyda ni fel Llywodraeth. Pan fyddwn ni'n cytuno ar ein blaenoriaethau ni, bydd rhaid inni fynd ar ôl y blaenoriaethau. A'r flaenoriaeth sydd gyda ni, yn y cytundeb sydd gyda ni gyda Phlaid Cymru, yw defnyddio'r arian newydd sydd gyda ni i roi bwyd am ddim i bob plentyn yn ein hysgolion cynradd. Pan fydd blaenoriaeth dda fel yna gyda ni a dim ond un swm o arian gyda ni, wel, mae'n rhaid inni fynd ar ôl y pethau rydym ni wedi cytuno i'w gwneud yn gyntaf.
Well, I thank Heledd Fychan for those important points. As she herself said, we can see the cost of living increasing almost every week. Last week, the Office for National Statistics published their monthly figures, which demonstrated that the cost of living has gone up 9.1 per cent. in May, but that transport costs had increased by 13.8 per cent in that same period. So, we can see, of course, the impact that that has on people the length and breadth of Wales. I have seen the report, published following the work done at the school in Llanishen, and, of course, it's important to hear what respondents to that research said. There's more than one way to resolve the problems that were raised. It's important that we do more to help people who live within the catchment to walk or cycle or to have a safe route to school. We, as a Government, will invest more than £200,000 in those programmes over the next three years.
But, at the end of the day, I have to tell the Member and other Members that we only have one pot of money as a Government. When we agree our priorities, we do have to pursue those priorities. And our priority, in the agreement with Plaid Cymru, is to use the new funding that we have in order to provide free school meals to all primary aged children. Now, when we have such priorities and only one pot of money available, well, we will have to pursue those things that we have agreed on first.
First Minister, whilst it is correct for us to understand this important issue with regard to primary and secondary school pupils, we also have to be aware that post-16 learners also rely heavily on public transport to attend colleges and universities, and apprentices have to pay travel costs not only to college, but also to their place of work. I am sure you are aware that there are increasing concerns for post-16 learners where local authorities have discretionary travel arrangements, because discretionary travel arrangements have been affected as a result of local authorities facing tough financial decisions. As you have stated, a commitment has been given to review and consult on the learner travel guidance this year, but this has been delayed. First Minister, firstly, what assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the rise in transport costs on post-16 learners and how could this assessment feed into the learner travel Measure? And, secondly, can you provide an update on when the review of the learner travel Measure will be taking place? Thank you.
Prif Weinidog, er ei bod yn iawn i ni ddeall y mater pwysig hwn o ran disgyblion ysgolion cynradd ac uwchradd, mae'n rhaid i ni hefyd fod yn ymwybodol bod dysgwyr ôl-16 hefyd yn dibynnu'n drwm ar drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus i fynychu colegau a phrifysgolion, a bod prentisiaid yn gorfod talu costau teithio nid yn unig i'r coleg, ond hefyd i'w gweithle. Rwy'n siŵr eich bod yn ymwybodol bod pryderon cynyddol i ddysgwyr ôl-16 pan fo gan awdurdodau lleol drefniadau teithio dewisol, oherwydd effeithiwyd ar drefniadau teithio dewisol o ganlyniad i awdurdodau lleol yn wynebu penderfyniadau ariannol anodd. Fel yr ydych wedi ei ddweud, mae ymrwymiad wedi'i roi i adolygu ac ymgynghori ar y canllawiau ar deithio gan ddysgwyr eleni, ond mae hyn wedi'i ohirio. Prif Weinidog, yn gyntaf, pa asesiad y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i wneud o effaith y cynnydd mewn costau trafnidiaeth ar ddysgwyr ôl-16 a sut y gallai'r asesiad hwn gyfrannu at y Mesur teithio gan ddysgwyr? Ac, yn ail, a wnewch chi roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am pryd y bydd yr adolygiad o'r Mesur teithio gan ddysgwyr yn cael ei gynnal? Diolch.
I thank Joel James for those questions. The more detailed review of the learner travel Measure is happening at the moment, in the sense that the detailed planning for the review is being carried out over the next few weeks, and we've agreed with our local authority colleagues that the work with them on that review will follow in the autumn term. A strand in that review will be a more detailed focus on the needs of young people in post-16 education. We are reviewing with our local authority colleagues the impact of rising fuel costs on their ability to carry out their duties to provide school and college transport. It's a complex matter.
We received a letter the end of last week from the chair of the Welsh Local Government Association, Councillor Andrew Morgan. He sets out in his letter that, where local authorities are having to retender these services—sometimes because contracts have been handed back because firms aren't able to carry on trading under current conditions—the new tenders are coming in anywhere between 30 per cent to 40 per cent higher than the tenders that they are replacing. But all local authorities are in a different position, Llywydd. Some have relatively new contracts, some are relying on contracts that have been struck a long time ago, some contracts have annual renewable mechanisms in them, others don't have that at all. What the WLGA proposes is that they should collect further and more detailed information about the impact that school transport services are having to absorb from the rising cost of petrol and other transport measures, and then we will have further discussions with them as to what, if anything, the Welsh Government is able to do to assist.
Diolch i Joel James am y cwestiynau yna. Mae'r adolygiad manylach o'r Mesur teithio gan ddysgwyr yn digwydd ar hyn o bryd, yn yr ystyr bod y cynllunio manwl ar gyfer yr adolygiad yn cael ei gynnal dros yr wythnosau nesaf, ac rydym wedi cytuno â'n cydweithwyr yn yr awdurdodau lleol y bydd y gwaith gyda nhw ar yr adolygiad hwnnw yn dilyn yn nhymor yr hydref. Bydd elfen yn yr adolygiad hwnnw'n canolbwyntio'n fanylach ar anghenion pobl ifanc mewn addysg ôl-16. Rydym yn adolygu gyda'n cydweithwyr yn yr awdurdodau lleol effaith costau tanwydd cynyddol ar eu gallu i gyflawni eu dyletswyddau i ddarparu cludiant i'r ysgol a'r coleg. Mae'n fater cymhleth.
Cawsom lythyr ddiwedd yr wythnos diwethaf gan gadeirydd Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru, y Cynghorydd Andrew Morgan. Mae'n nodi yn ei lythyr, pan fo awdurdodau lleol yn gorfod aildendro'r gwasanaethau hyn—weithiau am fod contractau wedi'u dychwelyd am nad yw cwmnïau'n gallu parhau i fasnachu o dan yr amodau presennol—mae'r tendrau newydd rhwng 30 y cant a 40 y cant yn uwch na'r tendrau blaenorol. Ond mae pob awdurdod lleol mewn sefyllfa wahanol, Llywydd. Mae gan rai gontractau cymharol newydd, mae rhai yn dibynnu ar gontractau sydd wedi'u cytuno amser maith yn ôl, mae gan rai contractau drefniadau adnewyddu blynyddol ynddyn nhw, ac eraill heb hynny o gwbl. Yr hyn y mae CLlLC yn ei gynnig yw y dylen nhw gasglu gwybodaeth bellach a manylach am yr effaith y mae gwasanaethau cludiant i'r ysgol yn gorfod ei llyncu oherwydd costau cynyddol petrol a mesurau trafnidiaeth eraill, ac yna byddwn yn cael trafodaethau pellach gyda nhw ynghylch beth, os unrhyw beth, y gall Llywodraeth Cymru ei wneud i gynorthwyo.
Arweinydd y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig, Andrew R.T. Davies.
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.
Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, two weeks ago, the Government announced that it was temporarily suspending its Ukrainian refugee scheme of being the supersponsor for refugees coming to Wales, a scheme that we welcomed when it was officially brought before the Welsh people to show what we could be doing in this part of the UK to help refugees coming out of Ukraine. Yesterday we saw again the horrors of the war there, where a shopping mall was hit by a military missile, with no military target in sight, and civilians suffering atrocious casualties. In your comments last week about the Ukrainian sponsorship scheme, you said that the Welsh Government had anticipated an initial 1,000 refugees coming, but, to date, 4,000 had registered. What is the Government doing to undertake to support the refugees that are already with us and, importantly, those refugees that have registered to come to Wales under the scheme?
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Prif Weinidog, bythefnos yn ôl, cyhoeddodd y Llywodraeth ei bod yn atal dros dro ei chynllun ffoaduriaid Wcráin o fod yn uwch-noddwr i ffoaduriaid sy'n dod i Gymru, cynllun a groesawyd gennym pan ddaeth gerbron pobl Cymru yn swyddogol i ddangos yr hyn y gallem ni fod yn ei wneud yn y rhan hon o'r DU i helpu ffoaduriaid sy'n dod allan o Wcráin. Ddoe gwelsom eto erchyllterau'r rhyfel yno, lle cafodd canolfan siopa ei tharo gan daflegryn milwrol, heb darged milwrol o fewn golwg o gwbl, a sifiliaid yn dioddef colledion erchyll. Yn eich sylwadau yr wythnos diwethaf am gynllun nawdd Wcráin, fe ddywedoch chi fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi rhagweld y byddai 1,000 o ffoaduriaid yn dod i ddechrau, ond, hyd yma, 4,000 oedd wedi cofrestru. Beth y mae'r Llywodraeth yn ei wneud i gefnogi'r ffoaduriaid sydd eisoes gyda ni ac, yn bwysig, y ffoaduriaid hynny sydd wedi cofrestru i ddod i Gymru o dan y cynllun?
I thank Andrew Davies for that question, Llywydd, and he's right to point to the continuing horrors of events in Ukraine. The Welsh Government has had to suspend temporarily our supersponsorship platform because of the outstanding success that the platform has been. We have had a far larger take-up of the potential offer to come to Wales, and we have already had far more people arrive in Wales than the 1,000 that we said originally that we would accommodate. The vast bulk of those people are in our welcome centres, and those welcome centres I think offer an outstanding service. The Minister for Social Justice and I were in Llangrannog on Monday of last week where there are 300 people from Ukraine—200 adults and 100 children—receiving the most amazing welcome and the most appreciated opportunity to regroup, to feel, as they said to me, a sense of healing having arrived from a place of such difficulties to a place where they now felt safe and looked after.
The real focus of our efforts over the coming weeks has to be on moving people beyond the welcome centres and into the homes of those many families in Wales who continue to be willing to offer a place in their homes so that people can continue to rebuild their lives. That is not happening as quickly as we need it to happen. There are reasons for that, because offers of help have to be checked, police checks have to be carried out, social services departments have to visit and so on, and that isn’t a process that you can hurry if you’re going to get the matches between the people who are in the welcome centre and the people offering accommodation right, so that we don’t see the level of breakdown in those arrangements that is being reported in some other parts of the country. That will be our focus over the coming weeks. As soon as we have a balance between people being able to leave the welcome centres and go to families and the number of people wishing to come to Wales, then we’ll be in a position to reopen the supersponsorship route.
Diolch i Andrew Davies am y cwestiwn yna, Llywydd, ac mae'n iawn iddo dynnu sylw at erchyllterau parhaus digwyddiadau yn Wcráin. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gorfod atal ein platfform uwch-noddwr dros dro oherwydd ei lwyddiant eithriadol. Rydym wedi cael llawer mwy o bobl yn manteisio ar y cynnig posibl i ddod i Gymru, ac rydym eisoes wedi cael llawer mwy o bobl yn cyrraedd Cymru na'r 1,000 a ddywedom yn wreiddiol y byddem yn darparu ar eu cyfer. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o'r bobl hynny yn ein canolfannau croeso, ac mae'r canolfannau croeso hynny, yn fy marn i, yn cynnig gwasanaeth rhagorol. Roedd y Gweinidog Cyfiawnder Cymdeithasol a minnau yn Llangrannog ddydd Llun yr wythnos diwethaf lle mae 300 o bobl o Wcráin—200 o oedolion a 100 o blant—yn cael y croeso mwyaf rhyfeddol a'r cyfle a werthfawrogir fwyaf, sef i ailymgynnull, i deimlo, fel y dywedon nhw wrthyf, ymdeimlad o iachâd ar ôl gadael lle llawn anawsterau a chyrraedd lleoliad lle maen nhw'n teimlo'n ddiogel ac yn cael gofal.
Rhaid i'n hymdrechion ganolbwyntio'n wirioneddol dros yr wythnosau nesaf ar symud pobl y tu hwnt i'r canolfannau croeso ac i gartrefi'r teuluoedd niferus hynny yng Nghymru sy'n parhau i fod yn barod i gynnig lle yn eu cartrefi fel y gall pobl barhau i ailadeiladu eu bywydau. Nid yw hynny'n digwydd mor gyflym ag y mae angen iddo ddigwydd. Mae rhesymau dros hynny, oherwydd mae'n rhaid gwirio cynigion o gymorth, mae'n rhaid cynnal gwiriadau'r heddlu, mae'n rhaid i adrannau gwasanaethau cymdeithasol ymweld ac ati, ac nid yw hynny'n broses y gallwch ei brysio os ydych yn mynd i gael y cydweddu cywir rhwng y bobl yn y ganolfan groeso a'r bobl sy'n cynnig llety, fel nad ydym yn gweld lefel y methiant yn y trefniadau hynny sy'n cael eu hadrodd mewn rhai rhannau eraill o'r wlad. Dyna fyddwn ni'n canolbwyntio arno dros yr wythnosau nesaf. Cyn gynted ag y bydd gennym gydbwysedd rhwng pobl yn gallu gadael y canolfannau croeso a mynd at deuluoedd a nifer y bobl sy'n dymuno dod i Gymru, yna byddwn mewn sefyllfa i ailagor y llwybr uwch-noddwr.
Thank you for that response, First Minister. I’m in agreement with you that the centres offer that initial support, that initial sense of safety and sanctuary after coming from such turmoil as there is in Ukraine. But what’s really important is to understand how the Government are now identifying the additional resources that will be required to cater for people beyond the initial welcome centres, because I think you, like me, would agree that these centres are only temporary staging posts before a permanent settlement can be put in place for families that come to Wales.
I did point this out in my letter to you on 11 March of this year that I had concerns around the resources that Welsh Government had put in place to support the scheme. Could you give us some clarity, please, First Minister, as to where you believe you will identify the additional resources, in particular the housing resources, that will be required? [Interruption.] I can hear the Government shaking their heads and sniggering. It is a fact—[Interruption.] I can’t believe that you are—. You are sniggering, because you are taking a serious situation and believing it can be developed into a political point. There is an issue that there are people stuck in transit in places that were only temporary for them, rather than the housing stock that the Welsh Government should identify. I want to know where that housing stock is coming from. Can the First Minister provide that answer?
Diolch am yr ateb yna, Prif Weinidog. Rwy'n cytuno â chi bod y canolfannau'n cynnig y gefnogaeth gychwynnol honno, yr ymdeimlad cychwynnol hwnnw o ddiogelwch a noddfa ar ôl dod o'r fath gythrwfl ag sydd yn Wcráin. Ond yr hyn sy'n wirioneddol bwysig yw deall sut y mae'r Llywodraeth yn awr yn nodi'r adnoddau ychwanegol y bydd eu hangen i ddarparu ar gyfer pobl y tu hwnt i'r canolfannau croeso cychwynnol, oherwydd rwy'n credu y byddech chi, fel minnau, yn cytuno mai dim ond llety dros dro yw'r canolfannau hyn cyn y gellir rhoi trefniadau setlo parhaol ar waith ar gyfer teuluoedd sy'n dod i Gymru.
Nodais hyn yn fy llythyr atoch ar 11 Mawrth eleni fod gennyf bryderon ynghylch yr adnoddau yr oedd Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'u rhoi ar waith i gefnogi'r cynllun. A allech chi roi rhywfaint o eglurder i ni, os gwelwch yn dda, Prif Weinidog, ynghylch ble y credwch y byddwch yn nodi'r adnoddau ychwanegol, yn enwedig yr adnoddau tai, y bydd eu hangen? [Torri ar draws.] Gallaf glywed y Llywodraeth yn ysgwyd eu pennau ac yn piffian. Mae'n ffaith—[Torri ar draws.] Ni allaf gredu eich bod—. Rydych yn piffian, oherwydd rydych chi'n cymryd sefyllfa ddifrifol ac yn credu y gellir ei datblygu'n bwynt gwleidyddol. Mae yna broblem, mae pobl yn sownd ar eu hynt drwodd, mewn mannau a oedd i fod dros dro iddyn nhw, yn hytrach na'r stoc dai y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru ei nodi. Rwyf eisiau gwybod o le y daw'r stoc dai honno. A all y Prif Weinidog roi'r ateb hwnnw?
Llywydd, of course we want people to move on from the welcome centres as soon as it is safe for them to do so. There will be a variety of destinations for people leaving those centres. The bulk of them, I believe, will go to those families who have so generously offered to look after someone fleeing from the horrors of Ukraine, but there are other routes that are being explored. We are looking with a number of local authorities to bring more houses that will otherwise be unoccupied back into use. We are working with our local authority colleagues to make sure that, where there are opportunities in the private rented sector, people will know about those, and some of those matches could be made as well.
The point that my colleagues were trying to convey to the leader of the opposition is this: we are having to do all of this using our own resources. People coming from Ukraine have been short-changed by the UK Government. The money is simply not there in the system for public services to be able to absorb, as public services in Wales absolutely want to do, the people coming from Ukraine in the way that we would wish to see them welcomed. There is no money at all for people who come through the family scheme, and even for people who come through other routes, the level of funding is not secure—it’s for one year only. We have no certainty on what happens beyond that. So, £20 million-worth of Welsh Government money found from other sources has been put together to support the additional actions that we are taking. We don’t get a single penny from the UK Government for the welcome centres. All of that is funded from Welsh Government resources, and that £20 million is being spent very fast, because of the number of people who wish to take advantage of the opportunity to come here in Wales. There is no great stock of housing standing waiting to be used. We are still finding places for people from Syria and from Afghanistan, we still have 1,000 people every month presenting as homeless into local authority services in Wales, and we know that we have people who are on housing waiting lists waiting themselves to be rehoused. There are no easy answers—[Interruption.] I beg your pardon?
Llywydd, wrth gwrs rydym eisiau i bobl symud ymlaen o'r canolfannau croeso cyn gynted ag y bydd yn ddiogel iddyn nhw wneud hynny. Bydd amrywiaeth o gyrchfannau ar gyfer pobl sy'n gadael y canolfannau hynny. Rwy'n credu y bydd y rhan fwyaf ohonyn nhw yn mynd at y teuluoedd hynny sydd wedi cynnig gofalu mor hael am rywun sy'n dianc rhag erchyllterau Wcráin, ond mae llwybrau eraill yn cael eu harchwilio. Rydym yn bwriadu gyda nifer o awdurdodau lleol, defnyddio unwaith eto mwy o dai a fydden nhw fel arall yn wag. Rydym yn gweithio gyda'n cydweithwyr mewn awdurdodau lleol i sicrhau, pan fo cyfleoedd yn y sector rhentu preifat, y bydd pobl yn gwybod am y rheini, ac y gellid gwneud y gwaith paru hwnnw hefyd.
Y pwynt yr oedd fy nghyd-Aelodau'n ceisio'i gyfleu i arweinydd yr wrthblaid yw hwn: rydym yn gorfod gwneud hyn i gyd gan ddefnyddio ein hadnoddau ein hunain. Mae pobl sy'n dod o'r Wcráin wedi cael eu twyllo gan Lywodraeth y DU. Yn syml, nid yw'r arian yno yn y system i wasanaethau cyhoeddus allu derbyn, fel y mae gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yng Nghymru yn gwbl awyddus i'w wneud, y bobl sy'n dod o Wcráin yn y ffordd y byddem ni eisiau eu gweld yn cael eu croesawu. Nid oes arian o gwbl i bobl sy'n dod drwy'r cynllun teuluoedd, a hyd yn oed i bobl sy'n dod ar hyd llwybrau eraill, nid yw lefel y cyllid yn ddiogel—mae am flwyddyn yn unig. Nid oes gennym sicrwydd ynglŷn â'r hyn sy'n digwydd y tu hwnt i hynny. Felly, mae gwerth £20 miliwn o arian Llywodraeth Cymru a ganfuwyd o ffynonellau eraill wedi'i drefnu i gefnogi'r camau ychwanegol yr ydym yn eu cymryd. Nid ydym yn cael yr un geiniog gan Lywodraeth y DU ar gyfer y canolfannau croeso. Ariennir y rheini i gyd o adnoddau Llywodraeth Cymru, ac mae'r £20 miliwn hwnnw'n cael ei wario'n gyflym iawn, oherwydd nifer y bobl sy'n dymuno manteisio ar y cyfle i ddod yma i Gymru. Nid oes stoc fawr o dai yn aros i gael eu defnyddio. Rydym yn dal i ddod o hyd i leoedd i bobl o Syria ac o Affganistan, mae gennym 1,000 o bobl bob mis o hyd yn mynd at wasanaethau awdurdodau lleol yng Nghymru yn dweud eu bod yn ddigartref, a gwyddom fod gennym bobl sydd ar restrau aros am dai yn aros i gael eu hailgartrefu. Nid oes atebion hawdd—[Torri ar draws.] Esgusodwch fi?
It's called failure.
Mae'n cael ei alw'n fethiant.
Of course there is failure in the system, and it comes from a decade of failure to invest in these matters by your Government—people who supported them over that period. But the idea that there is a large and easily accessible stock of housing just waiting to be brought on stream—it isn't like that, and that's why the offers from families will be the backbone of the way in which we are able to move people beyond the welcome centre and on to the next step in their journey here in Wales.
Wrth gwrs, mae methiant yn y system, a daw yn sgil degawd o fethiant i fuddsoddi yn y materion hyn gan eich Llywodraeth chi—pobl a'u cefnogodd dros y cyfnod hwnnw. Ond mae'r syniad bod stoc fawr a hygyrch o dai yn aros i gael eu defnyddio—nid felly y mae, a dyna pam mai'r cynigion gan deuluoedd fydd asgwrn cefn y ffordd y gallwn symud pobl y tu hwnt i'r ganolfan groeso ac ymlaen i'r cam nesaf ar eu taith yma yng Nghymru.
First Minister, the point I'm making to you is that you took the plaudits, and rightly took the plaudits, that you identified yourself as a supersponsor Government for refugees coming from the horrors that we are seeing in Ukraine, and we all want to play our part. But you have to identify the resources to marry up to the demand. Now, you have indicated, in your own words, that at the moment there are 4,000 individuals who have been identified as wanting to come to Wales. That is something to be celebrated, that they want to come to Wales. If you've identified £20 million for the 1,000 refugees that the initial assessment was allocated for, that means that you have to find an additional £60 million to cater for the additional 3,000, plus the housing requirement as well to move people out of the initial welcome centres. That is what I'm trying to find out from you at the moment, First Minister: where this resource is coming from from your additional resources that have been made available from the UK Government. And also, where are you going to find the housing stock to put people into quality accommodation so that they can rebuild their lives, which is important because that's part of the resettlement process that we want to see? These were known factors when you made the offer; it is a fact now that you've suspended the scheme, so it is not unreasonable to ask where you are going to take the scheme with the resources that you require, or will the scheme remain permanently in suspension?
Prif Weinidog, y pwynt yr wyf yn ei wneud i chi yw eich bod wedi cymryd y clodydd, ac yn briodol wedi cymryd y clodydd, eich bod wedi nodi eich hun yn Llywodraeth uwch-noddwr ar gyfer ffoaduriaid sy'n dod o'r erchyllterau a welwn ni yn Wcráin, ac rydym i gyd eisiau chwarae ein rhan. Ond mae'n rhaid i chi nodi'r adnoddau sydd i ateb y galw. Nawr, rydych wedi dweud, yn eich geiriau eich hun, fod 4,000 o unigolion ar hyn o bryd wedi'u nodi fel rhai sydd eisiau dod i Gymru. Mae hynny'n rhywbeth i'w ddathlu, eu bod nhw eisiau dod i Gymru. Os ydych wedi nodi £20 miliwn ar gyfer y 1,000 o ffoaduriaid y dyrannwyd yr asesiad cychwynnol ar eu cyfer, mae hynny'n golygu bod yn rhaid i chi ddod o hyd i £60 miliwn ychwanegol i ddarparu ar gyfer y 3,000 ychwanegol, ynghyd â'r gofyniad tai yn ogystal â symud pobl allan o'r canolfannau croeso cychwynnol. Dyna'r hyn yr wyf yn ceisio'i ganfod gennych ar hyn o bryd, Prif Weinidog: o le y daw'r adnodd hwn o'ch adnoddau ychwanegol sydd ar gael gan Lywodraeth y DU. A hefyd, ble ydych chi'n mynd i ddod o hyd i'r stoc dai i roi pobl mewn llety o ansawdd fel y gallant ailadeiladu eu bywydau, sy'n bwysig oherwydd bod hynny'n rhan o'r broses ailsefydlu yr ydym eisiau ei gweld? Roedd y rhain yn ffactorau hysbys pan wnaethoch y cynnig; mae'n ffaith yn awr eich bod wedi atal y cynllun dros dro, felly nid yw'n afresymol gofyn i le yr ewch chi â'r cynllun gyda'r adnoddau sydd eu hangen arnoch, neu a fydd y cynllun yn parhau i gael ei atal a hynny'n barhaol?
Well, I think I've already answered most of those points already, Llywydd. I've explained to the leader of the opposition that, as soon as we're able to achieve a balance between outflow from the welcome centres, we will be able to reopen them to welcome more people here to Wales. I've set out for him where, in a very challenging set of circumstances, more permanent housing is being found for people who've come from Ukraine, and I'm hugely grateful to our local authority colleagues, our colleagues in the housing association movement and others who are helping us to do just that. The Welsh Government has no money from the UK Government to help with the actions that we are taking—none. So, I'll just be clear with him about that. There is not a penny piece that comes to us for us to do the work that we are carrying out, and we continue to work collectively across the Government to make sure that we are able to find the investments that we need.
Let me make this point clear, Llywydd: none of what we do here in Wales is about plaudits. That is an offensive idea. I'll tell him that. [Interruption.] Let me tell him that, because I want to make it clear to him: nothing at all that we do is about seeking plaudits from anyone. When I spoke to a seven-year-old child in Llangrannog last week, he was struggling in the few words that he had to explain to me what it was like to have arrived in Wales, and he pointed upwards and he said, 'No rockets in sky.' A seven-year-old child, who had been through so much. Those are the reasons that people in Wales have responded with the generosity that they have to this problem, and nothing else.
Wel, rwy'n credu fy mod eisoes wedi ateb y rhan fwyaf o'r pwyntiau yna, Llywydd. Rwyf wedi esbonio i arweinydd yr wrthblaid y byddwn, cyn gynted ag y gallwn sicrhau cydbwysedd rhwng all-lif o'r canolfannau croeso, yn gallu eu hailagor i groesawu mwy o bobl yma i Gymru. Rwyf wedi amlinellu iddo lle, o dan amgylchiadau heriol iawn, y deuir o hyd i dai mwy parhaol ar gyfer pobl sydd wedi dod o Wcráin, ac rwy'n hynod ddiolchgar i'n cydweithwyr yn yr awdurdodau lleol, ein cydweithwyr yn y mudiad cymdeithasau tai ac eraill sy'n ein helpu i wneud hynny. Nid oes gan Lywodraeth Cymru arian gan Lywodraeth y DU i helpu gyda'r camau yr ydym yn eu cymryd—dim. Felly, byddaf yn glir gydag ef am hynny. Ni ddaw'r un geiniog i ni er mwyn i ni wneud y gwaith yr ydym yn ei wneud, ac rydym yn parhau i weithio gyda'n gilydd ar draws y Llywodraeth i sicrhau ein bod yn gallu dod o hyd i'r buddsoddiadau y mae arnom eu hangen.
Gadewch i mi wneud y pwynt hwn yn glir, Llywydd: nid oes dim o'r hyn a wnawn yma yng Nghymru yn ymwneud â chanmoliaeth. Mae hwnnw'n syniad sarhaus. Dywedaf hynny wrtho. [Torri ar draws.] Gadewch i mi ddweud hynny wrtho, oherwydd yr wyf eisiau ei gwneud yn glir iddo: nid oes dim o gwbl a wnawn ni yn ymwneud â cheisio clod gan neb. Pan siaradais â phlentyn saith oed yn Llangrannog yr wythnos diwethaf, yr oedd yn cael trafferth wrth geisio egluro i mi oherwydd yr ychydig eiriau yr oedd ganddo, sut brofiad oedd cyrraedd Cymru, a phwyntiodd at yr awyr uwchben a dywedodd, 'Dim rocedi yn yr awyr.' Plentyn saith oed, a oedd wedi bod trwy gymaint. Dyna'r rhesymau y mae pobl yng Nghymru wedi ymateb gyda'r haelioni sydd ganddyn nhw i'r broblem hon, a dim byd arall.
Arweinydd Plaid Cymru, Adam Price.
The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price.
Diolch, Llywydd. Michael Gove said last year, after your prompting, First Minister, that the Westminster Government wanted to reset the relationship with the devolved nations. We now know what they meant by that, of course—they want it to be a relationship where they are in control and we are subservient, where their Parliament is supreme and ours is subordinate. In announcing, without a word to you as a Government or to us as a Parliament their intention to repeal the Trade Union (Wales) Act 2017 passed by this Senedd, they've shown their contempt not just for workers, not just for Wales, but our entire democracy. This is not just one more in a long list of power grabs; it's a turning point. It's devolution's breaking point, potentially. It rolls back the rights of citizens, but also denies those very citizens the right to decide their own future. Now, you've said, First Minister, that you will resist Westminster in its attempt to undermine our democracy, but the urgent question now is: how?
Diolch, Llywydd. Dywedodd Michael Gove y llynedd, ar ôl eich anogaeth chi, Prif Weinidog, fod Llywodraeth San Steffan eisiau ailsefydlu'r berthynas â'r gwledydd datganoledig. Gwyddom yn awr beth yr oedden nhw'n ei olygu wrth hynny, wrth gwrs—maen nhw eisiau iddi fod yn berthynas pryd y maen nhw'n rheoli ac yr ydym ni yn eilradd, eu Senedd nhw sydd oruchaf a'n Senedd ni'n wasaidd. Wrth gyhoeddi, heb air atoch chi y Llywodraeth nac atom ni y Senedd, eu bwriad i ddiddymu Deddf Undebau Llafur (Cymru) 2017 a basiwyd gan y Senedd hon, maen nhw wedi dangos eu dirmyg nid yn unig tuag at weithwyr, nid yn unig tuag at Gymru, ond tuag at ddemocratiaeth gyfan. Nid dim ond un enghraifft arall mewn rhestr hir o gipio pŵer yw hyn; mae'n drobwynt. Dyma dorbwynt datganoli, o bosibl. Mae'n tynnu hawliau dinasyddion yn ôl, ond mae hefyd yn gwadu'r hawl i'r union ddinasyddion hynny benderfynu ar eu dyfodol eu hunain. Nawr, rydych chi wedi dweud, Prif Weinidog, y byddwch yn gwrthwynebu San Steffan yn ei hymgais i danseilio ein democratiaeth, ond y cwestiwn brys nawr yw: sut?
First of all, Llywydd, let me say this, that it was deeply, deeply disrespectful of the UK Government—disrespectful to devolution, disrespectful to this Senedd—yesterday to have smuggled out, in an explanatory memorandum, not even in the statement that they made, their intention to attempt to repeal pieces of legislation that were passed through this legislature. Not a word in advance, not a letter to say that this is what they intended to do, and, if it hadn't been for the eagle eyes of people looking to see what they were intending to do, then we wouldn't know about it today, would we?
I look at the Conservative benches. There's nothing they're not willing to defend, is there, if it comes out of Westminster? They're willing to defend a UK Government stating its intention without the simple respect of making those who will be affected know their intentions in that way. They had their opportunity, Llywydd. That piece of legislation passed through the Senedd. They could have referred it to the Supreme Court if they felt that it was in any way beyond the power and the authority of this Senedd. They chose not to do so. The reason that they revive it now—it's part of their vindictive approach to trade unions, and it's part of their disrespect agenda when it comes to devolution.
Yn gyntaf oll, Llywydd, gadewch i mi ddweud hyn, mae Llywodraeth y DU yn amharchus iawn, iawn—amharchus iawn tuag at ddatganoli, amharchus tuag at y Senedd hon—wrth iddi, ddoe, smyglo allan, mewn memorandwm esboniadol, nid hyd yn oed yn y datganiad a wnaethon nhw, eu bwriad i geisio diddymu darnau o ddeddfwriaeth a basiwyd drwy'r ddeddfwrfa hon. Dim gair ymlaen llaw, dim llythyr i ddweud mai dyma yr oedden nhw'n bwriadu ei wneud, ac, oni bai am lygaid barcud pobl yn edrych i weld beth yr oedden nhw'n bwriadu ei wneud, yna ni fyddem yn gwybod amdano heddiw, na fyddem ni?
Edrychaf ar feinciau'r Ceidwadwyr. Does dim byd nad ydyn nhw'n fodlon ei amddiffyn, nac oes, os daw allan o San Steffan? Maen nhw'n barod i amddiffyn Llywodraeth y DU yn datgan ei bwriad heb ddangos y parch lleiaf drwy adael i'r rhai yr effeithir arnyn nhw wybod beth yw eu bwriadau. Cawson nhw eu cyfle, Llywydd. Pasiodd y darn hwnnw o ddeddfwriaeth drwy'r Senedd. Gallen nhw fod wedi'i gyfeirio at y Goruchaf Lys pe baen nhw'n teimlo ei fod mewn unrhyw ffordd y tu hwnt i bŵer ac awdurdod y Senedd hon. Fe wnaethon nhw ddewis peidio â gwneud hynny. Y rheswm pam y maen nhw'n ei adfer nawr—mae'n rhan o'u hymagwedd filain tuag at undebau llafur, ac mae'n rhan o'u hagenda o amarch o ran datganoli.
How can we in Wales—at least those of us who care about our democracy in this Senedd—respond now in a way that makes Westminster rethink and retreat? A letter isn't going to work; that's been tried before. We can no more look to the Supreme Court for protection than progressives in the US can, because they have already ruled that Westminster has an unlimited power to legislate, even in devolved areas. Now, we have a very simple answer to this situation, which would remove Westminster's right to run roughshod over our democracy permanently, not just in the brief interludes of a Labour Government every 20 years, and that's independence. Now, isn't that an idea whose time has come? Now, the First Minister may not want to come that far, but could you accept that one way to send a clear message to Westminster that will make them sit up and listen is for you to say that your unionism is not unlimited, and for Wrexham's march for independence on Saturday to become the biggest ever, a march in defence of Welsh democracy, swelled not just by the ranks of my party's supporters, but your party's supporters as well?
Sut y gallwn ni yng Nghymru—o leiaf y rheini ohonom sy'n poeni am ein democratiaeth yn y Senedd hon—ymateb yn awr mewn ffordd sy'n gwneud i San Steffan ailfeddwl a'i gwadnu hi? Nid yw llythyr yn mynd i weithio; rhoddwyd cynnig ar hynny o'r blaen. Ni allwn droi at y Goruchaf Lys i'n hamddiffyn fwy nag y gall blaengarwyr yn yr Unol Daleithiau, oherwydd maen nhw eisoes wedi dyfarnu bod gan San Steffan bŵer diderfyn i ddeddfu, hyd yn oed mewn meysydd datganoledig. Nawr, mae gennym ateb syml iawn i'r sefyllfa hon, a fyddai'n dileu hawl San Steffan i fathru ein democratiaeth dan draed yn barhaol, nid yn unig yng nghyd-destun byr Llywodraeth Lafur bob 20 mlynedd, ac annibyniaeth yw hynny. Nawr, onid yw hwn yn syniad y mae ei amser wedi dod? Nawr, efallai nad yw'r Prif Weinidog eisiau mynd mor bell â hynny, ond a allech chi dderbyn mai un ffordd o anfon neges glir i San Steffan a fydd yn gwneud iddyn nhw eistedd a gwrando yw i chi ddweud nad yw eich unoliaeth yn ddiderfyn, ac i orymdaith Wrecsam dros annibyniaeth ddydd Sadwrn fod y mwyaf erioed, gorymdaith i amddiffyn democratiaeth Cymru, wedi ei chwyddo nid yn unig gan rengoedd cefnogwyr fy mhlaid, ond gan gefnogwyr eich plaid chithau hefyd?
Well, Llywydd, I just don't see the purpose of continually re-litigating this issue in front of the Senedd. It was in front of the people of Wales a year ago, and it could not have been in front of them in starker terms. I stood next to the leader of Plaid Cymru in debates in which he attempted to persuade people that independence—breaking away from the United Kingdom—was the best way to secure Wales's future. I made a different case—I make it still—that the way to ensure that people in Wales continue to exercise the level of control over our own affairs is to make sure that devolution is entrenched, that it cannot be rolled back in the way that it is currently. And there is a way to do that, Llywydd, and it'll come at the next general election, and that cannot come soon enough.
We don't have a Government at Westminster, Llywydd. We have a set of headless chickens who run around trying to save their own skins. It's time for them to clear out for people to have a chance to choose a different and a better Government, and, when that different and better Government comes, we will be able to make sure that the incursions that we have seen on the powers of this place, on the finance that we should have had, that was promised we would have and that has never arrived—to entrench those things. And that will be the way to make sure that people in Wales have what I think they demonstrated in May of last year that they wanted. They want to have powerful devolution. They want to have a Senedd able to do the job that we were elected to do. But they want, as well, to be part of a successful United Kingdom.
Wel, Llywydd, nid wyf yn gweld diben ail-ymgyfreitha'r mater hwn yn barhaus o flaen y Senedd. Roedd o flaen pobl Cymru flwyddyn yn ôl, ac ni allai fod wedi bod o'u blaenau mewn termau mwy plaen. Sefais wrth ochr arweinydd Plaid Cymru mewn dadleuon pryd y ceisiodd berswadio pobl mai annibyniaeth—gan dorri'n rhydd o'r Deyrnas Unedig—oedd y ffordd orau o sicrhau dyfodol Cymru. Fe wnes i achos gwahanol—rwy'n ei wneud o hyd—mai'r ffordd i sicrhau bod pobl yng Nghymru'n parhau i arfer y lefel o reolaeth dros ein materion ein hunain yw sicrhau bod datganoli wedi ymwreiddio, na ellir ei dynnu'n ôl yn y ffordd sy'n digwydd ar hyn o bryd. Ac mae ffordd o wneud hynny, Llywydd, a daw yn yr etholiad cyffredinol nesaf, ac ni all hwnnw ddod yn ddigon buan.
Nid oes gennym Lywodraeth yn San Steffan, Llywydd. Mae gennym griw o ieir heb bennau yn rhedeg o gwmpas yn ceisio achub eu crwyn eu hunain. Mae'n bryd iddyn nhw fynd er mwyn i bobl gael cyfle i ddewis Llywodraeth wahanol a gwell, a phan ddaw'r Llywodraeth wahanol a gwell honno, byddwn yn gallu sicrhau bod yr ymosodiadau yr ydym wedi'u gweld ar bwerau'r lle hwn, ar y cyllid y dylem fod wedi'i gael, a addawyd i ni ac na chyrhaeddodd o gwbl—i ymwreiddio'r pethau hynny. A dyna'r ffordd i sicrhau bod pobl yng Nghymru yn cael yr hyn yr wyf yn credu y dangoson nhw ym mis Mai y llynedd yr oedden nhw eisiau ei gael, yn fy marn i. Maen nhw eisiau datganoli pwerus. Maen nhw eisiau Senedd sy'n gallu gwneud y gwaith y cawsom ein hethol i'w wneud. Ond maen nhw, hefyd, eisiau bod yn rhan o Deyrnas Unedig lwyddiannus.
I have to say to the First Minister, and with regret, that I’m not hearing resistance from him; I’m hearing resignation. What if Labour loses the next Westminster general election, and the one after that? What if Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister well into the 2030s, as has been recently reported? What do we do then? Now, you've consistently said that the United Kingdom must be a voluntary union. Do you agree that there needs to be a clear and legally secure route for the nations of the UK to choose their constitutional future, Scotland and Wales? And isn’t one of the options to us, in response to the decision by the UK Government to nullify our democracy—and surely that is a change that we have to recognise; the context is changing—to request the power for a referendum on the future of our democracy, a section 109 request in our circumstances, based on whichever model or models emerge from the constitutional commission that you've set up?
In Scotland, they hate referenda—the UK Government says—but, in Wales, they say that they like them. Why don’t we give them one? And if it’s framed as Wales versus Westminster, it’s surely a referendum that we can win.
Rhaid i mi ddweud wrth y Prif Weinidog, a gyda gofid, nad wyf yn clywed gwrthwynebiad ganddo; rwy'n clywed ildiad. Beth pe bai Llafur yn colli etholiad cyffredinol nesaf San Steffan, a'r un ar ôl hynny? Beth pe bai Boris Johnson yn Brif Weinidog ymhell i'r 2030au, fel yr adroddwyd yn ddiweddar? Beth ydym ni'n ei wneud wedyn? Nawr, rydych chi wedi dweud yn gyson fod yn rhaid i'r Deyrnas Unedig fod yn undeb gwirfoddol. A ydych yn cytuno bod angen llwybr clir a diogel yn gyfreithiol i genhedloedd y DU ddewis eu dyfodol cyfansoddiadol, yr Alban a Chymru? Ac onid un o'r opsiynau i ni, mewn ymateb i benderfyniad Llywodraeth y DU i ddirymu ein democratiaeth—ac mae'n sicr bod hynny'n newid y mae'n rhaid i ni ei gydnabod; mae'r cyd-destun yn newid—yw i ofyn am y pŵer ar gyfer refferendwm ar ddyfodol ein democratiaeth, cais adran 109 yn ein hamgylchiadau, yn seiliedig ar ba bynnag fodel neu fodelau sy'n deillio o'r comisiwn cyfansoddiadol yr ydych wedi'i sefydlu?
Yn yr Alban, maen nhw'n casáu refferenda—dywed Llywodraeth y DU—ond, yng Nghymru, maen nhw'n dweud eu bod yn eu hoffi. Pam nad ydym ni'n rhoi un iddyn nhw? Ac os yw wedi'i fframio fel Cymru yn erbyn San Steffan, mae'n sicr yn refferendwm y gallwn ni ei ennill.
Well, Llywydd, I've always argued—and I’ve got into trouble for it from time to time—that if the people of any constituent part of the United Kingdom vote for a referendum on their future, then they should be allowed to hold that referendum. I think that that would be the case in Wales as well. If a party that stands for that at an election wins a majority of votes in Wales, then of course that referendum should happen. But that hasn’t happened here in Wales, and, until it does, I think that the case that the Member makes is fatally weakened.
Wel, Llywydd, rwyf bob amser wedi dadlau—ac rwyf wedi mynd i drafferthion o'r herwydd o bryd i'w gilydd—os bydd pobl o unrhyw ran gyfansoddol o'r Deyrnas Unedig yn pleidleisio dros refferendwm ar eu dyfodol, yna dylid caniatáu iddyn nhw gynnal y refferendwm hwnnw. Rwy'n credu y byddai hynny'n wir yng Nghymru hefyd. Os bydd plaid sy'n sefyll dros hynny mewn etholiad yn ennill mwyafrif o bleidleisiau yng Nghymru, yna wrth gwrs y dylai'r refferendwm hwnnw ddigwydd. Ond nid yw hynny wedi digwydd yma yng Nghymru, a hyd nes y bydd yn gwneud hynny, rwy'n credu bod yr achos y mae'r Aelod yn ei wneud wedi'i wanhau'n angheuol.
3. Pa drafodaethau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'u cael gyda Llywodraeth y DU am Ddeddf Syndrom Down 2022? OQ58281
3. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government about the Down Syndrome Act 2022? OQ58281
I thank the Member for that, Llywydd. Early discussions with the UK Government established that its Down Syndrome Act will provide people with Down's syndrome in England with the same level of support and protection already enjoyed by people in Wales.
Diolch i'r Aelod am hynna, Llywydd. Nododd trafodaethau cynnar gyda Llywodraeth y DU y bydd ei Deddf Syndrom Down yn rhoi'r un lefel o gymorth ac amddiffyniad i bobl â syndrom Down yn Lloegr sydd eisoes yn cael eu mwynhau gan bobl yng Nghymru.
Thank you, First Minister, for that response. Last week, I met with two constituents, who are also parents of Down syndrome children, who run a local charity that supports young people with Down syndrome from across much of south Wales. It was highlighted that, despite improvements in things like childcare, education and employment, young people with Down syndrome still face barriers to inclusion. In particular, our meeting focused on the lack of a joined-up approach within the post-16 education provision.
Training placements for such individuals are often few and far between, whilst many placements run for just two years, with many of these young people requiring longer and more flexible learning options to meet their needs. The constituent also pointed out that, in England, such courses often have the possibility of employment attached, whilst, in Wales, courses are focused more around just life skills. Now, in England, the Down Syndrome Act, as you’ll recognise, introduced by Dr Liam Fox, will require a range of public bodies and education providers to take into account guidance published by the Government on steps that can be taken to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome.
First Minister, will the Welsh Government consider how the provisions of the Act could be introduced in Wales to ensure that existing barriers to inclusion are removed, as well as raising public awareness and greater acceptance of people with Down syndrome in society? Finally, First Minister, would you or one of your ministerial colleagues commit to meeting with reps from this area to discuss how services for people in Wales with Down syndrome can continue to be improved?
Diolch, Prif Weinidog, am yr ymateb yna. Yr wythnos diwethaf, fe wnes i gyfarfod â dau etholwr, sydd hefyd yn rhieni i blant syndrom Down, sy'n rhedeg elusen leol sy'n cefnogi pobl ifanc â syndrom Down o bob rhan o'r de. Er gwaethaf gwelliannau mewn pethau fel gofal plant, addysg a chyflogaeth, tynnwyd sylw at y ffaith fod pobl ifanc â syndrom Down yn dal i wynebu rhwystrau rhag cynhwysiant. Yn benodol, canolbwyntiodd ein cyfarfod ar y diffyg dull cydgysylltiedig o weithredu yn y ddarpariaeth addysg ôl-16.
Yn aml, prin yw'r lleoliadau hyfforddi ar gyfer unigolion o'r fath, tra bod llawer o leoliadau'n rhedeg am ddwy flynedd yn unig, gyda llawer o'r bobl ifanc hyn angen dewisiadau dysgu hirach a mwy hyblyg i ddiwallu eu hanghenion. Nododd yr etholwr hefyd fod cyrsiau o'r fath, yn Lloegr, yn aml yn gysylltiedig â'r posibilrwydd o gyflogaeth, tra bod cyrsiau yng Nghymru yn canolbwyntio mwy ar sgiliau bywyd yn unig. Nawr, yn Lloegr, bydd y Ddeddf Syndrom Down, fel y byddwch yn cydnabod, a gyflwynwyd gan Dr Liam Fox, yn ei gwneud yn ofynnol i amrywiaeth o gyrff cyhoeddus a darparwyr addysg ystyried canllawiau a gyhoeddwyd gan y Llywodraeth ar gamau y gellir eu cymryd i ddiwallu anghenion pobl â syndrom Down.
Prif Weinidog, a wnaiff Llywodraeth Cymru ystyried sut y gellid cyflwyno darpariaethau'r Ddeddf yng Nghymru i sicrhau bod y rhwystrau presennol rhag cynhwysiant yn cael eu dileu, yn ogystal â chodi ymwybyddiaeth y cyhoedd a derbyn pobl â syndrom Down yn ehangach mewn cymdeithas? Yn olaf, Prif Weinidog, a fyddech chi neu un o'ch cyd-Weinidogion yn ymrwymo i gyfarfod â chynrychiolwyr o'r maes hwn i drafod sut y gellir parhau i wella gwasanaethau i bobl yng Nghymru sydd â syndrom Down?
I thank Peter Fox for those points, Llywydd. He's right to say that the Act passed by the UK Parliament is an Act for England only. What it requires is for public authorities to take account of guidance—guidance that, as yet, has not been published. But of course—I certainly give him this commitment—when the guidance is published, we will look to see whether there is anything that we can draw on here in Wales. The reason that we concluded, in those discussions with the UK Government, that there was no case for Wales being included in that Bill was because the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 already require public bodies in Wales to do what the UK Act now requires to be done in England. And the learning disability plan, which my colleague Julie Morgan introduced here in an oral statement on the floor of the Senedd on 24 May, has both education and employment as one of its six core themes.
Does that mean that there is not more to be done? Of course not, and I absolutely recognise the point that Peter Fox made about the continuing difficulties that are in the path of young people with Down's syndrome. I will discuss with my colleague whether a meeting of the sort that you describe would be worthwhile. I myself have met very regularly with organisations that represent people with learning disabilities, and, as a Government, our commitment to making sure that they have the sorts of futures that we would want to see for them, where their needs are safeguarded but their prospects are improved, that is absolutely the spirit in which our learning disability action plan has been constructed.FootnoteLink
Diolch i Peter Fox am y pwyntiau yna, Llywydd. Mae'n iawn iddo ddweud mai Deddf i Loegr yn unig yw'r Ddeddf a basiwyd gan Senedd y DU. Yr hyn sydd ei angen yw i awdurdodau cyhoeddus ystyried canllawiau—canllawiau nad ydyn nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi hyd yma. Ond wrth gwrs—rwy'n sicr yn rhoi'r ymrwymiad hwn iddo—pan gyhoeddir y canllawiau, byddwn yn edrych i weld a oes unrhyw beth y gallwn ni ei ddefnyddio yma yng Nghymru. Y rheswm y daethom i'r casgliad, yn y trafodaethau hynny gyda Llywodraeth y DU, nad oedd achos dros gynnwys Cymru yn y Bil hwnnw oedd oherwydd bod Deddf y Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol (Cymru) 2006, Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) 2014 a Deddf Anghenion Dysgu Ychwanegol a'r Tribiwnlys Addysg (Cymru) 2018 eisoes yn ei gwneud yn ofynnol i gyrff cyhoeddus yng Nghymru wneud yr hyn y mae angen i Ddeddf y DU ei wneud yn Lloegr erbyn hyn. Ac mae'r cynllun anabledd dysgu, a gyflwynwyd gan fy nghyd-Aelod Julie Morgan yma mewn datganiad llafar ar lawr y Senedd ar 24 Mai, yn cynnwys addysg a chyflogaeth fel un o'i chwe thema graidd.
A yw hynny'n golygu nad oes mwy i'w wneud? Wrth gwrs nad ydi e, ac rwy'n llwyr gydnabod y pwynt a wnaeth Peter Fox am yr anawsterau parhaus y mae pobl ifanc â syndrom Down yn eu hwynebu. Byddaf yn trafod gyda fy nghyd-Aelod a fyddai cyfarfod o'r math a ddisgrifiwch yn werth chweil. Rwyf i fy hun wedi cyfarfod yn rheolaidd iawn â sefydliadau sy'n cynrychioli pobl ag anableddau dysgu, ac, fel Llywodraeth, ein hymrwymiad i sicrhau bod ganddyn nhw'r mathau o ddyfodol y byddem ni eisiau eu gweld ar eu cyfer, pryd y mae eu hanghenion yn cael eu diogelu ond bod eu rhagolygon yn cael eu gwella, ac yn yr ysbryd hwnnw yn union y mae ein cynllun gweithredu anabledd dysgu wedi'i greu.FootnoteLink
4. A wnaiff y Prif Weinidog roi diweddariad ar gynllun gweithredu ar gyfer gwasanaethau canser Llywodraeth Cymru? OQ58285
4. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's cancer services action plan? OQ58285
Llywydd, mae'r gwaith o lunio'r cynllun gweithredu yn cael ei wneud gyda rhwydwaith canser Cymru. Bydd y gwaith hwnnw yn parhau drwy gydol yr haf. Mae'r Gweinidog yn disgwyl cael copi ddrafft o'r cynllun ym mis Medi.
Llywydd, work to produce the action plan is being carried out by the Wales cancer network. That work will continue through the summer. The Minister expects to receive a draft of the plan in September.
Diolch am yr ateb yna. Dwi newydd fod yn noddi digwyddiad yn dathlu 20 mlwyddiant Cancer Research UK, a tra'n dathlu'r gwaith sydd wedi cael ei wneud drwy ymchwil i wella cyfraddau goroesi canser, mi oedd yna rybudd ein bod ni mewn perig o weld y cynnydd yn dod i stop rŵan. Mae effaith y pandemig, sy'n golygu bod pobl yn aros 16 gwaith yn hirach nac oedden nhw cyn COVID am rai profion diagnostig sylfaenol, a'r diffyg cynllun canser cenedlaethol dwi ac eraill wedi galw amdano fo ers cyhyd yn golygu ein bod ni mewn lle bregus. Rŵan, mae'r Llywodraeth, fel dŷn ni wedi clywed, yn dweud bod yna action plan newydd ar y ffordd. Dwi wedi clywed awgrym, yn gynharach, y gallai fo wedi cael ei gyhoeddi'r haf yma, neu fis Medi. Rydyn ni wedi cael cadarnhad eto rŵan mai drafft yn cael ei roi i'r Gweinidog erbyn mis Medi fydd o. Ydy'r Prif Weinidog yn cytuno efo fi, a Cancer Research UK, fod angen symud ar frys rŵan?
Thank you very much for that response. I have just sponsored an event celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Cancer Research UK, and, while celebrating the work that has been done through research to improve survival rates, there was a warning that we're in danger of seeing the progress coming to an end now. The impact of the pandemic has meant that people are waiting 16 times longer than they were pre COVID for some diagnostic tests, and the lack of a national cancer action plan that I and others have been calling for for so long means that we're in a vulnerable position. The Government, as we've heard, say that there is a new action plan on the way. I heard a suggestion earlier that it could have been published this summer or in September. We've had a confirmation that a draft will be given to the Minister by September. Does the First Minister agree with me and Cancer Research UK that we need to take urgent action now?
'We need a sense of urgency'.
'Mae angen ymdeimlad o frys arnom'.
Dyna dywedodd prif weithredwr Cancer Research UK heddiw, achos mae gen i ofn dydyn ni ddim wedi gweld y synnwyr hwnnw o frys gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn ddiweddar.
That's what the chief executive of Cancer Research UK said today, because I'm afraid we haven't seen that sense of urgency from the Welsh Government recently.
Wel, Llywydd, mae'n bwysig i roi cyfle i'r rhwydwaith canser Cymru, sy'n gwneud y gwaith ar y cynllun, gael yr amser maen nhw wedi gofyn i'w gael, a dŷn ni ddim yn siarad am fwy nag wythnosau cyn bydd cychwyn mis Medi yn dod, so dwi'n meddwl ein bod ni'n trio gwneud pethau ar frys, ac mae hynny yn bwysig. Dwi'n cytuno bod effaith y pandemig ar wasanaethau canser wedi bod yn un trwm, ond mae pobl yn y maes yn gweithio'n galed. Fel dwi wedi esbonio o flaen y Senedd cyn hyn, Llywydd, mae cynllun gyda Lloegr, mae strategaeth gyda'r Alban, mae datganiad gyda ni. Rŷn ni i gyd yn trio gwneud yr un peth. Mae'r enw ar y cynllun yn wahanol, ond y bwriad yw'r un peth, ac rŷn ni'n gweithio'n galed gyda'r bobl sy'n arwain y gwasanaethau mas yna yn y maes i wneud popeth gallwn ni i symud yr agenda ymlaen.
Wel, Llywydd, it's important to give the Wales cancer network, who are working on this plan, the time that they have requested, and we're not talking about more than a matter of weeks before we reach the beginning of September, so I think we are trying to act with urgency, and that's important. I agree that the impact of the pandemic on cancer services has been very great, but people are working hard. As I've explained to the Senedd previously, England has a plan, Scotland has a strategy, we have a statement. We're all trying to achieve the same thing. The name on the proposals is different, but the intention is the same, and we are working hard with the people who lead services on the ground to do everything that we can to move this agenda forward.
The concern that I have, First Minister, as indeed do cancer charities themselves, is about the pace at which the new diagnostic hubs or clinics are being rolled out. Can you tell me what the role of the diagnostics board will be in ensuring health boards develop these service models and hubs at a faster pace?
Mae'r pryder sydd gennyf i, Prif Weinidog, fel sydd gan elusennau canser eu hunain yn wir, yn ymwneud â pha mor gyflym y mae'r canolfannau neu'r clinigau diagnosis newydd yn cael eu cyflwyno. A allwch chi ddweud wrthyf beth fydd swyddogaeth y bwrdd diagnosteg o ran sicrhau bod byrddau iechyd yn datblygu'r modelau a'r canolfannau gwasanaeth hyn yn gyflymach?
Well, Llywydd, all health boards—apart from Cardiff, which will begin later this year—now have rapid diagnostic centres. So, I'm not quite sure what problem the Member sees with pace, when they're already happening in six out of seven health boards in Wales. There are three of them operating in north Wales, where Rhun ap Iorwerth will have a direct interest; one in each of the three district general hospitals now has a rapid diagnostic centre. And Llywydd, it's important to remember what those rapid diagnostic centres were for: people who present with symptoms to their GP do not always have classically and the directly symptoms that link to a possibility of cancer. They present with what are called by the profession 'vague symptoms' and up until now, there hasn't always been a direct route for a GP to make sure that someone who they think may be in that position, but where the symptoms aren't definitive, to make sure that that person can get the assessment that they need. That is what the new centres are for, and they are a significant addition to the landscape that we have here in Wales.
Llywydd, I've said already that the impact of COVID on cancer services in Wales has been real, but in the last year—and health works on financial years in the way that it counts these things—referrals were 17 per cent higher than the year before the pandemic began, and 22 per cent more people received treatment for cancer than in the year before the pandemic hit. So, despite the real pressures that the system is under, it has responded, I think, with real determination and with considerable success.
Wel, Llywydd, mae gan bob bwrdd iechyd—ar wahân i Gaerdydd, a fydd yn dechrau'n ddiweddarach eleni—ganolfannau diagnosis cyflym erbyn hyn. Felly, nid wyf yn hollol siŵr pa broblem y mae'r Aelod yn ei gweld o ran cyflymder pan fyddan nhw eisoes yn digwydd mewn chwech o saith bwrdd iechyd yng Nghymru. Mae tri ohonyn nhw yn gweithredu yn y gogledd, lle bydd gan Rhun ap Iorwerth ddiddordeb uniongyrchol; mae gan bob un o'r tri ysbyty cyffredinol dosbarth ganolfan diagnosis cyflym erbyn hyn. A Llywydd, mae'n bwysig cofio beth oedd diben y canolfannau diagnosis cyflym hynny: nid oes gan bobl sy'n mynd at eu meddyg teulu gyda symptomau, y symptomau clasurol ac uniongyrchol hynny bob tro, sy'n gysylltiedig â phosibilrwydd o ganser. Maen nhw'n dangos yr hyn a elwir gan y proffesiwn yn 'symptomau aneglur' a hyd yn hyn, ni fu llwybr uniongyrchol bob amser i feddyg teulu sicrhau bod rhywun y mae yn credu y gallai fod yn y sefyllfa honno, pan nad yw'r symptomau'n ddiffiniol, i sicrhau y gall y person hwnnw gael yr asesiad y mae ei angen. Dyna yw diben y canolfannau newydd, ac maen nhw'n ychwanegiad sylweddol at y dirwedd sydd gennym ni yma yng Nghymru.
Llywydd, rwyf eisoes wedi dweud bod effaith COVID ar wasanaethau canser yng Nghymru wedi bod yn real, ond yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf—ac mae maes iechyd yn gweithio yn ôl blynyddoedd ariannol yn y ffordd y mae'n cyfrif y pethau hyn—yr oedd atgyfeiriadau 17 y cant yn uwch na'r flwyddyn cyn i'r pandemig ddechrau, a chafodd 22 y cant yn fwy o bobl driniaeth am ganser nag yn y flwyddyn cyn i'r pandemig daro. Felly, er gwaethaf y pwysau gwirioneddol sydd ar y system, mae wedi ymateb, rwy'n credu, gyda phenderfyniad gwirioneddol a gyda chryn lwyddiant.
5. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru'n eu cymryd i wella mynediad at ddeintyddion y GIG yng Ngogledd Cymru? OQ58262
5. What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve access to NHS dentists in North Wales? OQ58262
Additional investment, contract reform, progressive lifting of COVID restrictions and the opening of the north Wales dental academy are amongst the actions being taken to improve access to NHS dentistry in the Member’s region.
Mae buddsoddiad ychwanegol, diwygio contractau, codi cyfyngiadau COVID yn raddol ac agor academi ddeintyddol gogledd Cymru ymhlith y camau sy'n cael eu cymryd i wella mynediad i ddeintyddiaeth y GIG yn rhanbarth yr Aelod.
Thank you, First Minister. I certainly welcome the action being taken to address some of these issues, but nevertheless, I am inundated, actually, with constituents contacting me regarding their difficulties in accessing NHS dentists in north Wales. A number of constituents have been in touch from Wrexham who've been told they're going to have to wait up to two years before they can see a dentist. I've had residents in touch from the Vale of Clwyd who've said that they've been told they will have to wait three years before they can access dentistry. And I think part of the frustration here, First Minister, is that these are people who are paying their taxes, paying their national insurance, but not receiving the service those taxes are supposed to fund, and essentially, residents are therefore having to pay twice, because they're paying through their taxes and then having to access these services through private dental care instead. And it seems to me at the moment that dentists, whilst seemingly happy to offer the private care, don't perhaps seem happy with the NHS contracts that you've put in place, because they're simply not offering their services through NHS work.
So, I wonder, First Minister, what assessment have you made so far of this uptake of those NHS contracts by dentists, and what discussions are you having with the British Dental Association to make sure that there are enough dentists for my residents who live in north Wales?
Diolch yn fawr, Prif Weinidog. Rwy'n sicr yn croesawu'r camau sy'n cael eu cymryd i fynd i'r afael â rhai o'r materion hyn, ond serch hynny, rwy'n cael fy llethu, mewn gwirionedd, gan y nifer o etholwyr sy'n cysylltu â mi ynglŷn â'u hanawsterau o ran cael gafael ar ddeintyddion y GIG yn y gogledd. Mae nifer o etholwyr wedi bod mewn cysylltiad o Wrecsam sydd wedi cael gwybod y bydd yn rhaid iddyn nhw aros hyd at ddwy flynedd cyn y gallan nhw weld deintydd. Rwyf wedi cael trigolion yn cysylltu o Ddyffryn Clwyd sydd wedi dweud eu bod wedi cael gwybod y bydd yn rhaid iddyn nhw aros tair blynedd cyn y gallan nhw gael gafael ar ddeintyddiaeth. A chredaf mai rhan o'r rhwystredigaeth yma, Prif Weinidog, yw bod y rhain yn bobl sy'n talu eu trethi, yn talu eu hyswiriant gwladol, ond heb dderbyn y gwasanaeth y mae'r trethi hynny i fod i'w ariannu, ac yn y bôn, mae trigolion felly'n gorfod talu ddwywaith, oherwydd maen nhw'n talu drwy eu trethi ac yna'n gorfod cael gafael ar y gwasanaethau hyn drwy ofal deintyddol preifat yn lle hynny. Ac mae'n ymddangos i mi ar hyn o bryd bod deintyddion, er eu bod yn ymddangos yn hapus i gynnig y gofal preifat, efallai'n anhapus â'r contractau GIG yr ydych wedi'u rhoi ar waith, oherwydd nid ydyn nhw'n cynnig eu gwasanaethau drwy waith y GIG.
Felly, tybed, Prif Weinidog, pa asesiad ydych chi wedi'i wneud hyd yma o'r nifer hwn o ddeintyddion sy'n manteisio ar y contractau GIG hynny, a pha drafodaethau ydych chi'n eu cael gyda Chymdeithas Ddeintyddol Prydain i sicrhau bod digon o ddeintyddion i fy nhrigolion sy'n byw yn y gogledd?
I'm grateful for the opportunity to set out the facts in relation to the dental contract, because we rehearsed this significantly on the floor of the Senedd at the end of March, when the leader of the opposition told me that not a single practice in the Hywel Dda area was prepared to sign up for the new contract and that there would be a collapse of dental services within a few weeks. In fact, in the Hywel Dda health board, 92 per cent of NHS dentistry is now being provided by practices who have signed up to the new contract. That rises to 96 per cent in north Wales and to 99 per cent in Swansea bay. So, let us lay this to rest this afternoon. The idea that dentists as a whole in Wales were not prepared to sign up to the new contract voluntarily—they had the choice; if they wanted to, they could, if they didn't want to, they didn't have to—they have done so overwhelmingly in every part of Wales, and that is very good news for the Member's constituents, because part of the new contract is that by taking dentists off the treadmill of the old unit of dental activity approach, they will be able to see new patients, new NHS patients, in all parts of Wales.
Now, as to the recruitment of new dentists, I have no doubt that when he replies to the people who inundate his inbox, the Member will be explaining that Brexit, the end of free movement, the end of mutual recognition of professional qualifications—. The Members are very keen over there always to quote to me what the profession says. I'm just telling them what the British Dental Association and others have said. In north Wales particularly, where the large corporate bodies had taken over practices, what they have found is that people who they were able to recruit from other parts of the European Union have returned to other parts of the European Union. Now, when they seek to recruit dentists who previously were able to come to them without any barriers at all, they have to go through the sponsorship route, with all its complexities and uncertainties. And part of the difficulties experienced by people in north Wales are directly attributable to the way in which Brexit has made it more difficult to recruit and retain people who, up until the time that they were advised by members of the Conservative Party that everything would be better in their lives, if only they took the risk that they were invited to take, they find that those services have been compromised as a result.
The body that funds people for training here in Wales is developing the approach to the workforce, which I myself have always believed was the best one for this profession, and that is diversification. It is not a matter simply of recruiting and training dentists themselves; you need a cadre of dental nurses, of therapists, and the new cadre of dental assistants able to carry out those parts of dental work, and leaving those most highly trained and most professionally qualified parts of the workforce to do the things that only a dentist can do.
I had a question last week from Sam Kurtz that I thought very well set out the progress that has been made in GP practices to do exactly that: to diversity the profession and to use the—[Interruption.] Yes, the very first question that I had last week, I thought he set out the case very well. Now we need to see the same approach adopted by dentists, so that we can make the very best use of their qualifications and ability, and that is by using other people who can be just as successfully part of that wider clinical team, allowing them, therefore, to see more of Sam Rowlands's constituents.
Rwy'n ddiolchgar am y cyfle i nodi'r ffeithiau mewn cysylltiad â'r contract deintyddol, oherwydd gwnaethom ailadrodd hyn yn sylweddol ar lawr y Senedd ddiwedd mis Mawrth, pan ddywedodd arweinydd yr wrthblaid wrthyf nad oedd yr un practis yn ardal Hywel Dda yn barod i gofrestru ar gyfer y contract newydd ac y byddai gwasanaethau deintyddol yn methu o fewn ychydig wythnosau. Yn wir, ym mwrdd iechyd Hywel Dda, mae 92 y cant o ddeintyddiaeth y GIG bellach yn cael ei ddarparu gan bractisau sydd wedi ymrwymo i'r contract newydd. Mae hynny'n codi i 96 y cant yn y gogledd ac i 99 y cant ym mae Abertawe. Felly, gadewch i ni gladdu hwn y prynhawn yma. Y syniad nad oedd deintyddion yn gyffredinol yng Nghymru yn barod i ymrwymo i'r contract newydd yn wirfoddol—yr oedd ganddyn nhw'r dewis; os oedden nhw eisiau gwneud hynny, fe allen nhw, os nad oedden nhw eisiau gneud hynny, nad oedd yn rhaid iddyn nhw—maen nhw wedi gwneud hynny ran amlaf o lawer ym mhob rhan o Gymru, ac mae hynny'n newyddion da iawn i etholwyr yr Aelod, oherwydd rhan o'r contract newydd yw, drwy dynnu deintyddion oddi ar felin draed yr hen uned o weithgaredd deintyddol, byddan nhw'n gallu gweld cleifion newydd, cleifion GIG newydd, ym mhob rhan o Gymru.
Nawr, o ran recriwtio deintyddion newydd, nid oes gennyf amheuaeth, pan fydd yn ymateb i'r bobl sy'n llenwi ei fewnflwch, y bydd yr Aelod yn egluro y bydd Brexit, diwedd symud yn rhydd, diwedd cydnabod cymwysterau proffesiynol ar y cyd—. Mae'r Aelodau'n awyddus iawn yn y fan acw bob amser i ddyfynnu i mi beth mae'r proffesiwn yn ei ddweud. Rwyf yn dweud wrthyn nhw beth y mae Cymdeithas Ddeintyddol Prydain ac eraill wedi'i ddweud. Yn y gogledd yn arbennig, lle roedd y cyrff corfforaethol mawr wedi cymryd practisau drosodd, yr hyn y maen nhw wedi'i ganfod yw bod pobl yr oedden nhw'n gallu recriwtio o rannau eraill o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd wedi dychwelyd i rannau eraill o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd. Nawr, pan fyddan nhw'n ceisio recriwtio deintyddion a oedd gynt yn gallu dod atyn nhw heb unrhyw rwystrau o gwbl, mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw fynd drwy'r llwybr noddi, gyda'i holl gymhlethdodau a'i ansicrwydd. Ac mae rhan o'r anawsterau a brofir gan bobl yn y gogledd i'w priodoli'n uniongyrchol i'r ffordd y mae Brexit wedi ei gwneud yn anos recriwtio a chadw pobl sydd, hyd at yr adeg y cawson nhw eu cynghori gan aelodau o'r Blaid Geidwadol, y byddai popeth yn well yn eu bywydau, pe baen nhw dim ond yn cymryd y risg y cawson nhw eu gwahodd i'w chymryd, maen nhw'n canfod bod y gwasanaethau hynny wedi'u peryglu o ganlyniad.
Mae'r corff sy'n ariannu pobl ar gyfer hyfforddiant yma yng Nghymru yn datblygu'r dull o ymdrin â'r gweithlu, ac yr wyf i fy hun wedi credu erioed mai hwnnw oedd yr un gorau ar gyfer y proffesiwn hwn, ac arallgyfeirio yw hynny. Nid mater o recriwtio a hyfforddi deintyddion eu hunain yn unig ydyw; mae arnoch angen cnewyllyn o nyrsys deintyddol, therapyddion, a'r cnewyllyn newydd o gynorthwywyr deintyddol sy'n gallu cyflawni'r rhannau hynny o waith deintyddol, a gadael y rhannau hynny o'r gweithlu sydd wedi'u hyfforddi fwyaf ac sydd â'r cymwysterau mwyaf proffesiynol i wneud y pethau na all dim ond deintydd eu gwneud.
Cefais gwestiwn yr wythnos diwethaf gan Sam Kurtz yr oeddwn yn credu ei fod yn amlinellu'n dda iawn y cynnydd a wnaed mewn practisau meddygon teulu i wneud hynny'n union: i'r proffesiwn arallgyfeirio ac i ddefnyddio'r—[Torri ar draws.] Ie, y cwestiwn cyntaf un a gefais yr wythnos diwethaf, roeddwn yn credu ei fod wedi cyflwyno'r achos yn dda iawn. Nawr, mae angen i ni weld yr un dull yn cael ei fabwysiadu gan ddeintyddion, fel y gallwn wneud y defnydd gorau posibl o'u cymwysterau a'u gallu, a gwneir hynny drwy ddefnyddio pobl eraill a all fod yr un mor llwyddiannus yn rhan o'r tîm clinigol ehangach hwnnw, gan ganiatáu iddyn nhw, felly, weld mwy o etholwyr Sam Rowlands.
6. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru'n eu cymryd i gefnogi ac annog entrepreneuriaid ifanc yn Sir Ddinbych? OQ58275
6. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to support and encourage young entrepreneurs in Denbighshire? OQ58275
Llywydd, last week, the Minister for Economy announced further investment to support 1,200 young people to start their own businesses. In addition to direct financial help, the scheme also provides one-to-one advice and guidance, for example, through the Achieve programme, available to young people in Denbighshire.
Llywydd, yr wythnos diwethaf, cyhoeddodd Gweinidog yr Economi fuddsoddiad pellach i gefnogi 1,200 o bobl ifanc i ddechrau eu busnesau eu hunain. Yn ogystal â chymorth ariannol uniongyrchol, mae'r cynllun hefyd yn darparu cyngor ac arweiniad unigol, er enghraifft, drwy'r rhaglen Cyflawni, sydd ar gael i bobl ifanc yn sir Ddinbych.
I appreciate that answer, First Minister. I recently visited the Blue Lion pub situated in Cwm, near Dyserth in Denbighshire, which has been taken on by new owners earlier this month. The pub, reportedly being the second oldest free house in Wales, has been reopened by young entrepreneurs, Jonathan White, aged 27, and Megan Banks, aged 25, who have worked locally in the food and hospitality industry for a number of years and have now taken the leap into managing their own establishment, contributing to the local economy and providing jobs for others. I'd like to congratulate both Jonathan and Megan for taking on this endeavour, and wish them and their team at the Blue Lion every success, and to ask you, First Minister, with approximately 4,800 young people in Denbighshire unemployed as of December 2021, and one fifth of people in Denbighshire living in workless households, what is the Welsh Government doing to encourage more young people in Denbighshire to follow in the footsteps of my constituents in pursuing and sustaining their own businesses?
Rwy'n gwerthfawrogi'r ateb yna, Prif Weinidog. Ymwelais yn ddiweddar â thafarn y Llew Glas yng Nghwm, ger Dyserth yn sir Ddinbych, sydd â pherchnogion newydd ers yn gynharach y mis hwn. Y dafarn hon, yn ôl pob sôn, yw'r ail dŷ rhydd hynaf yng Nghymru, wedi cael ei hailagor gan entrepreneuriaid ifanc, Jonathan White, 27 oed, a Megan Banks, 25 oed, sydd wedi gweithio'n lleol yn y diwydiant bwyd a lletygarwch ers nifer o flynyddoedd ac sydd bellach wedi cymryd y cam cyntaf i reoli eu sefydliad eu hunain, gan gyfrannu at yr economi leol a darparu swyddi i eraill. Hoffwn longyfarch Jonathan a Megan am ymgymryd â'r ymdrech hon, a dymuno pob llwyddiant iddyn nhw a'u tîm yn y Llew Glas, a gofyn i chi, Prif Weinidog, gyda thua 4,800 o bobl ifanc yn sir Ddinbych yn ddi-waith ym mis Rhagfyr 2021, ac un rhan o bump o bobl sir Ddinbych yn byw ar aelwydydd di-waith, beth mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud i annog mwy o bobl ifanc yn sir Ddinbych i ddilyn ôl troed fy etholwyr wrth fynd ar drywydd a chynnal eu busnesau eu hunain?
Well, I thank the Member for that question. I wouldn't like to get into a contest with him on pub visiting, but I visited a pub in Burry Port recently, which had equally been taken over by two young people, and making an enormous success of it. So, I congratulate his constituents for the work that they are doing and all those young people in Wales who have that initiative and that drive to make sure that, where they have contributions that they want to make, they find ways of doing it. And that was exactly the point of the statement that Vaughan Gething made last week, to make sure that those young people in Denbighshire and in other parts of Wales who have an idea, who have an ambition, that they will now have £2,000 available to them, via the Welsh Government, to support them in that. And in some ways even more importantly, Llywydd, they will have pre and post-starter advice: business planning, financial management, peer support, mentorship. I'm very glad to say that, of the people who we have recruited to help with the scheme, 25 per cent are Welsh speaking and 46 per cent of them are women. We want young people in Wales, wherever they live and whatever their backgrounds, to feel that if they have that business idea that they want to promote, they know that there will be help and advice available to them.
Self-employment and entrepreneurship have played a larger part in the development of the UK economy in the last decade. A great deal of that is strong growth, it draws disproportionately on people with university degrees, but we also know that not every job in that part of the economy is the sort of job that we would want it to be. We know that there is insecurity and there is exploitation as well. Our scheme is designed to make sure that we do the best that we can in the area of self-employment and that young people in Wales are supported in doing so.
Wel, diolch i'r Aelod am y cwestiwn yna. Ni fyddwn yn hoffi cymryd rhan mewn cystadleuaeth gydag ef ar ymweld â thafarndai, ond ymwelais â thafarn ym Mhorth Tywyn yn ddiweddar, yr oedd dau berson ifanc wedi ei chymryd drosodd yn yr un modd, ac a oedd yn gwneud llwyddiant ysgubol ohoni. Felly, rwy'n llongyfarch ei etholwyr am y gwaith y maen nhw'n ei wneud a'r holl bobl ifanc hynny yng Nghymru sydd â'r fenter honno a'r penderfyniad hwnnw i sicrhau, lle mae ganddyn nhw gyfraniadau y maen nhw eisiau eu gwneud, eu bod yn dod o hyd i ffyrdd i wneud hynny. A dyna'n union oedd pwynt y datganiad a wnaeth Vaughan Gething yr wythnos diwethaf, i sicrhau bod y bobl ifanc hynny yn sir Ddinbych ac mewn rhannau eraill o Gymru sydd â syniad, sydd ag uchelgais, y bydd £2,000 bellach ar gael iddyn nhw, drwy Lywodraeth Cymru, i'w cefnogi yn hynny o beth. Ac mewn rhai ffyrdd yn bwysicach fyth, Llywydd, bydd ganddyn nhw gyngor cyn ac ar ôl cychwyn: cynllunio busnes, rheolaeth ariannol, cymorth gan gymheiriaid, mentora. Rwy'n falch iawn o ddweud, o'r bobl yr ydym ni wedi'u recriwtio i helpu gyda'r cynllun, fod 25 y cant yn siarad Cymraeg a bod 46 y cant ohonyn nhw yn fenywod. Rydym eisiau i bobl ifanc yng Nghymru, lle bynnag y maen nhw'n byw a beth bynnag fo'u cefndiroedd, deimlo, os oes ganddyn nhw y syniad busnes hwnnw y maen nhw eisiau ei hyrwyddo, eu bod yn gwybod y bydd cymorth a chyngor ar gael iddyn nhw.
Mae hunangyflogaeth ac entrepreneuriaeth wedi chwarae rhan fwy yn natblygiad economi'r DU yn ystod y degawd diwethaf. Mae llawer iawn o hynny'n dwf cryf, mae'n tynnu'n anghymesur ar bobl sydd â graddau prifysgol, ond gwyddom hefyd nad pob swydd yn y rhan honno o'r economi yw'r math o swydd y byddem eisiau iddi fod. Gwyddom fod ansicrwydd a bod camfanteisio hefyd. Nod ein cynllun yw sicrhau ein bod yn gwneud ein gorau glas ym maes hunangyflogaeth a bod pobl ifanc yng Nghymru yn cael cymorth i wneud hynny.
7. Pa drafodaethau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'u cynnal gyda Llywodraeth y DU i fynd i'r afael â thlodi tanwydd yng Nghanolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru? OQ58268
7. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government about tackling fuel poverty in Mid and West Wales? OQ58268
Diolch i Cefin Campbell am y cwestiwn. Mae Gweinidogion Cymru yn achub ar bob cyfle i godi'r materion hyn gyda Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig. Cafodd mesurau costau byw, gan gynnwys tlodi tanwydd, eu trafod yng nghyfarfod y Pwyllgor Sefydlog Rhyngweinidogol ar Gyllid yr wythnos diwethaf. Maen nhw ar yr agenda unwaith eto ar gyfer cyfarfod o'r Pwyllgor Sefydlog Rhyngweinidogol yfory.
Llywydd, thank you to Cefin Campbell for the question. Welsh Ministers take every opportunity to raise these matters with the UK Government. Cost-of-living measures, including fuel poverty, were discussed at last week's meeting of the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee and they are on the agenda once again for tomorrow's meeting of the Interministerial Standing Committee.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Prif Weinidog. Mae'n dda clywed bod y mater hwn ar yr agenda, achos fel rŷch chi'n gwybod, mae costau tanwydd wedi codi ym mhob rhan o Gymru, ond yn arbennig mewn ardaloedd gwledig. Wrth deithio o sir Gaerfyrddin y bore yma i Gaerdydd, roedd hi'n amlwg bod pris petrol a disel rhyw 5c neu 6c y litr yn fwy yn y gorllewin o gymharu â fan hyn yn y brif ddinas.
Mae pobl yng Nghymru, rhyw 80 y cant ohonyn nhw, yn defnyddio car i fynd i'r gwaith. Mewn ardaloedd gwledig fel y rhai dwi'n eu cynrychioli, mae pobl yn teithio rhyw 25 y cant ymhellach ar gyfer eu gwaith, ac mae hynny, wrth gwrs, yn effeithio yn fawr arnyn nhw—pobl fel gofalwyr, pobl fel ffermwyr a busnesau bach sydd yn dioddef, wrth gwrs, yn fawr. Felly, rŷch chi'n gwybod bod rhannau o Loegr a'r Alban eisoes yn elwa ar gynllun y rural fuel duty relief, cynllun sydd ddim yn bodoli yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd. Felly, pa bwysau ŷch chi fel Llywodraeth yn ei roi ar San Steffan er mwyn i'r cynllun hwn gael ei gyflwyno yma yng Nghymru i gefnogi cymunedau gwledig?
Thank you very much, First Minister. It is good to hear that this issue is on the agenda, because, as you know, fuel costs have increased in all parts of Wales, but particularly in rural areas. When travelling from Carmarthenshire to Cardiff this morning, it was clear that the price of petrol and diesel was 5p or 6p per litre more in the west as compared to here in the capital city.
People in Wales, some 80 per cent of them, use a car to travel to work. In rural areas such as those that I represent, people travel some 25 per cent further for work, and that, of course, has a huge impact on them—people like carers, farmers and small businesses who are suffering greatly at the moment. So, you will know that parts of England and Scotland already benefit from the rural fuel duty relief scheme, which doesn't currently exist in Wales. So, what pressure are you as a Government placing on Westminster in order for this scheme to be introduced here in Wales to support rural communities?
Llywydd, diolch i Cefin Campbell am y cwestiwn yna. Dwi'n cofio, nôl yn 2015 pan oedd y cynllun yn cael ei greu, gwneud y pwyntiau hynny ar yr amser yna. Mae cymunedau yn Lloegr a chymunedau yn yr Alban yn gallu defnyddio'r cynllun, y rural fuel duty relief, ond does neb yng Nghymru'n gallu defnyddio'r un system. So, gallaf i ddweud wrth yr Aelod, yfory, pan fydd y cyfle gennym ni i godi'r pwyntiau—pwyntiau: mwy nag un pwynt, wrth gwrs—rŷn ni'n mynd i godi'r pwynt ar y rural fuel duty relief, y cynllun yna, unwaith eto, gyda'r Gweinidogion yn San Steffan, a gofyn iddyn nhw, os yw pobl yn Devon, er enghraifft, yn gallu defnyddio'r cynllun, pam nad yw pobl yn Nyfed neu ym Mhowys yn gallu defnyddio'r un peth, pan fo’r sefyllfa bron yr un fath.
Llywydd, thank you to Cefin Campbell for that question. I remember, back in 2015 when the scheme was being created, making those points at that time. Communities in England and communities in Scotland can use the rural fuel duty relief scheme, but nobody in Wales can use that same system. So, I can tell the Member, tomorrow, when we have the opportunity to raise those points—and other points, of course—we will raise the issue with regard to that rural fuel duty relief scheme, once again, with Ministers at Westminster, and ask them, if people in Devon, for example, can benefit from the scheme, why can't people in Dyfed or Powys, when the situation is almost the same.
Ac yn olaf, cwestiwn 8, Natasha Asghar.
And finally, question 8, Natasha Asghar.
8. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i wella mynediad at feddygon teulu yn ardal Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan? OQ58266
8. What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve access to GPs in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area? OQ58266
The Welsh Government’s policy is to improve access to primary care services by using, to the full, the talents and capabilities of all members of the clinical team. In this way, the time of GPs can be released to respond to the needs of more complex cases.
Polisi Llywodraeth Cymru yw gwella mynediad at wasanaethau gofal sylfaenol drwy ddefnyddio, i'r eithaf, ddoniau a galluoedd holl aelodau'r tîm clinigol. Fel hyn, gellir rhyddhau meddygon teulu er mwyn iddyn nhw allu ymateb i anghenion achosion mwy cymhleth.
Thank you, First Minister. Data from StatsWales shows that the number of patients registered with GPs across the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is steadily increasing, from 606,000 patients in 2016 to over 619,500 in January 2022. At the same time, a quarter of all GPs working in Wales are aged over 60 and therefore nearing retirement. This is the highest percentage of any country in the United Kingdom. If this trend continues, the stress and pressures on general practice can only increase. Only this morning, it's been reported that St Brides medical practice, a GP surgery with nearly 7,000 patients, is set to close before the end of the week. A lead GP at the practice revealed on social media that she was resigning her contract as she was unable to recruit enough people—salaried GPs and GP partners—to safely run the practice. So, First Minister, what action are you going to be taking to increase the number of GPs qualifying each year in Wales from the current figure of 160, to ensure my region of south-east Wales has enough GPs to meet increasing demand? Thank you.
Diolch yn fawr, Prif Weinidog. Mae data o StatsCymru yn dangos bod nifer y cleifion sydd wedi'u cofrestru gyda meddygon teulu ar draws Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan yn cynyddu'n gyson, o 606,000 o gleifion yn 2016 i dros 619,500 ym mis Ionawr 2022. Ar yr un pryd, mae chwarter yr holl feddygon teulu sy'n gweithio yng Nghymru dros 60 oed ac felly'n agosáu at amser ymddeol. Dyma'r ganran uchaf o unrhyw wlad yn y Deyrnas Unedig. Os bydd y duedd hon yn parhau, dim ond cynyddu y gall y straen a'r pwysau ar ymarfer cyffredinol. Dim ond y bore yma, adroddwyd y bydd practis meddygol Saint-y-brid, meddygfa gyda bron i 7,000 o gleifion, yn cau cyn diwedd yr wythnos. Datgelodd meddyg teulu arweiniol yn y practis ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol ei bod yn ymddiswyddo o'i chontract gan nad oedd yn gallu recriwtio digon o bobl—meddygon teulu cyflogedig a phartneriaid meddygon teulu—i redeg y practis yn ddiogel. Felly, Prif Weinidog, pa gamau ydych chi am eu cymryd i gynyddu nifer y meddygon teulu sy'n cymhwyso bob blwyddyn yng Nghymru o'r ffigur presennol o 160, er mwyn sicrhau bod gan fy rhanbarth i yn y de-ddwyrain ddigon o feddygon teulu i ateb y galw cynyddol? Diolch.
The St Brides practice gave notice a considerable time before this week, and the neighbouring GP practices, accepting patients who previously would have been looked after by St Brides, have all confirmed that they have the capacity and the workforce to deliver care safely to the agreed cohort of patients. We have 183 GPs in training in Wales this year, not 160, and the number has been healthy, at that level or higher, in each of the last three years.
I know that the Member will have welcomed the announcement yesterday by the Welsh Government of £27 million to be invested in the Newport East health and well-being centre. Of course, it is a project that has been powerfully supported by John Griffiths as the local Member. That practice will be based in Ringland. It will bring together GP practices. It will have the Ringland dental surgery there under the same roof. It will have local authority services available to patients as part of that well-being development, and it seems to me to be a very practical and contemporary example of the way in which the Welsh Government goes on investing in those services in the Member's own region.
Rhoddodd practis Saint-y-brid rybudd gryn amser cyn yr wythnos hon, ac mae'r practisau meddygon teulu cyfagos, sy'n derbyn cleifion a fyddai wedi derbyn gofal gan Saint-y-brid o'r blaen, i gyd wedi cadarnhau bod ganddyn nhw'r gallu a'r gweithlu i ddarparu gofal yn ddiogel i'r garfan o gleifion y cytunwyd arnyn nhw. Mae gennym 183 o feddygon teulu dan hyfforddiant yng Nghymru eleni, nid 160, ac mae'r nifer wedi bod yn iach, ar y lefel honno neu'n uwch, ym mhob un o'r tair blynedd diwethaf.
Gwn y bydd yr Aelod wedi croesawu'r cyhoeddiad ddoe gan Lywodraeth Cymru fod £27 miliwn i'w fuddsoddi yng nghanolfan iechyd a llesiant Dwyrain Casnewydd. Wrth gwrs, mae'n brosiect sydd wedi cael cefnogaeth rymus gan John Griffiths fel yr Aelod lleol. Bydd y practis hwnnw wedi'i leoli yn Ringland. Bydd yn dod â phractisau meddygon teulu at ei gilydd. Bydd yn cael deintyddfa Ringland yno o dan yr un to. Bydd gwasanaethau awdurdodau lleol ar gael i gleifion fel rhan o'r datblygiad llesiant hwnnw, ac mae'n ymddangos i mi ei fod yn enghraifft ymarferol a chyfoes iawn o'r ffordd y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn mynd ati i fuddsoddi yn y gwasanaethau hynny yn rhanbarth yr Aelod ei hun.
Diolch i'r Prif Weinidog.
Thank you, First Minister.
Y datganiad a chyhoeddiad busnes sydd nesaf, a dwi'n galw ar y Trefnydd i wneud y datganiad hwnnw. Lesley Griffiths.
The business statement and announcement is next, and I call on the Trefnydd to make that statement. Lesley Griffiths.
Diolch, Llywydd. Today's agenda has been reordered so that debates and voting time will follow the oral statements. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Diolch, Llywydd. Mae'r agenda heddiw wedi'i haildrefnu fel y bydd dadleuon a'r cyfnod pleidleisio yn dilyn y datganiadau llafar. Mae'r busnes drafft ar gyfer y tair wythnos nesaf wedi'i nodi ar y datganiad a chyhoeddiad busnes, sydd i'w weld ymhlith y papurau cyfarfod sydd ar gael i'r Aelodau yn electronig.
Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from the Minister for health on Welsh Government efforts to tackle escalating cancer waiting times in the Aneurin Bevan health board? I make this request because recent data showed an increase in people waiting more than eight weeks for key tests most commonly used to diagnose cancer. This shocking statistic falls below the suspected cancer pathway performance target, which aims for 75 per cent of patients to start treatment within 62 days. In my own area, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, only 56.9 per cent of patients start their first treatment for cancer within the Welsh Government's target, compared to 67.9 per cent in April 2021. Access to treatment as quickly as possible is absolutely vital to raise a cancer sufferer's chances of survival. Minister, it's essential that a robust and urgent package of support, including a full cancer strategy, and workforce strategy, is implemented as soon as possible.
Trefnydd, a gaf i ofyn am ddatganiad gan y Gweinidog iechyd am ymdrechion Llywodraeth Cymru i fynd i'r afael ag amseroedd aros cynyddol ym maes canser ym mwrdd iechyd Aneurin Bevan? Rwy'n gwneud y cais hwn oherwydd bod data diweddar yn dangos cynnydd yn nifer y bobl sy'n aros mwy nag wyth wythnos am brofion allweddol a ddefnyddir amlaf i wneud diagnosis o ganser. Mae'r ystadegyn brawychus hwn yn is na'r targed perfformiad llwybr canser tybiedig, sy'n anelu at 75 y cant o gleifion i ddechrau triniaeth o fewn 62 diwrnod. Yn fy ardal i, Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan, dim ond 56.9 y cant o gleifion sy'n dechrau eu triniaeth gyntaf ar gyfer canser o fewn targed Llywodraeth Cymru, o'i gymharu â 67.9 y cant ym mis Ebrill 2021. Mae mynediad i driniaeth cyn gynted â phosibl yn gwbl hanfodol er mwyn cynyddu siawns dioddefwyr canser o oroesi. Gweinidog, mae'n hanfodol bod pecyn cymorth cadarn a brys, gan gynnwys strategaeth canser lawn, a strategaeth y gweithlu, yn cael ei weithredu cyn gynted â phosibl.
Thank you. You will have heard the First Minister clarify the reasons why we have the rapid diagnostic centres, and how many are already up and functioning to help with the very difficult situation that you have just presented.
Diolch. Byddwch wedi clywed y Prif Weinidog yn egluro'r rhesymau pam y mae'r canolfannau diagnosis cyflym gennym ni, a faint sydd eisoes ar waith i helpu gyda'r sefyllfa anodd iawn yr ydych chi newydd ei chyflwyno.
I'd like to ask for a debate in Government time about how the UK Government's assault on human rights will impact on people in Wales, as well as Welsh policy and legislation. I welcome the written statement from the Counsel General last week. He said that there'd been very little engagement with the Welsh Government about the UK Government's plans to dilute the influence of the European convention on human rights. We know that the UK Government wants to make it easier for themselves when they carry out cruel and shameful policies like shipping off asylum seekers to Rwanda, to make it easier for them to ignore what is morally right in order to achieve what is politically expedient. We need a debate, Trefnydd, please, to scrutinise how this will impact on Welsh legislation and Government programmes, given the Cwnsler Cyffredinol has said that human rights is fundamental to the devolution settlement. I want to know how the Welsh Government plans to protect the rights of Welsh citizens if the UK Government does plough ahead without the Senedd's consent. I would welcome a debate, please, so that we can discuss these hugely important matters. Thank you.
Hoffwn ofyn am ddadl yn amser y Llywodraeth ynghylch sut y bydd ymosodiad Llywodraeth y DU ar hawliau dynol yn effeithio ar bobl yng Nghymru, yn ogystal â pholisi a deddfwriaeth Cymru. Rwy'n croesawu'r datganiad ysgrifenedig gan y Cwnsler Cyffredinol yr wythnos diwethaf. Dywedodd mai ychydig iawn o ymgysylltu a fu â Llywodraeth Cymru ynglŷn â chynlluniau Llywodraeth y DU i wanhau dylanwad y confensiwn Ewropeaidd ar hawliau dynol. Gwyddom fod Llywodraeth y DU am ei gwneud yn haws iddyn nhw eu hunain pan fyddan nhw'n cyflawni polisïau creulon a chywilyddus fel cludo ceiswyr lloches i Rwanda, i'w gwneud yn haws iddyn nhw anwybyddu'r hyn sy'n foesol gywir er mwyn cyflawni'r hyn sy'n wleidyddol hwylus. Mae arnom angen dadl, Trefnydd, os gwelwch yn dda, i graffu ar sut y bydd hyn yn effeithio ar ddeddfwriaeth Cymru a rhaglenni'r Llywodraeth, o gofio bod y Cwnsler Cyffredinol wedi dweud bod hawliau dynol yn hanfodol i'r setliad datganoli. Hoffwn wybod sut y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn bwriadu diogelu hawliau dinasyddion Cymru os bydd Llywodraeth y DU yn bwrw ymlaen heb ganiatâd y Senedd. Byddwn yn croesawu dadl, os gwelwch yn dda, fel y gallwn drafod y materion hynod bwysig hyn. Diolch.
Thank you. As you say, the Counsel General did publish a written statement last week. He is working very closely to make sure that we are fully aware of the UK Government's plans, and I'm sure that, when there is further information to come forward, he will update Members.
Diolch. Fel y dywedwch chi, cyhoeddodd y Cwnsler Cyffredinol ddatganiad ysgrifenedig yr wythnos diwethaf. Mae'n gweithio'n agos iawn i sicrhau ein bod yn gwbl ymwybodol o gynlluniau Llywodraeth y DU, ac rwy'n siŵr, pan fydd rhagor o wybodaeth i'w chyflwyno, y bydd yn rhoi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i'r Aelodau.
I would like to request a Welsh Government statement on pollution. In Swansea East, the River Tawe suffers from sewage being regularly released from the Trebanos pumping station. Further into the constituency, we have plastic being burned off wire and the pollution attached to that. We have pesticides polluting soil and rivers. Finally, we have nitrogen oxides from cars along the main roads. I'm sure this is replicated across Wales. A Government statement on the problems that exist and what actions are going to be taken will be most welcome.
Hoffwn ofyn am ddatganiad gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar lygredd. Yn Nwyrain Abertawe, mae Afon Tawe yn dioddef o garthion sy'n cael eu rhyddhau'n rheolaidd o orsaf bwmpio Trebannws. Ymhellach i mewn i'r etholaeth, mae gennym blastig yn cael ei losgi oddi ar wifren a'r llygredd sy'n gysylltiedig â hynny. Mae gennym blaladdwyr sy'n llygru pridd ac afonydd. Yn olaf, mae gennym ocsidiau nitrogen a ddaw o geir ar hyd y prif ffyrdd. Rwy'n siŵr bod hyn yn cael ei ailadrodd ledled Cymru. Bydd datganiad gan y Llywodraeth ar y problemau sy'n bodoli a pha gamau sydd i'w cymryd i'w croesawu'n fawr.
Thank you. I do understand that Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water have been investigating high-spilling combined overflows in the River Tawe as part of their storm overflow assessment framework investigations, and that they are investing significant funding—I think it's over £100 million—to upgrade their wastewater management network. Also, Natural Resources Wales and Swansea Council have been working on reducing domestic misconnections, which is where households or businesses incorrectly connect their sewage systems to the main sewer network. That's, obviously, in collaboration with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water as well.
Diolch. Rwy'n deall fod Dŵr Cymru wedi bod yn ymchwilio i orlifoedd cyfunol sy'n gollwng llawer yn Afon Tawe fel rhan o'u hymchwiliadau i fframwaith asesu gorlif stormydd, a'u bod yn buddsoddi cyllid sylweddol—rwy'n credu ei fod dros £100 miliwn—i uwchraddio eu rhwydwaith rheoli gwastraff. Hefyd, mae Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru a Chyngor Abertawe wedi bod yn gweithio ar leihau camgysylltiadau domestig, lle mae cartrefi neu fusnesau yn cysylltu eu systemau carthion yn anghywir â'r prif rwydwaith carthffosydd. Mae hynny, yn amlwg, mewn cydweithrediad â Dŵr Cymru hefyd.
Could I have two statements, please, Trefnydd? One is on long COVID. It's estimated that, in the UK, around 30 per cent of those who contracted COVID-19 now suffer with long COVID. In fact, I've been actually approached in my office recently by a number of people who are very concerned because they can't find services. In my own health board, Betsi Cadwaladr, they've promised to provide a range of support and clinical interventions, individually tailored to patient needs. However, when you go on the website, it's warning that they have a waiting list due to large numbers of referrals. So, could you arrange for the Minister for Health and Social Services to provide a statement on what access to long COVID treatment is available in each health board separately?
My number two is: during the fabulous Llanrwst Show on Saturday, which saw thousands of people there, I was actually pleased to meet up, as always, with our farmers and the Farmers Union of Wales. However, they did raise serious concerns with me and other colleagues here today about the operational costs of farms and the fact that energy prices—[Interruption.] Can I just ask my question, Member?
A gaf i ddau ddatganiad, os gwelwch yn dda, Trefnydd? Mae un ar COVID hir. Amcangyfrifir bod tua 30 y cant o'r rhai a gafodd COVID-19 yn y DU bellach yn dioddef o COVID-19 hir. Yn wir, mae nifer o bobl sy'n bryderus iawn wedi cysylltu â mi yn fy swyddfa'n ddiweddar oherwydd na allan nhw ddod o hyd i wasanaethau. Yn fy mwrdd iechyd fy hun, Betsi Cadwaladr, maen nhw wedi addo darparu ystod o gymorth ac ymyriadau clinigol, wedi'u teilwra'n unigol i anghenion cleifion. Fodd bynnag, pan fyddwch yn mynd ar y wefan, mae'n rhybuddio bod ganddyn nhw restr aros oherwydd nifer fawr o atgyfeiriadau. Felly, a wnewch chi drefnu bod y Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol yn darparu datganiad ar ba fynediad i driniaeth COVID hir sydd ar gael ym mhob bwrdd iechyd ar wahân?
Fy rhif dau yw: yn ystod Sioe Llanrwst wych ddydd Sadwrn, a welodd filoedd o bobl yno, roeddwn yn falch o gyfarfod, fel bob amser, â'n ffermwyr ac Undeb Amaethwyr Cymru. Fodd bynnag, fe wnaethon nhw godi pryderon difrifol gyda mi a chydweithwyr eraill yma heddiw ynghylch costau gweithredol ffermydd a'r ffaith bod prisiau ynni—[Torri ar draws.] A gaf i ofyn fy nghwestiwn, Aelod?
Yes, ask your question, Janet Finch-Saunders.
Ie, gofynnwch eich cwestiwn, Janet Finch-Saunders.
Fertiliser, fuel and, of course, fodder prices are increasing, and they're very worried that, over the winter, there may be a tremendous fodder shortage. So, what support and what dialogue is coming from this Welsh Government for our farmers, who are very clearly worried—[Interruption.] It sounds like I have an echo—about this? Thank you.
Mae prisiau gwrtaith, tanwydd ac, wrth gwrs, porthiant yn cynyddu, ac maen nhw'n poeni'n fawr y gallai fod prinder porthiant aruthrol dros y gaeaf. Felly, pa gefnogaeth a pha ddeialog sy'n dod gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer ein ffermwyr, sy'n amlwg yn poeni—[Torri ar draws.] Mae'n swnio fel bod gennyf adlais—am hyn? Diolch.
Thank you. Regarding your first question, around long COVID, you'll be aware that there are long COVID clinics, and resources have been made available to health boards in relation to this. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my file, but I was reading this morning that the Minister for Health and Social Services has ensured there was a six-month review around long COVID clinics, and over 80 per cent of people felt they'd gained great benefit from that.
I'm very well aware, obviously, of the concerns within the farming and agricultural sector around operational costs. Fuel, food and fertilisers have increased in price hugely over the past few months. With my portfolio hat on, I have met with my counterparts from right across the UK. Victoria Prentis is the Minister of State who is leading the cost-of-living crisis within our portfolio. Unfortunately, we have asked to meet her much more regularly than we have. I think we've only met twice. But I do continue to have—. Because it is the UK Government that has the levers to do something in this area. However, you'll be aware that I have opened some windows around schemes, particularly around nutrient management, for instance, which will help our farmers in the short term.
Diolch. O ran eich cwestiwn cyntaf, ynghylch COVID hir, byddwch yn ymwybodol bod clinigau COVID hir, a bod adnoddau ar gael i fyrddau iechyd mewn cysylltiad â hyn. Yn anffodus, ni allaf ddod o hyd iddo yn fy ffeil, ond yr oeddwn yn darllen y bore yma fod y Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol wedi sicrhau bod adolygiad chwe mis ynghylch clinigau COVID hir wedi ei gynnal, a bod dros 80 y cant o bobl yn teimlo eu bod wedi cael budd mawr o hynny.
Rwy'n ymwybodol iawn, yn amlwg, o'r pryderon yn y sector ffermio ac amaethyddol ynghylch costau gweithredol. Mae tanwydd, bwyd a gwrteithiau wedi cynyddu'n aruthrol mewn pris dros y misoedd diwethaf. Gan wisgo fy het portffolio, rwyf wedi cyfarfod â fy nghymheiriaid o bob rhan o'r DU. Victoria Prentis yw'r Gweinidog Gwladol sy'n arwain yr argyfwng costau byw o fewn ein portffolio. Yn anffodus, rydym wedi gofyn am gael cyfarfod â hi'n llawer mwy rheolaidd nag a gawsom ni. Rwy'n credu mai dim ond dwywaith yr ydym ni wedi cwrdd. Ond rwy'n dal i gael—. Oherwydd Llywodraeth y DU sydd â'r grymoedd i wneud rhywbeth yn y maes hwn. Fodd bynnag, byddwch yn ymwybodol fy mod wedi agor rhai ffenestri ynghylch cynlluniau, yn enwedig o ran rheoli maethynnau, er enghraifft, a fydd yn helpu ein ffermwyr yn y tymor byr.
I also would like to hear a statement from you as rural affairs Minister, so that we can really get to grips with some of the issues that we've already heard about in relation to, particularly, animal feed. The Welsh Government really needs to be proactive. I hear what you're saying in terms of it being a UK Government thing, and they primarily have the levers to effect real change, but just look at what's happening in Ireland. The Irish Government, in March, announced a €12 million crop-growing scheme, and it's a return to a wartime tillage programme, which was last utilised during the second world war. So, that's the scale of the crisis that Welsh farming is facing, and not just in an economic sense, but more so in relation to animal welfare. And we need that plan now, because, when that crisis hits in winter, it will be too late. So, we really need to see the Welsh Government being proactive.
Another example is that, back in 2018, I'm sure you'll recall, the Irish Government introduced a fodder import scheme to make sure that there was plenty of food for their animals. There have been calls particularly for greater flexibility around Glastir to allow our farmers to get more fodder into the ground. I'd really like to know what your thinking is around that, because that is very much in your gift. That's not a UK Government thing. So, we need to know what the plan is, because if there is no plan, then there will be a crisis when winter hits.
Hoffwn i hefyd glywed datganiad gennych chi fel Gweinidog materion gwledig, fel y gallwn fynd i'r afael yn wirioneddol â rhai o'r materion yr ydym eisoes wedi clywed amdanyn nhw mewn cysylltiad â phorthiant anifeiliaid, yn enwedig. Mae gwir angen i Lywodraeth Cymru fod yn rhagweithiol. Clywaf yr hyn yr ydych yn ei ddweud o ran ei fod yn beth i Lywodraeth y DU, ac mai ganddyn nhw yn bennaf y mae'r ysgogiadau i sicrhau newid gwirioneddol, ond edrychwch ar yr hyn sy'n digwydd yn Iwerddon. Ym mis Mawrth, cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Iwerddon gynllun tyfu cnydau gwerth €12 miliwn, ac mae'n dychwelyd at raglen trin tir o gyfnod y rhyfel, a ddefnyddiwyd ddiwethaf yn ystod yr ail ryfel byd. Felly, dyna yw maint yr argyfwng y mae ffermio yng Nghymru yn ei wynebu, ac nid mewn ystyr economaidd yn unig, ond yn fwy felly o ran llesiant anifeiliaid. Ac mae angen y cynllun hwnnw arnom yn awr, oherwydd, pan fydd yr argyfwng hwnnw'n taro yn y gaeaf, bydd yn rhy hwyr. Felly, mae gwir angen i Lywodraeth Cymru fod yn rhagweithiol.
Enghraifft arall yw, yn ôl yn 2018, rwy'n siŵr y cofiwch chi, roedd Llywodraeth Iwerddon wedi cyflwyno cynllun mewnforio porthiant i sicrhau bod digon o fwyd ar gael i'w hanifeiliaid. Mae galwadau wedi bod yn arbennig am fwy o hyblygrwydd o ran Glastir i ganiatáu i'n ffermwyr gael mwy o borthiant i'r ddaear. Hoffwn wybod beth yw eich barn am hynny, oherwydd mae hynny'n wir o fewn eich pwerau. Nid yw hynny'n beth i Lywodraeth y DU. Felly, mae angen i ni wybod beth yw'r cynllun, oherwydd os nad oes cynllun, yna bydd argyfwng pan fydd y gaeaf yn dod.
Yn wyneb y cynnydd rydym ni yn ei weld ar hyn o bryd yn achosion COVID, mae mwy a mwy o ofid nawr ein bod ni'n gweld rhagor o wastraff, o safbwynt y masgiau wyneb mae pobl yn eu defnyddio'n gynyddol, a byddwn i'n leicio gwybod beth ydych chi, fel Llywodraeth, yn mynd i'w wneud i addysgu pobl ynglŷn â sut mae gwaredu'r masgiau yna mewn modd cyfrifol. Rydym ni'n cofio sut welsom ni nhw yn ein hamgylchedd ni, ym mhob man, yn ystod y cyfnod pan oedd y pandemig ar ei waethaf. Nawr, wrth gwrs, gyda'r defnydd o fasgiau yn cael ei normaleiddio fwy yn yr hirdymor, rwy'n credu bod yna ddarn o waith sydd angen ei wneud i sicrhau bod y broblem yna yn cael ei thaclo. Felly, byddwn i hefyd yn gofyn am ddatganiad i esbonio sut mae'r Llywodraeth yn mynd i fynd i'r afael â hynny. Diolch.
In light of the increase that we're seeing in COVID cases, there is now growing concern that we are seeing more waste, in terms of the increasing use of face masks, and I would like to know what you, as a Government, are going to do to educate people on how to dispose of those masks in a responsible way. We remember how we saw them in our environment, all over the place, during the height of the pandemic. Now, of course, with mask use being normalised more for the longer term, I think there's a piece of work that needs to be done in order to ensure that that problem is tackled. So, I'd also ask for a statement to explain how the Government is going to tackle that issue. Thank you.
Thank you. I think we have been very proactive. You'll be aware that back in March, I think, I announced an additional £237 million over the next three years, specifically around schemes to help our farmers become much more productive and competitive. I mentioned the nutrient management scheme; I think the window is still open for that. I've announced a variety of schemes and there are more to come. There's the sustainable farming scheme, and I have committed to publishing the outline scheme ahead of the summer shows, so that we can have that engagement. These are all things that will help our farmers with the cost-of-living crisis. But, I'm sorry, it does remain with the UK Government, who do hold the majority of those levers, to make sure that that support is provided. I agree with what you're saying, that it could be an animal health and welfare issue as well, and that is something that we've looked at very closely, as we've looked at what schemes we bring forward. We're constantly looking at what flexibility we can have.
In relation to your question around face masks, I think you're absolutely right. Nothing infuriated me more—you'd go into the supermarket car park and there would be disposable masks all over the floor. I know that the Minister for Climate Change—. I think there was a social media campaign to encourage more people to think much more carefully about how they dispose of those masks.
Diolch. Rwy'n credu y buom ni'n rhagweithiol iawn. Byddwch yn ymwybodol i mi gyhoeddi £237 miliwn yn ychwanegol dros y tair blynedd nesaf, yn ôl ym mis Mawrth, yn fy marn i, yn benodol ynghylch cynlluniau i helpu ein ffermwyr i ddod yn llawer mwy cynhyrchiol a chystadleuol. Soniais am y cynllun rheoli maethynnau; rwy'n credu bod y ffenestr yn dal ar agor ar gyfer hynny. Rwyf wedi cyhoeddi amrywiaeth o gynlluniau ac mae mwy i ddod. Mae'r cynllun ffermio cynaliadwy ar gael, ac rwyf wedi ymrwymo i gyhoeddi'r cynllun amlinellol cyn sioeau'r haf, fel y gallwn gael yr ymgysylltiad hwnnw. Mae'r rhain i gyd yn bethau a fydd yn helpu ein ffermwyr gyda'r argyfwng costau byw. Ond, mae'n ddrwg gennyf, mae'n aros yn nwylo Llywodraeth y DU, sy'n dal y rhan fwyaf o'r dulliau hynny, i sicrhau bod y cymorth hwnnw'n cael ei ddarparu. Cytunaf â'r hyn yr ydych yn ei ddweud, y gallai fod yn fater iechyd a llesiant anifeiliaid hefyd, ac mae hynny'n rhywbeth yr ydym ni wedi edrych arno'n fanwl iawn, gan ein bod wedi edrych ar ba gynlluniau a gyflwynwn. Rydym yn edrych yn gyson ar ba hyblygrwydd a fydd gennym.
O ran eich cwestiwn ynghylch masgiau wyneb, rwy'n credu eich bod yn llygad eich lle. Nid oedd dim yn fy ngwylltio i fwy—byddech yn mynd i faes parcio'r archfarchnad a byddai masgiau untro ar hyd y llawr. Gwn fod y Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd—. Rwy'n credu bod ymgyrch ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol i annog mwy o bobl i feddwl yn llawer mwy gofalus am y ffordd y maen nhw'n cael gwared ar y masgiau hynny.
Could I ask for a statement, Minister, from the health Minister on the care provided to teenage cancer patients? I was contacted last week by the family of a teenager, an 18-year-old young woman in Blaenau Gwent, who is undergoing some very distressing treatment for cancer at the moment. It is clear, from the treatment that she has received, that there is a structural issue within the national health service, where young people undergoing some very, very significant and difficult treatment do not have access to the care they require. She has been taken to A&E units in different parts of south Wales, where she has not received the treatment she has required. There seems to be a break in the linkage between Velindre and individual hospitals, and the consequence is that the treatment, which is distressing enough, is further distressed and compounded by these matters for her and her family. We all know—those of us who are parents will understand—that there's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a child in this situation. I've contacted the health Minister and asked for a meeting on this specific issue, but I do believe that the Government should also bring forward a statement on this matter so that we can all be reassured, in whichever constituency we represent, that young people receiving this treatment will have the treatment they require at times and in places they require to have it.
A gaf i ofyn am ddatganiad, Gweinidog, gan y Gweinidog iechyd am y gofal a ddarperir i gleifion canser yn eu harddegau? Cysylltodd teulu merch yn ei harddegau â mi yr wythnos diwethaf, menyw ifanc 18 oed ym Mlaenau Gwent, sy'n cael triniaeth ofidus iawn am ganser ar hyn o bryd. Mae'n amlwg, o'r driniaeth y mae wedi'i chael, fod problem strwythurol yn y gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol, pan nad yw pobl ifanc sy'n cael triniaeth sylweddol ac anodd iawn yn gallu cael mynediad i'r gofal sydd ei angen arnyn nhw. Mae wedi cael ei chludo i unedau damweiniau ac achosion brys mewn gwahanol rannau o'r de, lle nad yw wedi cael y driniaeth y mae ei hangen arni. Mae'n ymddangos bod toriad yn y cysylltiad rhwng Felindre ac ysbytai unigol, a'r canlyniad yw bod y driniaeth, sy'n ddigon gofidus, yn cael ei gwneud yn fwy gofidus a'i dwysáu ymhellach gan y materion hyn iddi hi a'i theulu. Gwyddom i gyd—bydd y rheini ohonom sy'n rhieni'n deall—nad oes dim byd mwy torcalonnus na gweld plentyn yn y sefyllfa hon. Rwyf wedi cysylltu â'r Gweinidog iechyd ac wedi gofyn am gyfarfod ar y mater penodol hwn, ond credaf y dylai'r Llywodraeth hefyd gyflwyno datganiad ar y mater hwn fel y gallwn ni i gyd fod yn dawel ein meddwl, ym mha bynnag etholaeth yr ydym yn ei chynrychioli, y bydd pobl ifanc sy'n cael y driniaeth hon yn cael y driniaeth y mae arnyn nhw ei hangen ac ar adegau ac yn y mannau y mae eu hangen arnyn nhw.
Thank you. Well, it is absolutely paramount that a patient receives the right treatment in the right place at the right time, and you've clearly outlined a very distressing case. You say that you've asked the Minister for Health and Social Services for a meeting, and I think, probably following that meeting, if the Minister feels that she should make a wider statement to Members, she will do so.
Diolch i chi. Wel, mae hi'n gwbl hanfodol fod claf yn derbyn y driniaeth briodol yn y lleoliad priodol ar yr amser priodol, ac rydych chi wedi amlinellu achos gofidus iawn yn eglur. Rydych chi'n dweud eich bod chi wedi gofyn i'r Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol am gyfarfod, ac rwy'n credu, yn dilyn y cyfarfod hwnnw mae'n debyg, pe byddai'r Gweinidog yn teimlo y dylai hi wneud datganiad pellach i'r Aelodau, y bydd hi'n gwneud felly.
Ac yn olaf, Tom Giffard.
And finally, Tom Giffard.
Diolch, Llywydd. Trefnydd, can I ask for a statement from either the Minister for Climate Change or the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport as to how sporting facilities are protected during the planning process? As the Wimbledon tennis tournament begins, it's the time of year that people often start to pick up their rackets and get involved in tennis. However, in Porthcawl, a new planning development, which will see 900 extra houses being built, will see the town lose its only tennis court as a new road is being built through the middle of it. Whilst the council have promised that new tennis facilities will be built, they've not specified where this will be or how long this will take, which could mean the town could be without tennis courts for years, which would be a bitter blow to local tennis stars of the future there. So, I ask for statement, please, from either the Minister for Climate Change or the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport to see how they work alongside the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to ensure that sporting facilities are protected or, indeed, enhanced in the planning process.
Diolch, Llywydd. Trefnydd, a gaf i ofyn am ddatganiad gan y Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd neu'r Dirprwy Weinidog Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon ynghylch sut y caiff cyfleusterau chwaraeon eu hamddiffyn yn ystod y broses gynllunio? Wrth i bencampwriaeth tenis Wimbledon ddechrau, hon yw'r adeg o'r flwyddyn y bydd pobl yn aml yn dechrau gafael yn eu racedi nhw a chwarae tenis eu hunain. Er hynny, ym Mhorthcawl, fe fydd datblygiad cynllunio newydd, a fydd yn gweld 900 o dai ychwanegol yn cael eu hadeiladu, yn golygu bod y dref yn colli ei hunig gwrt tenis wrth i ffordd newydd gael ei hadeiladu drwy ganol y datblygiad. Er bod y cyngor wedi addo y bydd cyfleusterau tenis newydd yn cael eu hadeiladu, nid yw'r cyngor wedi nodi'r safle ar eu cyfer nhw na pha mor hir y bydd hynny'n ei gymryd, ac fe allai hynny olygu y bydd y dref heb gwrt tenis am flynyddoedd, ac fe fyddai honno'n ergyd drom i sêr tenis lleol y dyfodol. Felly, rwy'n gofyn am ddatganiad, os gwelwch chi'n dda, gan naill ai'r Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd neu'r Dirprwy Weinidog Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon i weld sut y maen nhw'n gweithio ochr yn ochr â Deddf Llesiant Cenedlaethau'r Dyfodol (Cymru) 2015 i sicrhau bod cyfleusterau chwaraeon yn cael eu hamddiffyn neu, yn wir, eu gwella yn ystod y broses gynllunio.
Thank you. You refer to something that's obviously in the gift of the local authority, and I would suggest you write to the local authority. You seem to be a bit unbelieving of the timescale they've given to you, and I would advise you to write to the local authority in the first instance.
Diolch i chi. Rydych chi'n cyfeirio at rywbeth sy'n amlwg yn llaw'r awdurdod lleol, ac fe fyddwn i'n awgrymu eich bod chi'n ysgrifennu at yr awdurdod lleol. Mae hi'n ymddangos eich bod chi braidd yn amheus o ran yr amserlen a gawsoch chi ganddyn nhw, ac fe fyddwn i'n eich cynghori chi i ysgrifennu at yr awdurdod lleol i ddechrau.
Diolch i'r Trefnydd.
I thank the Trefnydd.
Yr eitem nesaf, felly, yw'r datganiad gan y Gweinidog Cyfiawnder Cymdeithasol ar gynllun peilot incwm sylfaenol ar gyfer pobl sy'n gadael gofal. Rwy'n galw ar y Gweinidog i wneud y datganiad—Jane Hutt.
The next item is the statement by the Minister for Social Justice on the basic income for care leavers pilot. I call on the Minister to make the statement—Jane Hutt.
Diolch, Llywydd. In February this year, I announced the Welsh Government’s intention to develop and deliver a basic income pilot for care leavers in Wales. Today, I'm pleased to confirm that the pilot will begin on 1 July 2022 and run for a total of three years. During this time, we will test the stated benefits of basic income, such as improving health and financial well-being, and strengthening the opportunities and life chances of individuals. Basic income is a direct investment in these young people and their futures.
Over 500 young people leaving care who turn 18 between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 will be eligible to receive 24 monthly payments at a value of £1,600 per month pre tax, starting the month after their eighteenth birthday. This means, for example, that if a young person leaving care turns 18 in July this year, they will receive a payment of £1,280 in August and will continue to receive this payment on a monthly basis until July 2024, subject to any changes in the basic rate of income tax. In line with feedback and advice from our local authority partners, participants in the pilot can choose whether to receive this payment either monthly or twice monthly. This is in alignment with the current universal credit system. Participation in the pilot is non-compulsory and, for those that do participate, will be unconditional. Any participation in additional support or evaluation will be on a voluntary basis.
Since my announcement in February, we have considered a range of options for each element of delivery. Following engagement with care-experienced young people and the practitioners who work with them, it's clear the most effective and appropriate approach to delivery will be to separate responsibility for different aspects of the pilot to different agencies. I will outline the approach we will take today.
Diolch, Llywydd. Ym mis Chwefror eleni, fe gyhoeddais i fwriad Llywodraeth Cymru i ddatblygu a darparu cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol ar gyfer y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru. Heddiw, rwy'n falch o gadarnhau y bydd y cynllun treialu hwnnw'n dechrau ar 1 Gorffennaf 2022 ac yn rhedeg am dair blynedd i gyd. Yn ystod y cyfnod hwn, rydym ni am roi prawf ar fanteision datganedig incwm sylfaenol, megis gwella iechyd a llesiant ariannol, ac atgyfnerthu cyfleoedd a chyfleoedd bywyd unigolion. Mae incwm sylfaenol yn fuddsoddiad uniongyrchol yn y bobl ifanc hyn a'u dyfodol nhw.
Bydd dros 500 o bobl ifanc sy'n gadael gofal ac yn troi'n 18 oed rhwng 1 Gorffennaf 2022 a 30 Mehefin 2023 yn gymwys i dderbyn 24 o daliadau misol gwerth £1,600 y mis cyn treth, gan ddechrau'r mis ar ôl eu pen-blwydd yn 18 oed. Mae hyn yn golygu, er enghraifft, os bydd unigolyn ifanc sy'n gadael gofal yn troi'n 18 oed ym mis Gorffennaf eleni, fe fydd yn cael taliad o £1,280 ym mis Awst ac fe fydd yn parhau i gael y taliad hwnnw'n fisol tan fis Gorffennaf 2024, yn amodol ar unrhyw newidiadau yng nghyfradd sylfaenol y dreth incwm. Yn unol ag adborth a chyngor gan ein partneriaid ni yn yr awdurdod lleol, fe all cyfranogwyr yn y cynllun treialu ddewis a ydyn nhw am gael y taliad hwn naill ai'n fisol neu ddwywaith y mis. Mae hyn yn cyd-fynd â'r system credyd cynhwysol bresennol. Nid yw hi'n orfodol i gymryd rhan yn y cynllun treialu ac, i'r rhai sy'n cymryd rhan, fe fydd hynny'n ddiamod. Bydd unrhyw gyfranogiad o ran cymorth neu werthusiad ychwanegol yn wirfoddol.
Ers fy nghyhoeddiad i ym mis Chwefror, rydym ni wedi ystyried amrywiaeth o ddewisiadau ar gyfer pob elfen o'r cyflawniad. Wedi ymgysylltu â phobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal a'r ymarferwyr sy'n gweithio gyda nhw, mae hi'n amlwg mai'r dull mwyaf effeithiol a phriodol o gyflawni hyn fydd gwahanu'r cyfrifoldebau am wahanol agweddau ar y cynllun treialu i wahanol asiantaethau. Rwyf i am amlinellu ein dull o weithredu ni heddiw.
Daeth y Dirprwy Lywydd (David Rees) i’r Gadair.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.
In line with their corporate parenting responsibilities, Welsh local authorities will play a critical role in delivering the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot. They will act as a first point of contact for the recipients of the basic income and will be responsible for guiding the young people in their care through the pilot. They will escalate issues and highlight any implementation challenges of the scheme to the Welsh Government, and provide a link to recipients for researchers and national policy leads for the purposes of evaluation and monitoring. The Welsh Government will provide the national policy direction for all aspects of the pilot and provide guidance to support equitable delivery across Wales. We will be the central point of contact for all those involved with managing, delivering and evaluating the pilot, and we'll respond to feedback accordingly, with updates to policy, delivery and guidance as necessary.
Payments to participants will be made through an external provider procured under an existing procurement framework. Using a single payment provider ensures a consistent and efficient system that provides the same service to all recipients of the basic income. It will also provide a single point of contact for all participants in relation to payments of basic income. The pilot is not only about supplying money to recipients; it's vital that, before choosing to participate, care leavers are supported to make informed decisions about their finances and their futures. We know local authorities already provide a range of support to care-experienced young people as part of their statutory obligations as a corporate parent. The care leavers we've been engaging with were clear that all young people eligible to take part in the pilot should be offered access to consistent, independent, quality-assured financial advice and support throughout their engagement in the pilot. We've therefore developed a package of financial advice and support for care leavers who are taking part in this pilot that expands the Welsh Government's single advice fund grant agreement, currently held by Citizens Advice Cymru. The service will provide direct advice to young people and also second-tier advice support to local authority professionals working with young people. This will include advice at all stages, from working through a pre-pilot better-off calculation to budgeting advice or financial crisis support. Care leavers will be able to access impartial advice tailored to their individual circumstances, and a single lead organisation will ensure consistency of service delivery throughout Wales. In addition to the individual financial advice provided to recipients of the basic income, we're working with other organisations, such as Voices from Care Cymru and the UK Government Money and Pensions Service, to deliver more holistic advice around money management, education, training and well-being. Recipients will be signposted to these opportunities via their young persons advisers and other support services.
Capturing the voice and experience of the young people taking part in this pilot will be critical to its success. We will work with them throughout to contribute to our dynamic evaluation and ensure lived experiences are central to its outcomes. The evaluation will consider the impact of the pilot in terms of improvements in the experiences of individual care and how being part of the pilot has affected young people's lives. Regular feedback from recipients will ensure an evaluation that provides emergent themes on participant experiences and supports improvement to the pilot as it's rolled out.
Through this pilot, we want to build on the existing support offered to care-experienced children in Wales and ensure young people who take part get all they need to give them the best possible chance to make their way in life and make the transition out of care better, easier and more positive. The focus will be to create independence from services rather than dependence on services as they enter adulthood. We will work with stakeholders, recipients and our evaluation team to monitor the progress of the pilot and make changes where necessary, and I'll pleased to continue to share our experiences and outcomes as this important work develops. Diolch.
Yn unol â'u cyfrifoldebau nhw o ran rhianta corfforaethol, bydd awdurdodau lleol Cymru â rhan hanfodol yn y gwaith o ddarparu'r cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol ar gyfer y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru. Fe fyddan nhw'n gweithredu fel pwynt cyswllt dechreuol ar gyfer derbynyddion sy'n cael yr incwm sylfaenol ac fe fyddan nhw'n gyfrifol am arwain y bobl ifanc sydd yn eu gofal nhw drwy'r cynllun treialu. Fe fyddan nhw'n uwchgyfeirio materion ac yn tynnu sylw Llywodraeth Cymru at unrhyw heriau o ran gweithrediad y cynllun, ac yn darparu cyswllt â derbynyddion ar gyfer ymchwilwyr ac arweinwyr polisi cenedlaethol at ddibenion gwerthuso a monitro. Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn rhoi cyfeiriad i'r polisi cenedlaethol ar gyfer pob agwedd ar y cynllun treialu ac yn rhoi canllawiau i gefnogi darpariaeth deg ledled Cymru. Ni fydd y pwynt cyswllt canolog ar gyfer pawb sy'n ymwneud â rheolaeth, cyflwyniad a gwerthuso'r cynllun treialu, ac fe fyddwn ni'n ymateb i adborth yn unol â hynny, gyda diweddariadau i'r polisi, y ddarpariaeth a'r canllawiau yn ôl yr angen.
Darparwr allanol a fydd yn gwneud taliadau i'r cyfranogwyr ac fe gaiff hwnnw ei gaffael gan ddefnyddio fframwaith sy'n bodoli eisoes ar gyfer caffael. Mae defnyddio darparwr taliad sengl yn sicrhau system gyson ac effeithlon sy'n darparu'r un gwasanaeth i bawb sy'n cael yr incwm sylfaenol. Bydd hwnnw hefyd yn golygu un pwynt cyswllt ar gyfer pob cyfranogwr o ran talu incwm sylfaenol. Mae'r cynllun treialu nid yn unig yn ymwneud â chyflenwi arian i dderbynyddion; mae hi'n hanfodol, cyn dewis cymryd rhan, bod y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn cael eu cefnogi i wneud penderfyniadau deallus am eu cyllid a'u dyfodol nhw. Fe wyddom ni fod awdurdodau lleol yn darparu ystod o gymorth i bobl ifanc â phrofiad o ofal eisoes fel rhan o'u rhwymedigaethau statudol yn rhiant corfforaethol. Roedd y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yr ydym ni wedi bod yn ymgysylltu â nhw'n mynegi yn eglur y dylai'r holl bobl ifanc sy'n gymwys i fod â rhan yn y cynllun treialu gael cynnig o gyngor a chymorth ariannol sy'n gyson, annibynnol a chadarn o ran ansawdd drwy gydol eu hymgysylltiad nhw â'r cynllun. Felly, rydym ni wedi datblygu pecyn o gyngor a chymorth ariannol i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal sy'n cymryd rhan yn y cynllun treialu hwn a fydd yn ehangu ar gytundeb grant cronfa gynghori sengl Llywodraeth Cymru, sydd ar hyn o bryd yng ngofal Cyngor ar Bopeth Cymru. Fe fydd y gwasanaeth yn rhoi cyngor uniongyrchol i bobl ifanc ac yn rhoi cymorth cyngor ail haen hefyd i weithwyr proffesiynol yr awdurdodau lleol sy'n gweithio gyda phobl ifanc. Fe fydd hynny'n cynnwys cyngor ar bob cam, o weithio drwy gyfrifiad o ba mor fuddiol fyddai hyn cyn y cynllun treialu hyd at gyngor o ran cyllidebu neu gymorth gydag argyfwng ariannol. Fe fydd y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn gallu cael gafael ar gyngor diduedd wedi'i deilwra i'w hamgylchiadau unigol nhw, a bydd un sefydliad arweiniol yn sicrhau cysondeb wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau ledled Cymru. Yn ogystal â'r cyngor ariannol unigol a roddir i dderbynyddion yr incwm sylfaenol, rydym ni'n gweithio gyda sefydliadau eraill, megis Voices from Care Cymru a Gwasanaeth Arian a Phensiynau Llywodraeth y DU, i roi cyngor mwy cyfannol ynghylch rheoli arian, addysg, hyfforddiant a llesiant. Bydd derbynyddion yn cael eu cyfeirio at y cyfleoedd hyn drwy eu cynghorwyr pobl ifanc a gwasanaethau cymorth eraill.
Bydd cael clywed llais a chael cipolwg ar brofiad y bobl ifanc sy'n cymryd rhan yn y cynllun treialu hwn yn hanfodol i'w lwyddiant. Fe fyddwn ni'n gweithio gyda nhw drwy'r cyfan i gyd i gyfrannu at ein gwerthusiad deinamig ni a sicrhau bod profiadau'r rhai sy'n byw drwyddo yn ganolog i'w ganlyniadau. Bydd y gwerthusiad yn ystyried effaith y cynllun treialu o ran gwelliannau ym mhrofiadau gofal unigol a sut mae bod yn rhan o'r cynllun wedi effeithio ar fywydau pobl ifanc. Bydd adborth rheolaidd gan dderbynyddion yn sicrhau gwerthusiad sy'n darparu themâu sy'n dod i'r amlwg ar brofiadau cyfranogwyr ac yn cefnogi gwelliant i'r cynllun treialu wrth iddo gael ei gyflwyno.
Drwy'r cynllun treialu hwn, rydym ni'n awyddus i adeiladu ar y cymorth a gynigir i blant â phrofiad o ofal yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd a sicrhau bod pobl ifanc sydd â rhan yn cael popeth sydd ei angen arnyn nhw i roi'r cyfle gorau posibl iddyn nhw ar daith bywyd a gwneud y broses o drosglwyddo o ofal yn well, yn haws ac yn fwy adeiladol. Y canolbwynt fydd sicrhau annibyniaeth oddi ar wasanaethau yn hytrach na dibyniaeth ar wasanaethau wrth iddyn nhw ddod yn oedolion. Rydym ni am weithio gyda rhanddeiliaid, derbynyddion a'n tîm gwerthuso ni i fonitro cynnydd y cynllun a gwneud newidiadau lle bod angen, ac fe fyddaf innau'n falch o barhau i rannu ein profiadau a'n canlyniadau ni wrth i'r gwaith pwysig hwn ddatblygu. Diolch.
Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Joel James.
The Conservative spokesperson, Joel James.
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you, Minister, for your statement, and can I also thank you for your briefing this morning? I found it very useful in terms of understanding your viewpoint. Indeed, I acknowledge completely your view of investing in care leavers and trying to provide opportunities for them that others might take for granted, and I accept that this comes from a position of genuinely wanting to help. I further believe that every Member here would recognise that care leavers are a particularly vulnerable group that need additional support. The Welsh Conservatives recognise this and that care leavers face unique challenges and difficulties, and we want to do everything to ensure that they have the best care and every opportunity available to them. However, Minister, my concern with this UBI trial is that this Government is changing the narrative of universal basic income by conflating it with providing specific help for care leavers in the hope that, after two years, you will have data that justifies the roll-out of a UBI. This approach is inherently flawed, because you will not actually be able to extrapolate any data from such a specific and, might I add, vulnerable group to apply it to a full cross-section of society. Moreover, by using care leavers as your measurement group, I believe that you are diminishing the opportunity for rigorous scrutiny of UBI, because any adverse comments will be met with a counter-argument that the person making them is against care leavers, which is not only very unlikely to be true, but it will, overall, prevent many people from engaging with the scrutiny process out of a fear of a backlash.
Moreover, on the grounds of helping care leavers, we believe that giving them every opportunity to make the best of their lives is right, and we recognise the trauma and very difficult circumstances some of them have faced. However, we also have to be mindful that within this group there are some extremely vulnerable people with complex needs, and giving them £1,600 a month in theory may help them in the short term, in reality it could make the situation worse for them in the long term. Firstly, this vulnerable group of teenagers, some of whom come from challenging backgrounds, could become, without the right help and support, targets for people looking to coerce, abuse and exploit them because of the extra money. How will you prevent this? Secondly, as you have mentioned previously, we know that there are people within this group, although they are a very small proportion, that have drug dependency issues, and having such a large amount of money given to them, again without the right help and support, could worsen existing issues. And thirdly, the Welsh Government is ultimately creating a cliff edge for care leavers who will simply have their money stopped after two years. So, in reality, you are taking some of the most vulnerable people, creating a dependency on an additional income that they are very unlikely to receive ever again and then leaving them to fend for themselves after two years.
Minister, you mentioned this massive package of support that I have highlighted that they will need, but, in reality, this is not the case and the maths don't add up. You're providing £20 million over two years, which will only leave £800,000 to provide the support package, which is woeful at best, and, as mentioned this morning, you are relying almost entirely on the voluntary sector to provide that support. We have heard about the possibilities of people using this money to support higher education. While university degrees take, on average, three years, what you will be doing is not giving them the same opportunities that other people have had when their families have supported them, because you're only helping out part of the way, which I believe is irresponsible. With this in mind, Minister, what assessment have you done to evaluate the actual support needed for care leavers to maximise the use of this money, and what help and support are you offering to voluntary and third sector organisations to help them meet the support needs of those undertaking this trial? What assessment has this Government made of the needs of this group once the trial has ended, and how do you envisage they will be supported after it? With this being a voluntary programme for care leavers to sign up to, what specific help and support is the Welsh Government offering to those eligible to actually sign up and access this trial? And finally, in terms of universal basic income, how do you expect this data to be extrapolated to provide sufficient evidence that UBI will help the full cross-section of Welsh society? Thank you.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch, Gweinidog, am eich datganiad chi, ac a gaf i ddiolch i chi hefyd am eich papur briffio'r bore yma? Fe'i cefais yn ddefnyddiol iawn o ran deall eich safbwynt chi. Yn wir, rwy'n llwyr gydnabod eich barn chi ynglŷn â buddsoddi yn y rhai sy'n gadael gofal a cheisio darparu cyfleoedd ar eu cyfer nhw y byddai pobl eraill yn eu cymryd yn ganiataol efallai, ac rwy'n derbyn bod hynny'n deillio o sefyllfa o fod yn wir awyddus i helpu. Rwy'n credu hefyd y byddai pob Aelod yma'n cydnabod bod y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn grŵp arbennig o agored i niwed y mae angen cymorth ychwanegol arnyn nhw. Mae'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig yn cydnabod hyn a bod y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn wynebu heriau ac anawsterau unigryw, ac rydym ni'n dymuno gwneud popeth i sicrhau eu bod nhw'n cael y gofal gorau a bod pob cyfle ar gael iddyn nhw. Fodd bynnag, Gweinidog, fy mhryder i ynglŷn â'r arbrawf hwn gydag Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol yw bod y Llywodraeth hon yn newid naratif Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol drwy ei ddrysu â'r ddarpariaeth o gymorth penodol i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn y gobaith y bydd gennych chi, ar ôl dwy flynedd, ddata sy'n cyfiawnhau cyflwyno Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol. Mae'r dull hwn yn ddiffygiol yn ei hanfod, oherwydd ni fyddwch chi mewn gwirionedd yn gallu allosod unrhyw ddata oddi wrth grŵp mor arbennig ac, a gaf i ychwanegu, grŵp sy'n agored i niwed i'w ddefnyddio ar gyfer trawstoriad o'r gymdeithas gyfan. At hynny, drwy ddefnyddio'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn grŵp ar gyfer eich mesuriadau chi, rwyf i o'r farn eich bod chi'n cyfyngu ar y cyfle i graffu gyda manylder ar Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol, oherwydd fe fydd unrhyw sylwadau anffafriol yn cael eu hateb gyda'r wrth-ddadl sef bod y sawl sy'n eu gwneud nhw'n elyniaethus i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal, sydd nid yn unig yn annhebygol iawn o fod yn wir, ond fe fydd hynny, ar y cyfan, yn atal llawer o bobl rhag ymgysylltu â'r broses graffu rhag ofn y bydd yna adlach.
At hynny, ar sail helpu'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal, rydym ni o'r farn fod rhoi pob cyfle iddyn nhw wneud y gorau o'u bywydau nhw'n iawn, ac rydym ni'n cydnabod y trawma a'r amgylchiadau anodd iawn a wynebwyd gan rai ohonyn nhw. Serch hynny, mae'n rhaid i ni gofio hefyd fod rhai pobl hynod agored i niwed ag anghenion cymhleth iawn yn y grŵp hwn, ac fe allai rhoi £1,600 y mis iddyn nhw eu helpu nhw mewn egwyddor yn y tymor byr, ond mewn gwirionedd fe allai hynny waethygu eu sefyllfa nhw yn yr hirdymor. Yn gyntaf, fe allai'r grŵp hyglwyf hwn o bobl ifanc yn eu harddegau, y mae rhai ohonyn nhw'n dod o gefndiroedd heriol, fynd i berygl, heb gymorth a chefnogaeth briodol, oherwydd rhai unigolion a fyddai'n ceisio eu gorfodi nhw i wneud pethau, eu cam-drin nhw a chymryd mantais arnyn nhw oherwydd yr arian ychwanegol hwn. Sut ydych chi am rwystro hynny rhag digwydd? Yn ail, fel gwnaethoch chi sôn o'r blaen, fe wyddom ni fod pobl yn y grŵp hwn, er mai rhan fechan iawn ydyn nhw, sydd â phroblemau o ran dibyniaeth ar gyffuriau, ac fe allai cael swm mor fawr o arian yn eu dwylo, unwaith eto heb gymorth na chefnogaeth briodol, waethygu'r problemau sy'n bodoli eisoes. Ac yn drydydd, mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn y pen draw yn creu ochr dibyn ar gyfer y rhai sy'n gadael gofal a fydd yn gweld eu harian nhw'n dod i ben ar ôl dwy flynedd. Felly, mewn gwirionedd, rydych chi'n cymryd rhai o'r bobl fwyaf agored i niwed, gan greu dibyniaeth ar incwm ychwanegol y maen nhw'n annhebygol iawn o'i weld byth eto ac yna'n eu gadael nhw i ymorol amdanyn nhw eu hunain ar ôl dwy flynedd.
Gweinidog, roeddech chi'n sôn am y pecyn enfawr hwn o gymorth y tynnais i sylw ato y bydd ei angen arnyn nhw, ond, mewn gwirionedd, nid dyna yw'r achos ac nid yw'r fathemateg yn gywir. Rydych chi'n darparu £20 miliwn dros ddwy flynedd, sy'n gadael dim ond £800,000 ar ôl i ddarparu'r pecyn cymorth, sy'n druenus ar y gorau, ac, fel cafodd hynny ei grybwyll y bore yma, rydych chi'n dibynnu bron yn gyfan gwbl ar y sector gwirfoddol i ddarparu'r cymorth hwnnw. Rydym ni wedi clywed am bosibiliadau pobl yn defnyddio'r arian hwn i gefnogi addysg uwch. Er bod graddau prifysgol yn cymryd tair blynedd, ar gyfartaledd, yr hyn y byddwch chi'n ei wneud yw peidio â rhoi'r un cyfleoedd iddyn nhw ag y cafodd pobl eraill gyda chefnogaeth oddi wrth eu teuluoedd nhw, oherwydd nid ydych chi'n gwneud dim ond eu helpu nhw am ran o'r ffordd, sydd, yn fy marn i, yn anghyfrifol. Gyda hynny mewn golwg, Gweinidog, pa asesiad a wnaethoch chi i werthuso'r cymorth gwirioneddol sydd ei angen ar y rhai sy'n gadael gofal i wneud y defnydd gorau o'r arian hwn, a pha gymorth a chefnogaeth ydych chi'n eu cynnig i sefydliadau gwirfoddol a thrydydd sector i'w helpu i ddiwallu anghenion y rhai sy'n ymgymryd â'r cynllun hwn o ran y gefnogaeth a fydd ar gael? Pa asesiad a wnaeth y Llywodraeth hon o anghenion y grŵp hwn ar ôl i'r cyfnod arbrofol ddod i ben, a sut ydych chi'n rhagweld y cânt eu cefnogi ar ei ddiwedd? Gan mai rhaglen wirfoddol yw hon i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal ymrwymo iddi, pa gymorth a chefnogaeth yn benodol y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cynnig i'r rhai sy'n gymwys i gofrestru a chael bod ar y cynllun hwn? Ac yn olaf, o ran incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol, sut ydych chi'n disgwyl i'r data hyn gael eu hallosod i ddarparu tystiolaeth ddigonol y bydd Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol yn helpu trawstoriad llawn o'r gymdeithas yng Nghymru? Diolch i chi.
Thank you very much, Joel James. I was grateful we had some positive comments at the start of your questions today. I think you recognised that this pilot could offer great opportunities for our care leavers, and this is a basic income pilot.
I just want to start by answering your questions about why we're focusing this pilot on care leavers. We're, as a Welsh Government, committed to supporting those who are living in poverty, ensuring they receive adequate financial support so that everyone in Wales can live happy and healthy lives. Care leavers have a right—this is about a right for care leavers to be fully supported, as we do through their care experience, as they develop into independent young adults. We know that too many young people leaving care do face significant barriers to achieving that successful transition into adulthood. So, basic income is a direct investment in a cohort of young people who we want to support so that they can thrive while they secure their basic needs.
Care-experienced young people are a group, as I've said, we've already consistently chosen to invest in—a top-up for the child trust fund, additional council tax exemptions, the establishment of the St David's Day fund. But it is recognised that, compared with their peers—. This is where you've got to answer the question, I have to say, as well: why not invest in these care-experienced young people who have been disproportionately disadvantaged and who are statistically more likely to experience issues such as homelessness, addiction and mental health? So, this is about actually building on the support, enabling our young people leaving care to take part in this pilot. And given the support, they could have the best possible chance for this transition into better, easier and more positive experiences.
This is a decision, this is a choice that we have made, a priority that we have in our budget. Indeed, it was in our manifesto and programme for government that we would pilot basic income. So, just to clarify on the funding, we've allocated £20 million to the delivery of this pilot over the course of three years. It comprises the payments themselves, administration costs and research and evaluation costs. Clearly, it depends on the take-up and participation rates; it's not compulsory, this pilot, but just in terms of the need for additional financial advice and support, that's going to be provided for those eligible to take part in the pilot—that's what care-experienced young people said. Approximately £2 million has been allocated for this service for the full period of the pilot, over three to four years. So, that's pre pilot through to post pilot as well. So, the funding is there to fund the organisations that actually have responsibility, as we do Voices from Care Cymru and all those who currently support our young people. But also, as I've said, it's the role of local authorities to support them as well.
As a point of principle, I would say—and taking this as a rights-based approach—all of those who meet the eligibility criteria will be entitled to sign up to the pilot if they choose to do so, and it should be treated no differently from any other form of income. Just in terms of their needs and their life experiences, of course there will be existing ongoing support from young people's advisors. Safeguarding procedures would be followed as standard as well, if there was any concern about perceived risk. But this is about actually having a package of support that's going to be available.
Now, it's interesting to look at trials across the world of basic income. For example, one of the longest running basic income schemes in North Carolina has followed children who were aged nine to 13 in 1992. These children grew into adulthood, and lower prevalence of substance misuse disorders were observed in those receiving the income. We've looked at these trials, we've looked at the outcomes. That scheme also demonstrated a 22 per cent decrease in reported criminal activity among 16 and 17-year-olds, particularly in terms of substance misuse and minor crimes.
This pilot will be evaluated very clearly in terms of the responsibilities, but also it is going to be, in terms of evaluation—. We're going to be looking, as we move through this, in terms of support for these young people as the pilot concludes. They will have the backing, the support and the ongoing input in terms of not just financial advice and support, signposting well-being, education, work and broader financial advice. Many of these young people will be accessing other schemes, like the young person's guarantee. I mean, if you have chosen, or otherwise I hope you will, to look at some of the statements that have been made by young people today, young people in care who said to us—and these include young people who've been in care—that this gives them hope, this shows that this Welsh Government, and, I hope, this Senedd, believes in these young people and believes that they should have these opportunities we're providing.
Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi, Joel James. Roeddwn i'n ddiolchgar am ein bod ni wedi cael rhai sylwadau cadarnhaol ar ddechrau eich cwestiynau chi heddiw. Rwy'n credu i chi gydnabod y gallai'r cynllun treialu hwn gynnig cyfleoedd gwych i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal yma, ac mai cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol yw hwn.
Fe hoffwn i ddechrau drwy ateb eich cwestiynau chi ynghylch pam yr ydym ni wedi canolbwyntio'r cynllun treialu hwn ar y rhai sy'n gadael gofal. Rydym ni, yn Llywodraeth Cymru, wedi ymrwymo i gefnogi'r rhai sy'n byw mewn tlodi, gan sicrhau eu bod nhw'n cael cymorth ariannol digonol er mwyn i bawb yng Nghymru gael bywyd sy'n hapus ac yn iach. Mae gan y rhai sy'n gadael gofal hawl—ystyr hyn yw rhoi hawl i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal gael cefnogaeth lawn, fel yr ydym ni'n parhau i'w wneud drwy gydol eu profiad nhw o ofal, wrth iddyn nhw ddatblygu yn oedolion ifanc annibynnol. Fe wyddom ni fod gormod o bobl ifanc sy'n gadael gofal yn wynebu rhwystrau sylweddol rhag cyflawni'r newid hwnnw ar gyfer trosglwyddo i fywyd oedolyn yn llwyddiannus. Felly, mae incwm sylfaenol yn fuddsoddiad uniongyrchol mewn carfan o bobl ifanc yr ydym ni'n awyddus i'w cefnogi nhw fel y gallan nhw ffynnu wrth sicrhau eu hanghenion sylfaenol nhw.
Mae pobl ifanc â phrofiad o ofal yn grŵp, fel dywedais i, y gwnaethom ni ddewis gwneud buddsoddiad cyson ynddo eisoes—ychwanegiad at y gronfa ymddiriedolaeth plant, eithriadau ychwanegol i'r dreth gyngor, sefydlu cronfa Dydd Gŵyl Dewi. Ond fe gaiff hynny ei gydnabod, o'i gymharu â'u cyfoedion nhw—. Mae'n rhaid i chi ateb y cwestiwn yn hyn o beth, mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud, hefyd: beth am fuddsoddi yn y bobl ifanc hyn sydd â phrofiad o ofal sydd wedi bod o dan anfantais anghymesur ac sy'n fwy tebygol yn ystadegol o brofiadau o faterion ynglŷn â digartrefedd, dibyniaeth ac iechyd meddwl? Felly, ystyr hyn yw adeiladu ar y cymorth, gan alluogi ein pobl ifanc ni yma sy'n gadael gofal i fod â rhan yn y cynllun treialu hwn. Ac o gael y gefnogaeth honno, fe allen nhw fod â'r cyfle gorau posibl i sicrhau'r newid hwn i brofiadau gwell, sy'n haws ac yn fwy adeiladol.
Penderfyniad yw hwn, dewis a wnaethom ni yw hwn, ac mae honno'n flaenoriaeth yn ein cyllideb ni. Yn wir, yn ein maniffesto a'n rhaglen lywodraethu ni roeddem ni'n nodi y byddem ni'n treialu incwm sylfaenol. Felly, i roi eglurder ynglŷn â'r cyllid, rydym ni wedi dyrannu £20 miliwn i gyflawni'r cynllun treialu hwn dros gyfnod o dair blynedd. Mae hynny'n cynnwys y taliadau eu hunain, y costau gweinyddu a'r costau o ran ymchwil a gwerthuso. Yn amlwg, mae hyn yn dibynnu ar y cyfraddau o ran defnydd a chyfranogi; nid rhywbeth gorfodol mo'r cynllun treialu hwn, ond o ran yr angen am gyngor a chymorth ariannol ychwanegol yn unig, fe fydd hynny'n cael ei roi i'r rhai sy'n gymwys i gymryd rhan yn y cynllun—dyna a oedd y bobl ifanc â phrofiad o ofal yn ei ddweud. Dyrannwyd tua £2 filiwn gyfer y gwasanaeth hwn am gyfnod llawn y cynllun treialu, dros dair i bedair blynedd. Felly, mae hynny o'r cyfnod cyn y cynllun yr holl ffordd drwodd i'r cyfnod wedi'r cynllun hefyd. Felly, mae'r cyllid yno i ariannu'r sefydliadau sydd â chyfrifoldeb mewn gwirionedd, fel rydym ni'n gwneud i Voices from Care Cymru a phawb sy'n cefnogi ein pobl ifanc ni ar hyn o bryd. Ond hefyd, fel dywedais i, gwaith i'r awdurdodau lleol yw eu cefnogi nhw hefyd.
Yn fater o egwyddor, yn fy marn i—ac o ystyried hwn yn ddull gweithredu ar sail hawliau unigolion—y bydd gan bawb sy'n bodloni'r meini prawf cymhwysedd hawl i ymuno â'r cynllun treialu pe byddan nhw'n dewis gwneud hynny, ac ni ddylid ei drin yn wahanol i unrhyw fath arall o incwm. O ran eu hanghenion nhw a phrofiadau eu bywydau nhw, wrth gwrs, fe roddir cymorth parhaus ar hyn o bryd gan gynghorwyr pobl ifanc. Fe fyddai gweithdrefnau diogelu yn cael eu dilyn yn ôl arfer hefyd, pe byddai unrhyw bryder ynglŷn â risgiau canfyddedig. Ond ystyr hyn yw cynnig pecyn cymorth a fydd ar gael.
Nawr, mae hi'n ddiddorol i ni edrych ar gynlluniau arbrofol ar draws y byd o ran incwm sylfaenol. Er enghraifft, mae un o'r cynlluniau incwm sylfaenol mwyaf hir sefydlog yn nhalaith Gogledd Carolina wedi bod yn dilyn plant a oedd rhwng naw a 13 oed ym 1992. Tyfodd y plant hyn i fod yn oedolion, a gwelwyd llai o achosion o ran camddefnyddio sylweddau yn y rhai a oedd wedi cael yr incwm hwnnw. Rydym ni wedi edrych ar y cynlluniau hyn, rydym ni wedi edrych ar y canlyniadau. Dangosodd y cynllun hwnnw ostyngiad o 22 y cant hefyd yn nifer y materion troseddol a gofnodwyd ymhlith pobl ifanc 16 a 17 oed, yn enwedig o ran camddefnyddio sylweddau a mân droseddau.
Bydd y cynllun treialu hwn yn cael ei werthuso yn fanwl iawn o ran y cyfrifoldebau, ond fe fydd hefyd, o ran gwerthuso—. Fe fyddwn ni'n edrych, wrth i ni symud drwy hyn, o ran cefnogaeth i'r bobl ifanc hyn wrth i'r cynllun ddod i ben. Bydd y gefnogaeth, y cyngor a'r mewnbwn parhaus ar gael o ran nid yn unig cyngor a chymorth ariannol, gan gyfeirio at lesiant, addysg, gwaith a chyngor ariannol ehangach. Bydd llawer o'r bobl ifanc hyn yn manteisio ar gynlluniau eraill, fel y warant i bobl ifanc. Hynny yw, os ydych chi wedi dewis, neu fel rwyf i'n gobeithio y gwnewch chi rywbryd eto efallai, edrych ar rai o'r datganiadau a wnaeth pobl ifanc heddiw, pobl ifanc mewn gofal a oedd yn dweud wrthym ni—ac mae'r rhain yn cynnwys pobl ifanc sydd wedi bod mewn gofal—fod hyn yn estyn gobaith iddyn nhw, mae hyn yn dangos bod y Llywodraeth hon, ac, rwy'n gobeithio, fod y Senedd hon yn dangos ffydd yn y bobl ifanc hyn ac yn credu y dylen nhw fod â'r cyfleoedd hyn yr ydym ni'n eu rhoi.
Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Luke Fletcher.
Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Luke Fletcher.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. This pilot is very welcome, especially for those of us in the Siambr who have campaigned or are campaigning for a universal basic income. Granted, this isn't a universal basic income, but it is a basic income, and it still will provide us with valuable data and direction in our journey to a universal one.
We've talked about our reasons for supporting UBI in the past. Part of that reasoning is to tackle the rampant levels of poverty here in Wales. Again, this pilot will give us valuable data and the ability to measure against that objective, given that it is open to some of the most economically vulnerable members of society.
It's disappointing to note the unwillingness of the UK Government to co-operate on this. Taxing the payment is one thing, but the way in which they will be counting it against universal credit is unfair. Using gross rather than net, assessing people for money they won't actually receive is just bizarre and completely unfair in my view. But the unwillingness to co-operate on a progressive policy doesn't surprise me—just another example of the disdain Westminster shows for devolved Governments, further evidenced by the news last night, of course, on scrapping the Trade Union (Wales) Act 2017.
Now, young people leaving care are often already particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as Joel rightly pointed out. There are concerns, which have been raised by Barnardo's Cymru, that this basic income pilot, by providing a large lump-sum payment, which is widely known about, will leave care leavers open to becoming magnets to exploitation by rogue landlords, other young people and criminals, for example. Safeguarding is key. There are likely to be unintended consequences that arise and become clear as the pilot is running, as this pilot will be effecting the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society. It's important that the Government and the young person's advisers keep on top of this and that Welsh Government makes adjustments where necessary.
Given that care leavers can voluntarily join, I'd be interested to know if the Government will approach those who decided not to take part in this pilot to find out why they came to that decision not to join. And, of course, basic income leaves those with no extra costs relatively better off under a lump-sum payment than those who face additional costs, such as disability-related costs or childcare. Given that young people taking part in this pilot will likely have their benefits effected as a result, how will Welsh Government ensure that those with extra disability-related costs, or those who fall pregnant, for example, during the pilot, are not at a disadvantage to others in the scheme? And further on from that, when the Government evaluates the pilot, how will it take into account the effects of the pilot on those participants with intersectional issues?
An important point for us to also consider is what happens at the end of the pilot. It is welcome that Welsh Government will maintain contact with participants, especially given that once the pilot ends, the money ends, and £1,200, give or take, is a substantial amount of money to have lost, and that, of course, is the figure after tax. Joel made that point, and I think it is a fair point to make.
Finally, given the issues that Scottish Government found in their research into basic income pilots, as well as the fact that certain groups in society miss out through flat-rate lump-sum payments, what other anti-poverty schemes has the Welsh Government considered evaluating in the future? Does the Minister think there might be greater merit to universal basic services, for example?
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Mae'r cynllun treialu hwn i'w groesawu yn fawr, yn enwedig i'r rhai ohonom ni yn y Siambr sydd wedi ymgyrchu neu sy'n parhau i ymgyrchu dros incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol. Mae'n wir, nid incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol mohono, ond mae'n incwm sylfaenol er hynny, a bydd yn rhoi data a chyfeiriad gwerthfawr i ni ar ein taith ni tuag at incwm cyffredinol.
Rydym ni wedi siarad am ein rhesymau ni am gefnogi Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol yn y gorffennol. Rhan o'r ymresymiad hwnnw yw mynd i'r afael â'r cyfraddau cynyddol o dlodi yma yng Nghymru. Unwaith eto, fe fydd y cynllun treialu hwn yn rhoi data gwerthfawr i ni yn ogystal â gallu i fesur yn unol â'r amcan hwnnw, o gofio ei fod ar gael i rai o aelodau mwyaf agored i niwed economaidd yn ein cymdeithas ni.
Mae hi'n siomedig nodi amharodrwydd Llywodraeth y DU i gydweithredu yn hyn o beth. Un peth yw trethu'r taliad, ond peth arall yw'r ffordd annheg y byddan nhw'n ei gyfrif yn erbyn credyd cynhwysol. Gan ddefnyddio gros yn hytrach na net, mae asesu pobl am arian na fyddan nhw'n ei gael mewn gwirionedd yn beth od iawn ac yn gwbl annheg yn fy marn i. Ond nid yw'r amharodrwydd i gydweithredu ar bolisi blaengar yn fy synnu i—enghraifft arall o'r diffyg parch yn San Steffan tuag at Lywodraethau datganoledig, a welwyd unwaith eto yn y newyddion neithiwr, wrth gwrs, am ddiddymu Deddf Undebau Llafur (Cymru) 2017.
Nawr, mae pobl ifanc sy'n gadael gofal yn arbennig o agored eisoes i gamfanteisio, fel roedd Joel yn gywir i'w nodi. Fe geir pryderon, a godwyd gan Barnardo's Cymru, y bydd y cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol hwn, drwy ddarparu cyfandaliad mawr, sy'n hysbys yn gyffredin, yn gadael y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yn agored i gamfanteisio gan landlordiaid anonest, pobl ifanc eraill a throseddwyr, er enghraifft. Mae diogelu yn allweddol. Mae hi'n debygol y bydd canlyniadau anfwriadol yn codi ac yn dod yn amlwg yng nghwrs y cynllun treialu, oherwydd fe fydd y cynllun hwn yn effeithio ar fywydau rhai o'r bobl fwyaf agored i niwed yn ein cymdeithas ni. Mae hi'n bwysig fod y Llywodraeth a chynghorwyr y bobl ifanc yn cadw golwg ar hyn a bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud addasiadau lle bo angen.
O gofio y gall y rhai sy'n gadael gofal ymuno yn wirfoddol, fe fyddai gennyf i ddiddordeb i wybod a fydd y Llywodraeth yn cysylltu â'r rhai a benderfynodd beidio â chymryd rhan yn y cynllun treialu hwn i ganfod pam y daethant i'r penderfyniad hwnnw i beidio ag ymuno ag ef. Ac, wrth gwrs, mae incwm sylfaenol yn gadael y rhai heb unrhyw gostau ychwanegol yn gymharol well eu byd o dan gyfandaliad na'r rhai sy'n wynebu costau ychwanegol, megis costau sy'n gysylltiedig ag anabledd neu ofal plant. O gofio ei bod yn debygol yr effeithir ar fudd-daliadau pobl ifanc sy'n cymryd rhan yn y cynllun treialu hwn o ganlyniad, sut fydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn sicrhau nad yw'r rhai sydd â chostau ychwanegol sy'n gysylltiedig ag anabledd, neu'r rhai sy'n beichiogi, er enghraifft, yn ystod y cynllun, o dan anfantais o gymharu ag eraill yn y cynllun? Ac i ddilyn hynny, pan fydd y Llywodraeth yn gwerthuso'r cynllun treialu, sut caiff effeithiau'r cynllun eu hystyried o ran y cyfranogwyr hynny sydd â materion croestoriadol?
Pwynt pwysig i ni ei ystyried hefyd yw'r hyn sy'n digwydd ar ddiwedd y cynllun treialu. Mae hi'n dderbyniol iawn y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cadw mewn cysylltiad â chyfranogwyr, yn enwedig felly o gofio, pan ddaw'r cynllun i ben, bod yr arian yn dod i ben, a bod £1,200, fwy neu lai, yn swm sylweddol o arian i'w golli, a hwnnw, wrth gwrs, yw'r cyfanswm wedi treth. Fe wnaeth Joel y pwynt hwnnw, ac rwyf i o'r farn ei fod yn bwynt teg i'w wneud.
Yn olaf, o ystyried y materion a ganfuwyd gan Lywodraeth yr Alban yn eu hymchwil nhw i gynlluniau treialu incwm sylfaenol, yn ogystal â'r ffaith bod rhai grwpiau yn y gymdeithas ar eu colled drwy daliadau cyfandaliad safonol, pa gynlluniau eraill i oresgyn tlodi sydd dan ystyriaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru i'w gwerthuso yn y dyfodol? A yw'r Gweinidog o'r farn y gallai mwy o werth fod i wasanaethau sylfaenol cyffredinol, er enghraifft?
Diolch yn fawr, Luke Fletcher, and thank you very much for welcoming the basic income pilot for care leavers in Wales. I'm very glad you drew attention to the fact that the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions has declined—I would say, 'refused', but they declined to engage with us. They have declined to disregard this income payment that we're making. They declined to actually engage with us to see if this basic income pilot for care leavers could actually benefit care leavers across the whole of the United Kingdom. But that's what it will do, because, again, we've learnt a lot from Scotland as well, in terms of the piloting that they've undertaken and, of course, we've looked across the world.
But I would say, and I will share a letter that I've written to the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, Thérèse Coffey, who I have—. I did write to her and asked to discuss this pilot with her last year. She declined and also decided that the basic income payment would be counted as unearned income and offset and, of course, then be subject to tax and benefits consideration. And, actually, one of the greatest concerns I've got at the moment, and I'll share my letter to the Secretary of State with you, is that although it's declared as unearned income, it will be taxed, but as far as eligibility for universal credit is concerned, they say they're going to assess it on the gross value before tax, which means it's going to be unfairly assessed. I'm giving her the opportunity to rectify that, and I will share that, my call to her, and I hope colleagues from the Welsh Conservatives will back me in that as I share that letter with you.
It is very important, in terms of young people deciding whether they will take part in this pilot, that they make an informed choice to do so. And your point about finding out if young people decide not to—well, it is of course their choice. The first cohort, if you like, has been approached, and they’re very much aware of what’s happening because of the recognition and engagement we’ve had with young people through Voices from Care over the period of the last year or so. They’ve actively been engaging with young people and all the local authorities involved in terms of—. And I’ve been working also with the Deputy Minister for Social Services, who’s working with young people. We’ve met young people—they will have the choice as to whether they take part, and that will be about their circumstances and, indeed, looking at other earnings they might have, and their position in life in terms of jobs, education and opportunities. But in terms of evaluation, we will look at these kinds of factors because we need to learn from the young people, those who do take part throughout the evaluation, about the impact it’s having on them and how they are engaging and what more support we can provide.
I have already mentioned in response to Joel James the fact that we would expect any existing safeguarding measures and support already in place, because they have an ongoing duty of care, local authorities, to care leavers, to be followed and made available to basic income participants. But also, I’ve given you some examples where pilots across the world have shown that people who may have been vulnerable, not just in terms of things like becoming homeless, not being able to access jobs, or training and education—actually, the pilots across the world have shown that young people have benefitted, and that those on pilots, UBI pilots, have benefitted from the basic income, which gives them a whole measure of security in their lives in terms of options that lie ahead.
Disability-related issues—it’s very important this pilot is available, and we think it’s up to 500 young people, diverse young people across Wales with protected characteristics, and they will be eligible for other benefits. So, again, with advice and guidance and the ongoing support they’ll get from Citizen’s Advice as well as their care leaver advisers and social workers, they will be able to assess the benefits they’re entitled to. But it’s unconditional. They’ll be getting their £1,600—taxed, unfortunately—every month regardless. So, hopefully it will build on those entitlements.
I think the evaluation will be critical in terms of seeing this as an insightful and multifaceted evaluation. We need to look at the longer term impacts, and of course some of that will take some time into the future in terms of what this has meant for the care-experienced young people who are going to benefit. But we’re applying a mixture of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, engaging with young people themselves to get that baseline data, which is going to ensure that we can assess the impact of basic income appropriately.
I think this in itself will show the important impact of the basic income pilot, because it just does go back to the fact that this provides those young people with the opportunities that they haven’t had, and they might not have had in their lives, and which they haven’t seen, and haven’t been possible for them to have. So, the young people that, certainly, the First Minister and Julie Morgan and I met on Friday just said, ‘Now we’ve got hope. Now we’ve got a future.’
Diolch yn fawr, Luke Fletcher, a diolch yn fawr iawn i chi am groesawu'r cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol ar gyfer y rhai sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru. Rwy'n falch iawn eich bod chi wedi tynnu sylw at y ffaith fod Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau Llywodraeth y DU wedi ymesgusodi—fe allwn i ddweud, 'gwrthod', ond fe wnaethant ymesgusodi rhag ymgysylltu â ni. Maen nhw wedi gwrthod diystyru'r taliad incwm hwn yr ydym ni'n ei wneud. Fe wnaethon nhw ymesgusodi rhag ymgysylltu â ni mewn gwirionedd o ran gweld a allai'r cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol hwn ar gyfer y rhai sy'n gadael gofal fod o fudd i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal ledled y Deyrnas Unedig. Ond dyna y bydd yn ei wneud, oherwydd, unwaith eto, rydym ni wedi dysgu llawer o'r Alban hefyd, o ran y cynlluniau a gynhaliwyd yno ac, wrth gwrs, rydym ni wedi edrych yn fyd-eang.
Ond fe fyddwn i'n dweud, ac rwyf i am rannu llythyr â chi a ysgrifennais i at Ysgrifennydd Gwladol yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau, Thérèse Coffey, yr wyf i wedi—. Y llynedd, fe ysgrifennais ati hi a gofyn am gael trafod y cynllun treialu hwn gyda hi. Gwrthod a wnaeth hi a phenderfynu hefyd y byddai'r taliad incwm sylfaenol yn cael ei gyfrif fel incwm heb ei ennill a'i wrthbwyso ac, wrth gwrs, yn destun i'w ystyried o ran y dreth a budd-daliadau. Ac, mewn gwirionedd, un o'r pryderon mwyaf sydd gennyf i ar hyn o bryd, ac rwyf i am rannu fy llythyr at yr Ysgrifennydd Gwladol gyda chi, yw, er bod hwnnw wedi cael ei ddatgan yn incwm heb ei ennill, ac fe gaiff ei drethu, ond o ran cymhwysedd i gael credyd cynhwysol, maen nhw'n dweud eu bod nhw am ei asesu yn ôl ei werth gros cyn treth, sy'n golygu y bydd yn cael ei asesu yn annheg. Rwy'n rhoi cyfle iddi i unioni'r cam hwnnw, ac fe fyddaf i'n ei rannu, fy ngalwad arni hi, ac rwy'n gobeithio y bydd fy nghyd-Aelodau yma o blith y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig yn fy nghefnogi i yn hynny o beth gan fy mod i am rannu'r llythyr hwnnw gyda chi.
Mae hi'n bwysig iawn, o ran pobl ifanc yn penderfynu a fyddan nhw'n cyfranogi o'r cynllun treialu hwn, eu bod ni'n gwneud dewis deallus wrth wneud felly. A'ch pwynt chi ynglŷn â darganfod rhesymau pobl ifanc am beidio â gwneud felly—wel, eu dewis nhw yw hwnnw, wrth gwrs. Cysylltwyd â'r garfan gyntaf, os hoffech chi, ac maen nhw'n ymwybodol iawn o'r hyn sy'n digwydd oherwydd y gydnabyddiaeth a'r ymgysylltiad a gawsom gyda phobl ifanc drwy Voices from Care dros gyfnod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, fwy neu lai. Maen nhw wedi bod yn ymgysylltu â phobl ifanc a'r awdurdodau lleol i gyd sydd o ran—. Ac rwyf i wedi bod yn gweithio hefyd gyda'r Dirprwy Weinidog Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol, sy'n gweithio gyda phobl ifanc. Rydym ni wedi cwrdd â phobl ifanc—fe fydd ganddyn nhw ddewis a ydyn nhw am gymryd rhan, ac fe fydd hynny'n ymwneud â'u hamgylchiadau nhw ac, yn wir, gan ystyried enillion eraill a allai fod ganddyn nhw, a'u sefyllfa nhw yn eu bywydau o ran swyddi, addysg a chyfleoedd. Ond o ran gwerthuso, fe fyddwn ni'n edrych ar y ffactorau o'r fath oherwydd mae angen i ni ddysgu oddi wrth y bobl ifanc, y rhai sy'n cymryd rhan drwy gydol y gwerthusiad, am effaith hyn arnyn nhw a sut maen nhw'n ymgysylltu a pha gymorth arall y gallwn ni ei gynnig.
Rwyf i wedi crybwyll y ffaith eisoes mewn ymateb i Joel James y byddem ni'n disgwyl i unrhyw fesurau diogelu a chymorth sydd ar waith yn barod, gan fod ganddyn nhw ddyletswydd barhaus o ran gofal, yr awdurdodau lleol, i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal, gael eu dilyn a'u rhoi ar gael i'r rhai sy'n gyfranogwyr o'r incwm sylfaenol. Ond hefyd, rwyf i wedi rhoi rhai enghreifftiau i chi o gynlluniau treialu ledled y byd yn dangos bod pobl a allasai fod yn agored i niwed, nid yn unig o ran pethau fel mynd yn ddigartref, neu fethu â chael swyddi, neu hyfforddiant ac addysg—mewn gwirionedd, mae'r cynlluniau treialu ar draws y byd wedi dangos bod pobl ifanc wedi elwa, a bod y rhai ar gynlluniau treialu, ar gynlluniau treialu Incwm Sylfaenol Cyffredinol wedi elwa ar yr incwm sylfaenol, sy'n rhoi mesur llawn o ddiogelwch iddyn nhw yn eu bywydau o ran y dewisiadau sydd ar gael iddyn nhw.
Materion o ran anabledd—mae hi'n bwysig iawn bod y cynllun treialu hwn ar gael, ac rydym ni o'r farn y bydd hyn yn golygu hyd at 500 o bobl ifanc, pobl ifanc amrywiol ledled Cymru sydd â nodweddion gwarchodedig, ac fe fyddan nhw'n gymwys i gael budd-daliadau eraill. Felly, unwaith eto, gyda chyngor ac arweiniad a'r cymorth parhaus y byddan nhw'n ei gael gan Gyngor ar Bopeth yn ogystal â'u cynghorwyr nhw wrth adael gofal a gweithwyr cymdeithasol, fe fyddan nhw'n gallu asesu'r budd-daliadau y mae'r hawl ganddyn nhw i'w cael. Ond mae hynny'n ddiamod. Fe fyddan nhw'n cael eu £1,600—a drethir, yn anffodus—bob mis, doed a ddelo. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd hyn yn adeiladu ar yr hawliau hynny.
Rwyf i o'r farn bydd y gwerthusiad yn hollbwysig o ran ystyried hwn yn werthusiad sy'n dreiddgar a chynhwysfawr. Mae angen i ni edrych ar yr effeithiau tymor hwy, ac wrth gwrs fe fydd rhywfaint o hynny'n cymryd peth amser eto o ran yr hyn a olygodd hyn i bobl ifanc â phrofiad o ofal a fydd yn elwa arno. Ond rydym ni'n defnyddio amrywiaeth o ddulliau gwerthuso ansoddol a meintiol, gan ymgysylltu â'r bobl ifanc eu hunain i gael y data gwaelodlin hynny, a fydd yn sicrhau y gallwn ni asesu effaith incwm sylfaenol yn briodol.
Rwyf i o'r farn y bydd hynny ynddo'i hun yn dangos effaith bwysig y cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol, oherwydd mae'n dychwelyd at y ffaith bod hyn yn rhoi iddyn nhw y cyfleoedd hynny na chafodd y bobl ifanc hyn, ac efallai na fydden nhw wedi cael rhai o'r fath yn eu bywydau nhw, ac nad oedden nhw yn eu profiad nhw, ac nad yw'r cyfleoedd hynny wedi bod yn bosibl o gwbl. Felly, roedd y bobl ifanc, yn sicr, y gwnaeth y Prif Weinidog a Julie Morgan a minnau gyfarfod â nhw ddydd Gwener yn dweud yn syml, 'Nawr mae gobaith gennym ni. Nawr mae dyfodol gennym ni.'
Mae gen i chwe Aelod o hyd sy’n dymuno siarad, a llai na phum munud ar ôl.
I have six Members who wish to speak, and less than five minutes left.
I’ll ask Members to be succinct in their questions and the Minister to be succinct in her answers so I can get everybody in, please. Jack Sargeant.
Rwyf i am ofyn i'r Aelodau fod yn gryno yn eu cwestiynau nhw ac i'r Gweinidog fod yn gryno yn ei hatebion hi er mwyn i mi allu cynnwys pawb, os gwelwch chi'n dda. Jack Sargeant.
Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m grateful to the Minister for providing today’s statement. She will know this is of particular importance to me, as I was the Member who brought forward the successful motion in the previous Senedd to trial a universal basic income in Wales, and also the Member who chaired the cross-party Petitions Committee inquiry on the topic. I’m proud to stand here today, and proud of the fact that we are launching the basic income pilot in Wales, and I am proud to have played some small role within that.
If I could speak to the committee’s findings first, Minister, there were two points that stood out. Firstly, the need for responsible, reliable adult advice, guidance and support, and, secondly, the importance of the evaluation process. You have covered that in your statement, but I wonder if you can just give some more assurances to these young people.
And finally, if I can look to my role as a Member—and I commend the leadership of yourself and the First Minister in particular on the basic income pilot, but do you agree with me that, whilst we do have differences with the UK Government, they should not stand in the way of the Welsh Government achieving their ambitions? I note that you wrote to the Minister in the UK Government. Will you commit to having those continued conversations with the Minister?
And just finally, Deputy Presiding Officer—
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n ddiolchgar i'r Gweinidog am gyflwyno datganiad heddiw. Mae hi'n gwybod bod y mater yn un hynod o bwysig i mi, gan mai fi oedd yr Aelod a gyflwynodd y cynnig llwyddiannus yn y Senedd flaenorol i dreialu incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol yng Nghymru, a'r Aelod a wnaeth gadeirio ymchwiliad trawsbleidiol y Pwyllgor Deisebau ar y pwnc. Rwy'n falch iawn o fod yn sefyll yn y fan hon heddiw, ac yn falch o'r ffaith ein bod ni'n lansio'r cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol yng Nghymru, ac rwy'n falch fy mod i wedi bod â rhan fechan yn hynny.
Os caf i sôn am ganfyddiadau'r pwyllgor yn gyntaf, Gweinidog, roedd dau bwynt yn sefyll allan. Yn gyntaf, yr angen am gyngor, arweiniad a chymorth cyfrifol a dibynadwy i oedolion, ac, yn ail, pwysigrwydd y broses werthuso. Rydych chi wedi ymdrin â hynny yn eich datganiad chi, ond tybed a wnewch chi gynnig ychydig mwy o sicrwydd i'r bobl ifanc hyn.
Ac yn olaf, os caf i ystyried fy swyddogaeth yn Aelod—ac rwy'n cymeradwyo eich arweiniad chi a'r Prif Weinidog yn benodol am y cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol, ond a ydych chi'n cytuno â mi, er bod gwahaniaethau rhwng Llywodraeth y DU a ninnau, na ddylen nhw allu rhwystro'r ffordd y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cyflawni eu huchelgeisiau hi? Rwy'n nodi i chi ysgrifennu at y Gweinidog yn Llywodraeth y DU. A wnewch chi ymrwymo i gael sgyrsiau parhaus o'r fath gyda'r Gweinidog?
A dim ond yn olaf un, Dirprwy Lywydd—
No, you've had over a minute, so—. I've got five other Members wishing to speak.
Na, rydych chi wedi cael dros funud, felly—. Mae gennyf i bum Aelod arall sy'n awyddus i siarad.
Well, can I just thank Jack Sargeant, and particularly thank him for his chairing of the Petitions Committee and the recommendations that came from that committee? We've accepted them all in full or in part, and I think particularly those recommendations—. Guaranteed unconditional pay to the individual—unconditional—but also that care leavers should include care leavers from as diverse as possible a range of backgrounds, and that we should actually work with the UK Government. So, I have already given—. I will share my letter to the Secretary of State. I hope that she will respond positively and that we can overcome particularly the barrier that has appeared in terms of access to and eligibility for universal credit. But still, it would be good if they could reconsider taxing this basic income pilot. It will be a pilot that will be important to the UK Government. We are investing in these young people, and that investment will mean that they may then have less need for public services, such as the services that have to come forward in terms of homelessness, substance misuse and, indeed, unemployment, because we hope these young people will then progress in their lives in jobs, employment, education.
Wel, a gaf i ddiolch i Jack Sargeant, a diolch yn arbennig iddo ef am gadeirio'r Pwyllgor Deisebau a'r argymhellion sydd wedi dod o'r pwyllgor hwnnw? Rydym ni wedi derbyn pob un ohonyn nhw'n llawn neu'n rhannol, ac rwy'n credu'r argymhellion hynny'n arbennig—. Tâl gwarantedig diamod i'r unigolyn—yn ddiamod—ond hefyd y dylai'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal gynnwys y rhai sy'n gadael gofal o ystod mor amrywiol â phosibl o gefndiroedd, ac y dylem ni weithio gyda Llywodraeth y DU mewn gwirionedd. Felly, rwyf i eisoes wedi rhoi—. Fe fyddaf i'n rhannu fy llythyr at yr Ysgrifennydd Gwladol â chi. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd hi'n ymateb yn gadarnhaol ac y gallwn ni oresgyn y rhwystr arbennig sydd wedi ymddangos o ran gallu derbyn credyd cynhwysol a'r cymhwysedd i'w gael. Ac eto, fe fyddai hi'n dda o beth pe gallen nhw ailystyried trethu'r cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol hwn. Fe fydd yn gynllun treialu pwysig i Lywodraeth y DU. Rydym ni'n buddsoddi yn y bobl ifanc hyn, ac fe fydd y buddsoddiad hwnnw'n golygu y gallai fod ganddyn nhw lai o angen am wasanaethau cyhoeddus wedyn, fel y gwasanaethau sy'n rhaid eu darparu o ran digartrefedd, camddefnyddio sylweddau ac, yn wir, diweithdra, oherwydd rydym ni'n gobeithio y bydd y bobl ifanc hyn wedyn yn symud ymlaen yn eu bywydau gyda swyddi, cyflogaeth, addysg.
Thank you very much to you, Minister, and to the other Minister as well, the Deputy Minister, and to the people in your department who have worked so hard on this. I could speak for hours on this, and I realise I've only got one minute, so I'll speak very, very quickly. I'm fully in support of this pilot, as you will know. I met with a group of care-experienced young people a couple of weeks ago, and I would invite all of the Conservatives who don't believe in this to go and meet with care-experienced young people and hear their views. I would also invite the Labour Party in Westminster to adopt this as a policy, as have Plaid Cymru, ourselves, the Scottish Nationalist Party and the Greens.
May I respond to you by saying I look forward to seeing whether we can get sufficient evidence to inform future expansions of this pilot and get more permanent schemes in place in Wales? And to the Conservatives I say: look at the evidence—the evidence all around the world that says that basic income actually improves lives, actually improves well-being. It's not about people just frittering money away. In 2009, 20 homeless people were given £3,000. They didn't fritter it away; they spent £800 of that on dictionaries, on learning and on finding accommodation. So, please, look at the evidence, Conservatives, and listen to the voices of children in care. Diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you.
Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi, Gweinidog, a'r Gweinidog arall hefyd, y Dirprwy Weinidog, a'r bobl yn eich adran chi sydd wedi gweithio mor galed ar hwn. Fe allwn i siarad am oriau ar y pwnc hwn, ac rwy'n sylweddoli mai dim ond un munud sydd gennyf i, felly rwyf i am siarad yn gyflym iawn, iawn. Rwyf i'n llwyr gefnogi'r cynllun treialu hwn, fel y gwyddoch chi. Fe wnes i gyfarfod â grŵp o bobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal ychydig wythnosau yn ôl, ac fe fyddwn i'n gwahodd y Ceidwadwyr i gyd nad ydyn nhw'n cyd-fynd â hyn i fynd i gyfarfod â phobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal a chlywed eu barn nhw. Fe fyddwn i'n gwahodd y Blaid Lafur yn San Steffan hefyd i fabwysiadu hwn yn bolisi iddyn nhw, fel gwnaeth Plaid Cymru, a ninnau, Plaid Genedlaethol yr Alban a'r Blaid Werdd.
A gaf i ymateb i chi drwy ddweud fy mod i yn edrych ymlaen at weld a fyddwn ni'n casglu digon o dystiolaeth i lywio'r gwaith o ehangu'r cynllun treialu hwn i'r dyfodol a chael cynlluniau mwy parhaol ar waith yng Nghymru? Ac fe fyddwn i'n dweud wrth y Ceidwadwyr: edrychwch chi ar y dystiolaeth—mae'r dystiolaeth ar draws y byd yn dweud bod incwm sylfaenol yn gwella bywydau yn wirioneddol ac yn gwella llesiant pobl. Nid yw hyn yn golygu dim ond pobl yn taflu eu harian nhw i ffwrdd. Yn 2009, rhoddwyd £3,000 i 20 o bobl ddigartref. Ni wnaethant ei daflu i ffwrdd; fe wnaethon nhw wario £800 ohono ar eiriaduron, ar addysg ac ar ddod o hyd i lety. Felly, os gwelwch chi'n dda, edrychwch chi ar y dystiolaeth, Geidwadwyr, a gwrando ar leisiau plant sydd mewn gofal. Diolch yn fawr iawn. Diolch i chi.
Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds. Well, I can't say anything more in response to Jane except to thank her for her support and also just to, again, look at the importance of the global evidence about basic income pilots. And I hope that the Conservatives will at least recognise that this is an opportunity for our care leavers, to give them hope, to open doors, to open opportunities for them.
Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds. Wel, ni allaf ddweud dim mwy wrth ymateb i Jane ac eithrio diolch iddi hithau am ei chefnogaeth hefyd, unwaith eto, edrychwch chi ar bwysigrwydd y dystiolaeth fyd-eang am gynlluniau treialu incwm sylfaenol. Ac rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y Ceidwadwyr yn cydnabod o leiaf fod hwn yn gyfle i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal yma, ac yn rhoi gobaith iddyn nhw, yn agor drysau, yn estyn cyfleoedd iddyn nhw.
Thank you, Minister, for the statement. I'm not trying to make any political points here. I have some grave concerns about this. As a corporate parent for 25 years through the local government sector, I do believe there is far more that local authorities can do. I know you described the packages of support that you were expecting from local authorities, but I genuinely believe local authorities should extend their parental responsibilities over the age of 18 and use the resources that you're looking to spend in this way to focus on real career paths and learning opportunities, with the creation of jobs—actual long-term jobs and careers. I'm really anxious about the drop-off at the end of the two years. There will be some people who manage this very well; there'll be others who are real casualties. And I'm really worried that there will be a lot of casualties as a result of this experiment. I hope it proves me wrong, because these are a very vulnerable, precious young group of people, and we should be treading very carefully in how we do this. But I think it should fall to local authorities to put in those packages of support as corporate parents and an extended corporate parental role. Thank you.
Diolch, Gweinidog, am y datganiad. Nid wyf i'n ceisio gwneud unrhyw bwyntiau gwleidyddol yn hyn o beth. Mae gennyf rai pryderon dybryd ynglŷn â hyn. A minnau'n rhiant corfforaethol am 25 mlynedd yn y sector llywodraeth leol, rwyf i o'r farn fod llawer mwy y gall awdurdodau lleol ei wneud. Rwy'n gwybod eich bod chi wedi disgrifio'r pecynnau cymorth yr oeddech chi'n eu disgwyl oddi wrth yr awdurdodau lleol, ond rwy'n llwyr o'r farn y dylai awdurdodau lleol ymestyn eu cyfrifoldebau rhianta nhw dros 18 oed a defnyddio'r adnoddau yr ydych chi'n bwriadu eu gwario fel hyn i ganolbwyntio ar lwybrau gyrfa a chyfleoedd dysgu gwirioneddol, gyda chreu swyddi—swyddi a gyrfaoedd hirdymor gwirioneddol. Rwy'n bryderus iawn ynglŷn â'r gostyngiad ar ddiwedd y ddwy flynedd. Fe fydd rhai yn gallu ymdopi yn dda iawn â hynny; ac eraill yn golledigion mewn gwirionedd. Ac rwy'n gofidio yn fawr y bydd llawer o golledigion o ganlyniad i'r arbrawf hwn. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y cynllun yn dangos fy mod i'n anghywir, oherwydd mae'r garfan ifanc hon yn werthfawr, werthfawr iawn ac fe ddylem ni ymlwybro yn ofalus iawn o ran ein dull ni o ymdrin â hyn. Ond rwy'n credu mai awdurdodau lleol ddylai gyflwyno'r pecynnau cymorth hynny oherwydd eu bod nhw'n rheini corfforaethol gyda swyddogaeth estynedig fel rhieni corfforaethol. Diolch i chi.
Well, thank you very much, Peter Fox. I hope that this basic income pilot will prove you wrong. Our local authorities are all behind this. I've met with the social workers, our young people's advisers, as Julie Morgan has, and the First Minister and myself last week. They see this as an opportunity to actually deliver on their responsibilities as corporate parents to young people leaving care. It's a real opportunity for them, and with the backing that we've got, the funding that we're putting in for the support package right the way through the pilot, and indeed the networking, I would like to say that I think care leavers in Wales would like to hear that you do want to look for the positives in this pilot. It would be great if that came from every part of this Chamber today.
Wel, diolch yn fawr iawn, Peter Fox. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol hwn yn dangos eich bod chi'n anghywir. Mae ein hawdurdodau lleol ni i gyd yn gefnogol i hyn. Rwyf i wedi cyfarfod â'r gweithwyr cymdeithasol, ein cynghorwyr pobl ifanc, fel gwnaeth Julie Morgan, a'r Prif Weinidog a minnau wythnos diwethaf. Maen nhw o'r farn bod hwn yn gyfle iddyn nhw gyflawni eu cyfrifoldebau nhw fel rhieni corfforaethol i bobl ifanc sy'n gadael gofal. Mae hwn yn gyfle gwirioneddol iddyn nhw, a chyda'r gefnogaeth sydd gennym ni, y cyllid yr ydym ni'n ei roi ar gyfer y pecyn cymorth drwy gydol y cynllun treialu, ac ar gyfer rhwydweithio mewn gwirionedd, ac fe hoffwn i ddweud fy mod i o'r farn y byddai pobl sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru yn falch o glywed eich bod chi'n awyddus i chwilio am yr elfennau cadarnhaol yn y cynllun treialu hwn. Fe fyddai hi'n ardderchog o beth pe byddai hynny'n dod o bob cwr o'r Siambr hon heddiw.
Minister, can I thank you for this statement today? I think it demonstrates once again the determination of the Welsh Government to level up the life chances of looked-after children. Two brief questions. The first regards all of the advice that you outlined that will be available to care leavers regarding financial matters. Could you just assure Members that the young persons' advisers will remain the first point of contact for care leavers, and that they will be able to trust those advisers to offer the most relevant signposting, and that they won't have to offer an entire list of advisory services that care leavers should go to to get financial advice? It's absolutely essential that care leavers, with their advisers, choose the best avenue to pursue in gaining advice and support on financial matters.
And secondly, Minister, upon completion of this pilot, should, through the evaluation, the benefits be seen as without doubt to be proven overwhelmingly to be in the interests of young people in having universal basic income for care leavers, will you commit the Government to look at maintaining this particular fund for care leavers in the future, regardless of what happens in terms of the pilot being taken up or otherwise by the UK Government? And may I also—
Gweinidog, a gaf i ddiolch i chi am y datganiad hwn heddiw? Rwy'n credu bod hyn unwaith eto yn amlygu penderfyniad Llywodraeth Cymru i gynyddu cyfleoedd bywyd i blant sy'n derbyn gofal. Dau gwestiwn byr. Mae'r cyntaf yn ymwneud â'r holl gyngor a amlinellwyd gennych chi a fydd ar gael i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal ynghylch materion ariannol. A wnewch chi roi sicrwydd i'r Aelodau mai'r cynghorwyr pobl ifanc fydd yn parhau i fod yn bwynt cyswllt cyntaf ar gyfer rhai sy'n gadael gofal, ac y byddan nhw'n gallu ymddiried yn y cynghorwyr hynny i gynnig y gwasanaeth cyfeirio sy'n fwyaf addas ar eu cyfer nhw, ac na fydd yn rhaid iddyn nhw gynnig rhestr faith o wasanaethau cynghori y dylai'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal fynd atyn nhw i gael cyngor ariannol? Mae hi'n gwbl hanfodol bod y rhai sy'n gadael gofal, gyda'u cynghorwyr nhw, yn dewis y ffordd orau o fynd ar drywydd hynny drwy gael cyngor a chymorth ynglŷn â materion ariannol.
Ac yn ail, Gweinidog, ar ôl cwblhau'r cynllun treialu hwn, pe byddai'r cynllun, yn sgil y gwerthusiad, yn cael ei ystyried o fudd sylweddol iawn i bobl ifanc o ran bod ag incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol i rai sy'n gadael gofal, a wnewch chi ymrwymo'r Llywodraeth i ystyried cynnal y gronfa benodol hon i rai sy'n gadael gofal yn y dyfodol, beth bynnag sy'n digwydd o ran y cynllun treialu hwn yn cael ei fabwysiadu neu beidio gan Lywodraeth y DU? Ac a gaf i hefyd—
No, no. Thank you, Ken.
Na, na. Diolch i chi, Ken.
Thank you. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Diolch i chi, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Diolch yn fawr, Ken Skates. The service will provide direct advice to young people—that £2 million package that I've already responded to questions about, the package of support, financial advice and guidance, alongside the young people's advisers as well, which are perhaps wider aspects of advice and guidance needed, but particularly one to one. But also, it's independent, and I think that's what important—that this package will be independent, as you say, Ken Skates. It's got to be independent, so they feel that they can trust it, alongside their local authority guidance. And it will be pre pilot and all the way through the pilot as well. It's going to be important that that is from experienced advisers, particularly in relation to finance.
Yes, the evaluation is going to take us through the two years and beyond to see the impact of basic income on these young people's lives. We hope that the pilot will prove that this is the right decision that we've made in terms of our care leavers in Wales, and that then—. It will be for Governments, and indeed other political parties as well, I'm sure, in terms of looking forward to the future in terms of taking this forward as an investment in our young people. I know I haven't got time to go over this again, but it is really important that we do see this as an investment. This is about their financial lives, their futures, and I think looking at it from the perspective of how this will set them off to be fully contributing citizens, paying their taxes and enabling them to contribute to society in the way they want to—running businesses, going into further education and higher education and jobs—that's what we want for our care leavers in Wales.
Diolch yn fawr, Ken Skates. Fe fydd y gwasanaeth yn rhoi cyngor uniongyrchol i bobl ifanc—y pecyn £2 filiwn hwnnw yr wyf i wedi ymateb i gwestiynau yn ei gylch eisoes, y pecyn cymorth, y cyngor ariannol a'r arweiniad, yn gyfochrog â'r cynghorwyr pobl ifanc hefyd, sy'n agweddau mwy eang efallai ar y cyngor a'r arweiniad angenrheidiol, ond ar sail un i un yn arbennig felly. Ond hefyd, mae hynny'n annibynnol, ac rwyf i o'r farn mai dyna sy'n bwysig—y bydd y pecyn hwn yn annibynnol, fel rydych chi'n dweud, Ken Skates. Mae'n rhaid iddo fod yn annibynnol, felly maen nhw'n teimlo y gallan nhw fod â ffydd ynddo, ochr yn ochr â chanllawiau eu hawdurdodau lleol nhw. Ac fe fydd hynny'n dod cyn y cynllun treialu a thrwy gydol y cynllun hefyd. Fe fydd hi'n bwysig i hynny fod oddi wrth gynghorwyr profiadol, yn enwedig o ran cyllid.
Bydd, fe fydd y gwerthusiad yn mynd â ni drwy'r ddwy flynedd a thu hwnt i weld effaith incwm sylfaenol ar fywydau'r bobl ifanc hyn. Rydym ni'n gobeithio y bydd y cynllun treialu yn profi i ni wneud y penderfyniad cywir o ran rhai sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru, a hynny wedyn—. Dyletswydd y Llywodraethau, a'r pleidiau gwleidyddol eraill hefyd yn wir, rwy'n siŵr, fydd edrych ymlaen at y dyfodol o ran bwrw ymlaen â buddsoddiad fel hyn yn ein pobl ifanc ni. Rwy'n gwybod nad oes gennyf i amser i fynd dros hyn eto, ond mae hi'n bwysig iawn ein bod ni'n ystyried hyn yn fuddsoddiad. Mae hyn yn ymwneud â'u bywydau ariannol nhw, eu dyfodol nhw, ac fe fydd ystyried hyn o ran sut y bydd hyn yn rhoi cychwyn iddyn nhw ar eu taith i fod yn ddinasyddion sy'n cyfrannu'n llawn, sy'n talu eu trethi ac yn eu galluogi nhw i fod â rhan yn y gymdeithas yn y ffordd y maen nhw'n dymuno—rhedeg busnesau, mynd i addysg bellach ac addysg uwch a swyddi—dyna'r hyn yr ydym ni'n awyddus i'w gael i rai sy'n gadael gofal yng Nghymru.
Diolch, Weinidog. I fully support the pilot as a step towards a permanent universal basic income. On 4 May, during social justice spokespersons' questions, I raised with you that young people leaving care often access semi-independent accommodation, such as flats in a complex, where a young person has their own independent space but has access to significant support to help make the transition to living independently. However, of course, this kind of accommodation is expensive to run and, as such, the rent can be high. But, previously, for many young people leaving care, rent would have been paid directly to landlords of this type of accommodation via housing benefit. I asked if Welsh Government was going to ensure that participants in the basic income pilot were financially supported to access the best possible support and accommodation and were not financially disincentivised from accessing supported housing. You responded by saying that you'd look at this particular point. So, I was wondering, Minister, if you could outline if this issue has been evaluated by Welsh Government, given what you've said about the DWP, and if you could make it clear that those on the basic income pilot will be able to continue to access supported accommodation.
Diolch, Gweinidog. Rwyf i'n llwyr gefnogi'r cynllun treialu fel un cam ar y daith tuag at incwm sylfaenol cyffredinol parhaol. Ar 4 Mai, yn ystod cwestiynau llefarwyr cyfiawnder cymdeithasol, fe godais i gyda chi fod pobl ifanc sy'n gadael gofal yn aml yn cael cyfle i aros mewn llety lled annibynnol, megis fflatiau mewn cyfadeilad, lle mae gan unigolyn ifanc ei lety annibynnol ei hun ond ei fod yn gallu cael cymorth sylweddol i'w helpu i bontio i fywyd annibynnol. Eto i gyd, wrth gwrs, mae'r math hwn o lety yn ddrud i'w redeg ac, o'r herwydd, fe all y rhent fod yn uchel. Ond, yn flaenorol, i lawer o bobl ifanc yn gadael gofal, roedd eu rhent nhw mewn llety o'r fath yn cael ei dalu i landlordiaid yn uniongyrchol drwy fudd-dal tai. Gofynnais i a oedd Llywodraeth Cymru am sicrhau bod cyfranogwyr y cynllun treialu yn cael eu cefnogi'n ariannol er mwyn iddyn nhw gael mynediad at y cymorth a'r llety gorau posibl ac nad oeddynt yn cael eu datgymell rhag cael mynediad i dai â chymorth. Fe wnaethoch chi ymateb drwy ddweud y byddech chi'n ystyried y pwynt penodol hwn. Felly, tybed, Gweinidog, a wnewch chi amlinellu a yw Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gwerthuso'r mater hwn, o ystyried yr hyn a ddywedoch chi am yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau, ac a wnewch chi egluro a fydd y rhain sydd ar y cynllun treialu incwm sylfaenol yn gallu parhau i gael mynediad i lety â chymorth.
Diolch. That's a very important question, and I can say 'yes'; I can say 'yes' to all the points. Also, there will be the opportunity to look at whether they want their rent paid direct, as well as looking at their needs in terms of supported housing opportunities, both current and in the future.
Diolch. Mae hwnnw'n gwestiwn pwysig iawn, a gallaf i ddweud 'ie'; Gallaf i ddweud 'ie' i'r yr holl bwyntiau. Hefyd, bydd cyfle i ystyried a ydyn nhw eisiau i'w rhent gael ei dalu'n uniongyrchol, yn ogystal ag edrych ar eu hanghenion o ran cyfleoedd tai â chymorth, nawr ac yn y dyfodol.
Ac yn olaf, Huw Irranca-Davies.
And finally, Huw Irranca-Davies.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I really welcome this pilot and the statement today, focusing as it does on care leavers with the basic income. It will add, despite some of the doubters today, to that pool of international evidence, both in terms of basic income pilots but also on support for care leavers themselves towards an independent life as well.
Just to build on the points that were made by my colleague Ken Skates, and touched on by others as well, when it comes to the evaluation of this, there are two interesting potentials. Well, there are three: one is that it doesn’t work, and we say, 'Well, that’s it. We're not interested in it.' But there are two others that may be more fruitful. One is the broadening and widening of this into a basic income that is genuinely more universal; the other one is the continuation of this.
Now, I assume that it'll be for parties to look at this, and the success of this, and to say whether they want to put this into manifestos going forward on a wider scale. But what about the continuity of this for care leavers themselves? Is that something that we could indeed make a decision on before that point?
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n croesawu'r cynllun peilot hwn a'r datganiad heddiw yn fawr, gan ganolbwyntio fel y mae ar y rhai sy'n gadael gofal â'r incwm sylfaenol. Bydd yn ychwanegu, er gwaethaf rhai o'r amheuon heddiw, at y gronfa honno o dystiolaeth ryngwladol, o ran cynlluniau treialu incwm sylfaenol ond hefyd ar gymorth i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal eu hunain tuag at fywyd annibynnol hefyd.
I ddatblygu'r pwyntiau a gafodd eu gwneud gan fy nghyd-Aelod Ken Skates, ac y cyfeiriodd eraill atyn nhw hefyd, o ran gwerthuso hyn, mae dau botensial diddorol. Wel, mae tri: un yw nad yw'n gweithio, a dywedwn ni, 'Wel, dyna ni. Nid oes gennym ni ddiddordeb ynddo.' Ond mae dau arall a allai fod yn fwy ffrwythlon. Un ohonyn nhw yw ehangu hyn i incwm sylfaenol sydd wir yn fwy cyffredinol; yr un arall yw parhau hyn.
Nawr, rwy'n tybio mai mater i bleidiau fydd edrych ar hyn, a llwyddiant hyn, a dweud a ydyn nhw eisiau rhoi hyn mewn maniffestos wrth symud ymlaen ar raddfa ehangach. Ond beth am barhad hyn i'r rhai sy'n gadael gofal eu hunain? A yw hynny'n rhywbeth y gallem ni yn wir wneud penderfyniad arno cyn y pwynt hwnnw?
Well, we've identified and we've agreed in our budget the £20 million. It is actually—. I wanted to say that one of the points that I haven't been able to highlight is that this is one of the most generous payments in the whole of the world that we're making. We're making it, actually, partly because, when we heard that the UK Government was going to tax it, we knew that we had to make it of a sufficient amount to make it actually worthwhile for young people to consider this option.
We do believe that our investment in this, and the evaluation—a dynamic, continuous process for the life of the pilot—will prove whether this is going to make a substantive difference to those young people’s lives. So, I'm very happy to come back and report. I think that many will want to meet the young people; I'm sure they will be very keen to do so, to tell you about the impact of this and the difference that it has made to their lives. And then, actually, to start costing what this means in terms of investing in these young people—investing so that other public services may not be needed in their lives, in terms of housing, and the impact of perhaps those difficulties that many young people in care often do face, in terms of homelessness, substance misuse.
But we're looking at this as—. These young people who've spoken to us, you can see, if you read their stories, that they know what they want to spend this money on. It’s to make their lives resilient. It’s about making sure that they have got the opportunities, and saying, ‘We have now got hope, and we want to prove that we can use this money and move forward in our lives in a positive, proactive way.’ That’s what this is all about.
Wel, rydym ni wedi nodi ac rydym ni wedi cytuno yn ein cyllideb ar yr £20 miliwn. Mae'n wir—. Roeddwn i eisiau dweud mai un o'r pwyntiau nad wyf i wedi gallu tynnu sylw ato yw mai dyma un o'r taliadau mwyaf hael yn y byd i gyd yr ydym ni'n ei wneud. Rydym ni'n ei wneud, mewn gwirionedd, yn rhannol oherwydd, pan wnaethom ni glywed bod Llywodraeth y DU yn mynd i'w drethu, roeddem ni'n gwybod bod yn rhaid inni ei gwneud yn ddigon i'w gwneud yn fuddiol i bobl ifanc ystyried y dewis hwn.
Rydym ni'n credu y bydd ein buddsoddiad yn hyn, a'r gwerthusiad—proses ddeinamig, barhaus ar gyfer oes y cynllun treialu—yn profi a fydd hyn yn gwneud gwahaniaeth sylweddol i fywydau'r bobl ifanc hynny. Felly, rwy'n hapus iawn i ddod yn ôl ac adrodd. Rwy'n credu y bydd llawer eisiau cwrdd â'r bobl ifanc; rwy'n siŵr y byddan nhw'n awyddus iawn i wneud hynny, i ddweud wrthych chi am effaith hyn a'r gwahaniaeth y mae wedi'i wneud i'w bywydau. Ac yna, mewn gwirionedd, i ddechrau costio'r hyn y mae hyn yn ei olygu o ran buddsoddi yn y bobl ifanc hyn—buddsoddi fel na fydd angen gwasanaethau cyhoeddus eraill yn eu bywydau, o ran tai, ac effaith efallai'r anawsterau hynny y mae llawer o bobl ifanc mewn gofal yn aml yn eu hwynebu, o ran digartrefedd, camddefnyddio sylweddau.
Ond rydym ni'n edrych ar hyn fel—. Y bobl ifanc hyn sydd wedi siarad â ni, gallwch chi weld, os darllenwch chi eu straeon, eu bod yn gwybod ar beth y maen nhw eisiau gwario'r arian hwn. Mae i wneud eu bywydau'n gadarn. Mae'n ymwneud â sicrhau eu bod wedi cael y cyfleoedd, a dweud, 'Mae gennym ni obaith nawr, ac rydym ni eisiau profi y gallwn ni ddefnyddio'r arian hwn a symud ymlaen yn ein bywydau mewn ffordd gadarnhaol, ragweithiol.' Dyna hanfod hyn i gyd.
Diolch i'r Gweinidog.
I thank the Minister.
Eitem 4 y prynhawn yma yw datganiad gan y Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd ar ddiogelwch adeiladau. Galwaf ar y Gweinidog, Julie James.
Item 4 this afternoon is a statement by the Minister for Climate Change on building safety. I call on the Minister, Julie James.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, for the opportunity to update Members on our action to tackle what is a complex and sensitive issue. Members will know that I am committed to addressing building safety in Wales and continue to take forward our building remediation programme, alongside a significant programme of reform, to establish a fit-for-purpose building safety regime in Wales.
At the heart of our approach to remediation is the principle that developers should contribute towards the costs of fixing these problems, and leaseholders should not be made to pay for fire safety issues that are not of their own making. Since the opening of the Welsh building safety fund we have received 258 expressions of interest from responsible persons who know or suspect that their building may have fire safety defects.
We have completed digital surveys for all of these and have identified 161 buildings that require further, intrusive survey work. This will involve our surveyors undertaking a detailed investigation of both internal and external fire safety issues, such as cladding and compartmentation. The work has begun and will continue over the summer.
While we continue to receive expressions of interest, I understand there are still some responsible persons who have not engaged and are still passing on costs to leaseholders. This is extremely disappointing, and I urge any leaseholder in this situation, who know or suspect that their building is affected by fire safety issues, to contact my officials, who can support them in taking forward an expression of interest.
I have spoken to many leaseholders and continue to meet residents in buildings affected by fire safety issues across Wales. I am very well aware of the impact of increased insurance costs, higher service charges, and the difficulties people are experiencing in remortgaging or selling their homes. I have written to all managing agents in Wales to make clear that I have set aside £375 million to cover the costs of remediating buildings, and I've repeatedly stated publicly that leaseholders should not foot the bill for fire safety defects.
I am also taking action on developers. I was very disappointed that the UK Government chose to pursue its building safety pledges on an England-only basis, despite a number of meetings in which the devolved Governments made it clear that a UK-wide approach was the best for leaseholders. I am pleased to say, however, that we have moved the UK Government on this point and have also moved swiftly to implement a comparable approach here in Wales.
I have written to developers and invited them to meet with me. I am pleased to say that a number of developers have already agreed to meet and discuss their plans. I've also published a list of developers who have chosen not to engage, and I am exploring what further action this Government might take with developers who continue not to engage.
I do understand, though, for some residents in affected buildings, these changes will just not come soon enough. To support those in or facing the most urgent financial hardship, the leaseholder support scheme opened yesterday for applications. This new scheme will provide tailored, independent advice to leaseholders in affected homes. The package of support is targeted at leaseholders who are owner-occupiers, and those who have become displaced residents. However, we will be monitoring applications and reviewing eligibility criteria to ensure those who need support the most have access to the scheme.
All leaseholders who are eligible for this scheme will receive advice from an independent financial adviser, with the costs fully covered by the Welsh Government. The advice will support them in making the right choice for them, recognising that the circumstances will be different for each household. If the sale of their property is the right route, the Welsh Government will enable them to sell their property at a fair market value. Full guidance on the scheme, including the eligibility criteria, is now available on the Welsh Government website.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the external partners and sector experts who have assisted us in developing this scheme at pace. Their support and hard work have been critical to establishing the right qualifying criteria and the support processes.
Alongside this programme of support and remediation of buildings, we continue to take forward work on the cultural changes and legislative reforms needed to prevent this situation arising again. We have worked with the UK Government to ensure relevant elements of the Building Safety Act 2022 will apply here in Wales. The Act will allow us to reform the building control system, to help prevent a recurrence of a tragedy such as Grenfell. The Act also introduces a number of important provisions aimed at improving the rights of home buyers, including extending rights of action and the creation of the new homes ombudsman.
I want to ensure our building safety reforms are practical and accessible for people. We will continue to undertake a series of measures to engage directly with leaseholders and tenants to gain a broad range of residents' views. This work will help to further strengthen the resident's voice so that it remains at the heart of our policy development.
Unfortunately, there are no quick or easy fixes, and I cannot compromise on achieving the right, sustainable solution. Anything else leaves the door open to further issues arising. It is important that these matters are resolved once and for all. We must do this properly to get it right now and for the future.
I welcome the continued commitment from Plaid Cymru to this agenda and look forward to working in partnership with their designated Member on our collective aim, to ensure our buildings are as safe as possible from the outset. Diolch.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, am y cyfle i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i'r Aelodau am ein camau i ymdrin â mater cymhleth a sensitif. Bydd Aelodau'n ymwybodol fy mod wedi ymrwymo i ymdrin â diogelwch adeiladau yng Nghymru ac yn parhau i fwrw ymlaen â'n rhaglen adfer adeiladau, ochr yn ochr â rhaglen sylweddol o ddiwygio, i sefydlu gweithdrefn diogelwch adeiladau addas i'r diben yng Nghymru.
Wrth wraidd ein dull o adfer mae'r egwyddor y dylai datblygwyr gyfrannu at gostau datrys y problemau hyn, ac ni ddylai lesddeiliaid orfod talu am broblemau diogelwch tân nad ydyn nhw wedi eu creu eu hunain. Ers agor cronfa diogelwch adeiladau Cymru, rydym ni wedi derbyn 258 o ddatganiadau o ddiddordeb gan bersonau cyfrifol sy'n gwybod neu'n amau y gallai fod gan eu hadeilad ddiffygion diogelwch tân.
Rydym ni wedi cwblhau arolygon digidol ar gyfer pob un o'r rhain ac wedi nodi 161 o adeiladau sydd angen gwaith arolygu ymwthiol arall. Bydd hyn yn golygu bod ein syrfewyr yn cynnal ymchwiliad manwl i faterion diogelwch tân mewnol ac allanol, fel cladin ac adraniadau. Mae'r gwaith wedi dechrau a bydd yn parhau dros yr haf.
Er ein bod yn parhau i dderbyn datganiadau o ddiddordeb, rwy'n deall bod rhai personau cyfrifol o hyd nad ydyn nhw wedi ymgysylltu ac sy'n dal i drosglwyddo costau i lesddeiliaid. Mae hyn yn siomedig dros ben, ac rwy'n annog unrhyw lesddeiliad yn y sefyllfa hon, sy'n gwybod neu'n amau bod materion diogelwch tân yn effeithio ar eu hadeilad, i gysylltu â fy swyddogion, a all eu cefnogi i ddatblygu datganiad o ddiddordeb.
Rwyf i wedi siarad â llawer o lesddeiliaid ac yn parhau i gwrdd â thrigolion mewn adeiladau y mae problemau diogelwch tân yn effeithio arnyn nhw ledled Cymru. Rwy'n ymwybodol iawn o effaith costau yswiriant uwch, taliadau gwasanaeth uwch, a'r anawsterau y mae pobl yn eu cael wrth ailforgeisio neu werthu eu cartrefi. Rwyf i wedi ysgrifennu at bob asiant rheoli yng Nghymru i'w gwneud yn glir fy mod wedi neilltuo £375 miliwn i dalu am gostau adfer adeiladau, ac rwyf i wedi datgan yn gyhoeddus dro ar ôl tro na ddylai lesddeiliaid dalu'r bil am ddiffygion diogelwch tân.
Rwyf i hefyd yn cymryd camau ar ddatblygwyr. Roeddwn i'n siomedig iawn bod Llywodraeth y DU wedi dewis mynd ar drywydd ei haddewidion diogelwch adeiladu ar sail Lloegr yn unig, er gwaethaf nifer o gyfarfodydd lle'r oedd y Llywodraethau datganoledig yn ei gwneud yn glir mai dull gweithredu ar gyfer y DU gyfan oedd y gorau i lesddeiliaid. Rwy'n falch o ddweud, fodd bynnag, ein bod ni wedi symud Llywodraeth y DU ar y pwynt hwn a'n bod ni hefyd wedi symud yn gyflym i weithredu dull tebyg yma yng Nghymru.
Rwyf i wedi ysgrifennu at ddatblygwyr a'u gwahodd i gwrdd â mi. Rwy'n falch o ddweud bod nifer o ddatblygwyr eisoes wedi cytuno i gyfarfod a thrafod eu cynlluniau. Rwyf hefyd wedi cyhoeddi rhestr o ddatblygwyr sydd wedi dewis peidio ag ymgysylltu, ac rwy'n archwilio pa gamau eraill y gallai'r Llywodraeth hon eu cymryd gyda datblygwyr sy'n parhau i beidio ag ymgysylltu.
Rwy'n deall, serch hynny, i rai trigolion mewn adeiladau sydd wedi'u heffeithio arnyn nhw, na fydd y newidiadau hyn yn dod yn ddigon buan. Er mwyn cefnogi'r rheini sydd yng nghanol y caledi ariannol mwyaf brys, neu sydd yn ei wynebu, agorodd y cynllun cymorth lesddeiliaid ddoe ar gyfer ceisiadau. Bydd y cynllun newydd hwn yn darparu cyngor annibynnol yn benodol ar gyfer lesddeiliaid mewn cartrefi sydd wedi'u heffeithio. Mae'r pecyn cymorth wedi'i dargedu at lesddeiliaid sy'n berchen-feddianwyr, a'r rhai sydd wedi dod yn breswylwyr sydd wedi'u dadleoli. Fodd bynnag, byddwn ni'n monitro ceisiadau ac yn adolygu meini prawf cymhwysedd i sicrhau bod y rhai sydd angen cymorth fwyaf yn cael cyfle i fanteisio ar y cynllun.
Bydd pob lesddeiliad sy'n gymwys ar gyfer y cynllun hwn yn cael cyngor gan gynghorydd ariannol annibynnol, gyda'r costau'n cael eu talu'n llawn gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Bydd y cyngor yn eu cefnogi i wneud y dewis cywir iddyn nhw, gan gydnabod y bydd yr amgylchiadau'n wahanol i bob aelwyd. Os mai gwerthu eu heiddo yw'r llwybr cywir, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu galluogi i werthu eu heiddo am werth teg i'r farchnad. Mae canllawiau llawn ar y cynllun, gan gynnwys y meini prawf cymhwysedd, nawr ar gael ar wefan Llywodraeth Cymru.
Hoffwn i fanteisio ar y cyfle hwn hefyd i ddiolch i'r partneriaid allanol ac arbenigwyr yn y sector sydd wedi ein cynorthwyo i ddatblygu'r cynllun hwn yn gyflym. Mae eu cefnogaeth a'u gwaith caled wedi bod yn hanfodol i sefydlu'r meini prawf cymhwyso cywir a'r prosesau cymorth.
Ochr yn ochr â'r rhaglen hon o gefnogi ac adfer adeiladau, rydym ni'n parhau i fwrw ymlaen â gwaith ar y newidiadau diwylliannol a'r diwygiadau deddfwriaethol sydd eu hangen i atal y sefyllfa hon rhag codi eto. Rydym ni wedi gweithio gyda Llywodraeth y DU i sicrhau y bydd elfennau perthnasol o Ddeddf Diogelwch Adeiladu 2022 yn berthnasol yma yng Nghymru. Bydd y Ddeddf yn ein galluogi ni i ddiwygio'r system rheoli adeiladu, er mwyn helpu i atal trychineb fel Grenfell rhag digwydd eto. Mae'r Ddeddf hefyd yn cyflwyno nifer o ddarpariaethau pwysig sydd â'r nod o wella hawliau prynwyr cartrefi, gan gynnwys ymestyn hawliau gweithredu a chreu'r ombwdsmon cartrefi newydd.
Rwyf i eisiau sicrhau bod ein diwygiadau diogelwch adeiladau yn ymarferol ac yn hygyrch i bobl. Byddwn yn parhau i ymgymryd â chyfres o fesurau i ymgysylltu'n uniongyrchol â lesddeiliaid a thenantiaid er mwyn cael amrywiaeth eang o safbwyntiau preswylwyr. Bydd y gwaith hwn yn helpu i gryfhau llais y preswylydd ymhellach fel ei fod yn parhau i fod wrth wraidd ein datblygiad polisi.
Yn anffodus, nid oes atebion cyflym na hawdd, ac ni allaf i gyfaddawdu ar gyflawni'r ateb cywir, cynaliadwy. Mae unrhyw beth arall yn gadael y drws yn agored i faterion eraill sy'n codi. Mae'n bwysig bod y materion hyn yn cael eu datrys unwaith ac am byth. Rhaid i ni wneud hyn yn iawn i'w gael yn iawn nawr ac ar gyfer y dyfodol.
Croesawaf i'r ymrwymiad parhaus gan Blaid Cymru i'r agenda hon ac edrychaf ymlaen at weithio mewn partneriaeth â'u Haelod dynodedig ar ein nod cyfunol, i sicrhau bod ein hadeiladau mor ddiogel â phosibl o'r cychwyn cyntaf. Diolch.
Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Janet Finch-Saunders.
Conservative spokesperson, Janet Finch-Saunders.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Of course, it's hard to realise, Minister, isn't it, that five years on from the Grenfell tragedy, residents in Wales are still facing the financial burden of cladding and other fire safety risks, because, I think, sometimes, the agenda has just been mentioning cladding, and you've rightly pointed out that there are other aspects of some buildings that are a risk in terms of fire safety.
We now see people at risk of bankruptcy and potentially losing their homes. As you know, leaseholders have seen their service and insurance charges increase significantly. Only yesterday, I was e-mailed by someone outside of my constituency, who raised with me her concerns as a leaseholder owning an apartment, bought from Redrow, located in Cardiff. Residents there have recently witnessed service costs increase from £3,000 to nearly £7,800 annually, with reports indicating that building insurance premiums are increasing exponentially by up to 1,000 per cent.
In contrast, if we look at the work the UK Government is doing, a package of measures to protect leaseholders from the financial costs of cladding remediation and other aspects have been introduced. As part of the measures announced, the UK Government put into law its own guarantee that no leaseholders living in medium or high-rise buildings would have to pay for the removal of this cladding. Furthermore, developers and the UK Government have reached an agreement to fund building safety repairs. Over 35 of the UK's biggest developers have pledged to remediate buildings they have built within the last 30 years. So, you can understand—. And it's a bit annoying when you politicise this by mentioning Plaid Cymru, because, at the end of the day, I honestly do believe that nobody has held you more to account on this than the Welsh Conservatives. So, our residents in Wales do need tangible funding options.
Going back to your statement, you mentioned 258 expressions of interest from responsible persons who know or suspect their building may have fire safety defects, and that 161 buildings require further intrusive survey work. So, my first question is: how assured are you that you're really getting through to all those people affected? I understand that there are some responsible persons who have not engaged and still passing costs onto leaseholders. This is extremely disappointing, you say, and you urge any leaseholders in this situation who know or suspect their building is affected by fire safety issues to contact your officials. I suppose my biggest question there is: what will you do if they don't?
Obviously, we're very grateful to see that you have put £375 million to cover the costs of remediating buildings, and that you've repeatedly stated publicly that leaseholders should not foot the bill for fire safety defects. But when I've seen other people concerned, who live in some of these properties, they really do feel on their own in terms of how do they know they're going to be included in your schemes if the people responsible for their buildings—maybe the management companies—don't actually approach you. So, you can understand the concerns there.
Just basically, really, I see that the leaseholder support scheme opened yesterday for applications. Will you keep us updated on that, Minister? And I'll reiterate this again: the Welsh Conservatives are on your side when it comes to these developers, who have left these residents, these poor home owners in such a tragic position. So, I would say again: this shouldn't be politicised; I'm convinced that we have support from across all parties in this Chamber, but we really do need to make sure that not one householder is left behind when it comes to making sure that their homes are safe to live in. Diolch.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Wrth gwrs, mae'n anodd sylweddoli, Gweinidog, on'd yw hi, bum mlynedd yn ddiweddarach wedi trasiedi Grenfell, fod trigolion yng Nghymru yn dal i wynebu baich ariannol cladin a risgiau diogelwch tân eraill, oherwydd, rwy'n credu, weithiau, mae'r agenda newydd fod yn sôn am gladin, ac rydych chi wedi tynnu sylw'n briodol at y ffaith bod agweddau eraill ar rai adeiladau sy'n risg o ran diogelwch tân.
Rydym ni nawr yn gweld pobl mewn perygl o fethdaliad ac o bosibl yn colli eu cartrefi. Fel y gwyddoch chi, mae lesddeiliaid wedi gweld eu taliadau gwasanaeth ac yswiriant yn cynyddu'n sylweddol. Ddoe ddiwethaf, cefais i e-bost gan rywun y tu allan i fy etholaeth, a gododd gyda mi ei phryderon fel lesddeiliad yn berchen ar fflat, wedi'i phrynu gan Redrow, ac wedi'i lleoli yng Nghaerdydd. Yn ddiweddar, mae trigolion yno wedi gweld costau gwasanaethau'n cynyddu o £3,000 i bron £7,800 y flwyddyn, ac adroddiadau'n dangos bod premiymau yswiriant adeiladu yn cynyddu'n esbonyddol hyd at 1,000 y cant.
I'r gwrthwyneb, os edrychwn ni ar y gwaith y mae Llywodraeth y DU yn ei wneud, mae pecyn o fesurau i ddiogelu lesddeiliaid rhag costau ariannol adfer cladin ac agweddau eraill wedi'i gyflwyno. Fel rhan o'r mesurau a gafodd eu cyhoeddi, gwnaeth Llywodraeth y DU roi mewn cyfraith ei gwarant ei hun, sef na fyddai'n rhaid i unrhyw lesddeiliaid sy'n byw mewn adeiladau canolig neu uchel dalu am gael gwared ar y cladin hwn. At hynny, mae datblygwyr a Llywodraeth y DU wedi dod i gytundeb i ariannu gwaith atgyweirio diogelwch adeiladau. Mae dros 35 o ddatblygwyr mwyaf y DU wedi addo adfer adeiladau y maen nhw wedi'u hadeiladu o fewn y 30 mlynedd diwethaf. Felly, gallwch chi ddeall—. Ac mae braidd yn annifyr pan fyddwch chi'n gwneud hyn yn wleidyddol drwy sôn am Blaid Cymru, oherwydd, yn y pen draw, rwy'n credu'n onest nad oes neb wedi eich dal i gyfrif am hyn fwn na'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig. Felly, mae angen dewisiadau ariannu pendant ar ein trigolion yng Nghymru.
Gan fynd yn ôl at eich datganiad, gwnaethoch chi sôn am 258 o ddatganiadau o ddiddordeb gan bobl gyfrifol sy'n gwybod neu'n amau bod gan eu hadeilad ddiffygion diogelwch tân, a bod angen gwaith arolygu ymwthiol arall ar 161 o adeiladau. Felly, fy nghwestiwn cyntaf yw: pa mor sicr ydych chi eich bod chi'n cyrraedd yr holl bobl hynny sydd wedi'u heffeithio mewn gwirionedd? Rwy'n deall bod rhai personau cyfrifol nad ydyn nhw wedi ymgysylltu ac sy'n dal i drosglwyddo costau i lesddeiliaid. Mae hyn yn siomedig iawn, rydych chi'n ei ddweud, ac rydych chi'n annog unrhyw lesddeiliaid yn y sefyllfa hon sy'n gwybod neu'n amau bod materion diogelwch tân yn effeithio ar eu hadeilad i gysylltu â'ch swyddogion. Mae'n debyg mai fy nghwestiwn mwyaf yw: beth fyddwch chi'n ei wneud os nad ydyn nhw?
Yn amlwg, rydym ni'n ddiolchgar iawn o weld eich bod chi wedi rhoi £375 miliwn i dalu am gostau adfer adeiladau, a'ch bod chi wedi datgan yn gyhoeddus dro ar ôl tro na ddylai lesddeiliaid dalu'r bil am ddiffygion diogelwch tân. Ond pan fyddaf i wedi gweld pobl eraill dan sylw, sy'n byw yn rhai o'r eiddo hyn, maen nhw'n teimlo ar eu pennau eu hunain o ran sut y maen nhw'n gwybod y byddan nhw'n cael eu cynnwys yn eich cynlluniau os nad yw'r bobl sy'n gyfrifol am eu hadeiladau—efallai'r cwmnïau rheoli—yn cysylltu â chi mewn gwirionedd. Felly, gallwch chi ddeall y pryderon yno.
Yn y bôn, mewn gwirionedd, gwelaf i fod y cynllun cymorth lesddeiliaid wedi agor ddoe ar gyfer ceisiadau. A wnewch roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i ni am hynny, Gweinidog? A gwnaf i ddweud hyn eto: mae'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig ar eich ochr chi o ran y datblygwyr hyn, sydd wedi gadael y trigolion hyn, y perchnogion cartrefi tlawd hyn mewn sefyllfa mor drasig. Felly, byddwn i'n dweud eto: ni ddylai hyn gael ei wneud yn wleidyddol; rwy'n argyhoeddedig bod gennym ni gefnogaeth o bob plaid yn y Siambr hon, ond mae gwir angen i ni sicrhau nad oes yr un deiliad tŷ yn cael ei adael ar ôl pan ddaw'n fater o sicrhau bod eu cartrefi'n ddiogel i fyw ynddyn nhw. Diolch.
Thank you, Janet. I think I actually answered all your questions in my statement. But just to reiterate, if anyone thinks that their management company, or the management arrangements for their building—because there's a huge range of complex ways of managing these buildings—haven't been included, then just get in touch directly with us. It's easy enough to do—you can e-mail me directly if you need to. So, it's straightforward to do. We will check that the building is included currently in the expressions of interest, to put people's minds at rest if it is included and they don't know that, and that has happened. Or, if they're not included, then we will go the extra mile to get in touch with the management arrangements for that building, and make sure that every effort is made to make those people apply. But in the end, I can't make them, and that's one of the problems.
So, one of the issues about the way that these buildings is managed is one of the things we need to address, and one of the things we're currently waiting on is working with the UK Government on the wider leasehold reform package that needs to come in the wake of all of these. I was disappointed that wasn't in the Queen's Speech, but we're reassured that it's coming, and our officials are working together to do that, because we have extremely similar problems across England and Wales. It's very different in Scotland, where they have a different system.
So, I very much hope that the UK Government will work with us on that. We were disappointed that they left us out of the original plans, but, in fairness, they have now decided to work with us, and I'm very grateful for that. And in addition, we've been doing a number of things ourselves. So, I was already meeting with the developers before the UK Government started. When the UK Government started to meet with developers, then, obviously, they have much bigger pockets than us, and so, developers unfortunately lost interest in talking to us. However, they have regained that interest, and I'm very glad for that. And we have a range of developers saying that they will sign the pledge for Wales as well; Redrow is one of those. Actually, the contract isn't quite finalised with the UK Government yet, so, when it is, it will be extended to Wales by those developers who have already said on the record they will. And I have a range of meetings with developers anyway, going forward, in Wales, to try and see what we can do.
On the insurance point, just briefly, we have discussed this with the UK Government. We need a scheme very similar to the Flood Re scheme, and so, actually, I'm afraid, only the UK Government can do that. We just do not have the heft to be able to do that. So, we've been pushing them to do that, and I am hopeful that, in the next inter-ministerial group, we will be able to discuss how and when they will be able to bring the insurers to the table. And, frankly, Janet, anything you can do to assist us to get the UK Government to do that, I'd be very, very grateful for.
Diolch, Janet. Rwy'n credu imi ateb eich holl gwestiynau yn fy natganiad. Ond i ailadrodd, os oes unrhyw un yn credu nad yw eu cwmni rheoli, neu'r trefniadau rheoli ar gyfer eu hadeilad—oherwydd bod amrywiaeth enfawr o ffyrdd cymhleth o reoli'r adeiladau hyn—wedi'u cynnwys, yna cysylltwch yn uniongyrchol â ni. Mae'n ddigon hawdd i'w wneud—gallwch chi anfon e-bost ataf yn uniongyrchol os oes angen. Felly, mae'n hawdd ei wneud. Byddwn ni'n cadarnhau bod yr adeilad wedi'i gynnwys ar hyn o bryd yn y datganiadau o ddiddordeb, er mwyn tawelu meddyliau pobl os yw wedi'i gynnwys ac nad ydyn nhw'n gwybod hynny, ac mae hynny wedi digwydd. Neu, os nad ydyn nhw wedi'u cynnwys, yna byddwn ni'n mynd y filltir ychwanegol i gysylltu â'r trefniadau rheoli ar gyfer yr adeilad hwnnw, a sicrhau bod pob ymdrech yn cael ei gwneud i wneud i'r bobl hynny wneud cais. Ond yn y diwedd, alla i ddim gwneud iddyn nhw, a dyna un o'r problemau.
Felly, un o'r materion sy'n ymwneud â'r ffordd y caiff yr adeiladau hyn eu rheoli yw un o'r pethau y mae angen i ni ymdrin ag ef, ac un o'r pethau yr ydym ni'n aros amdano ar hyn o bryd yw gweithio gyda Llywodraeth y DU ar y pecyn diwygio lesddaliad ehangach y mae angen iddo ddod yn sgîl y rhain i gyd. Roeddwn i'n siomedig nad oedd hynny yn Araith y Frenhines, ond rydym ni'n dawel ein meddwl ei fod yn dod, ac mae ein swyddogion yn gweithio gyda'n gilydd i wneud hynny, oherwydd mae gennym ni broblemau eithriadol o debyg ledled Cymru a Lloegr. Mae'n wahanol iawn yn yr Alban, lle mae ganddyn nhw system wahanol.
Felly, rwyf yn gobeithio'n fawr y bydd Llywodraeth y DU yn gweithio gyda ni ar hynny. Roeddem ni'n siomedig eu bod nhw wedi ein hepgor ni o'r cynlluniau gwreiddiol, ond, a bod yn deg, maen nhw nawr bellach wedi penderfynu gweithio gyda ni, ac rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn am hynny. Ac yn ogystal â hyn, rydym ni wedi bod yn gwneud nifer o bethau ein hunain. Felly, roeddwn ni eisoes yn cyfarfod â'r datblygwyr cyn i Lywodraeth y DU ddechrau. Pan ddechreuodd Llywodraeth y DU gyfarfod â datblygwyr, yna, yn amlwg, mae ganddyn nhw bocedi llawer dyfnach na ni, ac felly, yn anffodus collodd datblygwyr ddiddordeb mewn siarad â ni. Fodd bynnag, maen nhw wedi adennill y diddordeb hwnnw, ac rwyf i'n falch iawn o hynny. Ac mae gennym ni amrywiaeth o ddatblygwyr yn dweud y byddan nhw'n llofnodi'r addewid ar gyfer Cymru hefyd; mae Redrow yn un o'r rheini. Mewn gwirionedd, nid yw'r contract wedi'i gwblhau'n derfynol gyda Llywodraeth y DU eto, felly, pan fydd hynny'n digwydd, caiff ei ymestyn i Gymru gan y datblygwyr hynny sydd eisoes wedi dweud ar goedd y byddan nhw'n gwneud hynny. Ac mae gennyf i amrywiaeth o gyfarfodydd gyda datblygwyr beth bynnag, wrth symud ymlaen, yng Nghymru, i geisio gweld beth y gallwn ni ei wneud.
O ran y pwynt yswiriant, yn fyr iawn, rydym ni wedi trafod hyn gyda Llywodraeth y DU. Mae angen cynllun tebyg iawn i'r cynllun Flood Re arnom ni, ac felly, mewn gwirionedd, mae arnaf i ofn, dim ond Llywodraeth y DU all wneud hynny. Nid oes gennym ni'r grym i allu gwneud hynny. Felly, rydym ni wedi bod yn eu gwthio i wneud hynny, ac rwyf i'n obeithiol y byddwn ni, yn y grŵp rhyng-weinidogol nesaf, yn gallu trafod sut a phryd y byddan nhw'n gallu dod â'r yswirwyr i'r bwrdd. Ac, a dweud y gwir, Janet, byddwn i’n ddiolchgar iawn, iawn am unrhyw beth y gallwch chi ei wneud i'n helpu ni i gael Llywodraeth y DU i wneud hynny.
Ar ran Plaid Cymru, Rhys ab Owen.
Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Rhys ab Owen.
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. I am grateful for the update. And I'm sure any support for leaseholders is greatly welcomed. I also appreciate the need to get this right. It was cutting corners, it was greed with malpractice that led to this tragic situation in the first place, and it was successive Westminster Governments of all political colours that ignored building safety warnings, whilst developers chose profit over people. To give just an example: the dangerous refurbishment of Grenfell, commissioned by the UK's richest council, cost only £10 million. In contrast, the public inquiry into that disaster has already cost £150 million, and is due to pass the £1 billion mark by the end.
We have seen, following Grenfell, a complete merry-go-round of buck passing, and the complexity of such developments has made real accountability nearly near impossible. It's certainly far too difficult. We must ensure that such a tragedy, and the opportunity of passing the buck, as we've seen so often, never happens again. Michael Gove has said that he would use powers to pursue managing agents and developers that don't comply. Will you? And, when do you foresee that the leaseholder protections within the Building Safety Act 2022 will be implemented in Wales?
The question you get, and the question I get, and every Member here who's spoken to leaseholders, is, 'When will this nightmare come to an end?' They feel in a limbo, and they cannot see, despite the statements by Welsh Government, despite what's being said in Westminster, the end of this nightmare. Can you provide any form of timetable to these leaseholders on when the remediation work will be completed in Wales?
I was fairly pleased to read that you've contacted all of the management agents in Wales and that you've given them a guarantee that you will cover the work. However, we do still hear from leaseholders about management agents still spending a huge amount of their money. Did you receive a positive response from most of the agents? And what can we do to ensure that no more money demands are placed on leaseholders during this period?
You have cross-party support here, Minister, with regard to the cascade principle: we all agree that the leaseholder should be the final one, and we all agree that the first people that should be paying are the developers themselves. Following your discussions with them, do you foresee the Welsh Government saving some of the £375 million that you have committed to this work? And, as far as the developers that haven't engaged, I am pleased that you have named them, and I hope that that will shame them into action. If it doesn't, I do hope that Welsh Government makes sure that they don't receive a penny more of public sector contracts and they don't receive a penny more of work here in Wales. We don't want people who've shown a complete disregard to building safety, and then a complete disregard to mental anguish and financial hardship, to be involved in the construction industry here in Wales.
It's good to hear about the leaseholder support scheme that opened yesterday. What do you plan to do with some of the flats that you do eventually buy from the leaseholders? And I'll finish with this, Dirprwy Lywydd: this scandal has, once again—and this is probably where I differ from my friend on the opposite benches—this scandal has, once again, shone a light on the unfairness of leaseholds. I hope, in considering future reforms, that the Welsh Government brings to an end this feudal relic.
I had a lovely conversation on Friday with the former Minister Sue Essex, and she was talking about the campaign she had with my father in the 1970s for leasehold reform in Cardiff. Because of campaigns like that across the United Kingdom, leasehold was a dying form of tenure, yet it has returned with vengeance, to the detriment of thousands of people, many of them our neighbours here in Cardiff Bay. It is time for Wales to join the international stage to reject this old-fashioned, unfair practice, like Scotland, Ireland and Australia have done—an end to leasehold in our country, an end to ground rent, and an end to non-resident management companies. Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. Diolch yn fawr, Ddirprwy Lywydd.
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Diolch yn fawr, Gweinidog. Rwy'n ddiolchgar am y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf. Ac rwy'n siŵr bod unrhyw gefnogaeth i lesddeiliaid yn cael ei groesawu'n fawr. Rwyf i hefyd yn gwerthfawrogi'r angen i wneud hyn yn gywir. Roedd yn torri corneli, trachwant â chamarfer a arweiniodd at y sefyllfa drasig hon yn y lle cyntaf, a Llywodraethau olynol yn San Steffan o bob lliw gwleidyddol a anwybyddodd rybuddion diogelwch adeiladu, tra bod datblygwyr yn dewis elw dros bobl. I roi enghraifft: dim ond £10 miliwn y costiodd adnewyddu peryglus Grenfell, a gafodd ei gomisiynu gan gyngor cyfoethocaf y DU. I'r gwrthwyneb, mae'r ymchwiliad cyhoeddus i'r drychineb honno eisoes wedi costio £150 miliwn, ac mae disgwyl iddo basio'r marc £1 biliwn erbyn y diwedd.
Rydym ni wedi gweld, yn dilyn Grenfell, gylch cyflawn o basio'r bai, ac mae cymhlethdod datblygiadau o'r fath wedi gwneud atebolrwydd gwirioneddol bron yn amhosibl. Mae'n sicr yn llawer rhy anodd. Rhaid i ni sicrhau na fydd trychineb o'r fath, a'r cyfle i basio'r baich, fel yr ydym ni wedi'i weld mor aml, byth yn digwydd eto. Mae Michael Gove wedi dweud y byddai'n defnyddio pwerau i fynd ar drywydd asiantau rheoli a datblygwyr nad ydyn nhw'n cydymffurfio. A wnewch chi? A phryd ydych chi'n rhagweld y bydd yr amddiffyniadau lesddeiliad yn Neddf Diogelwch Adeiladu 2022 yn cael eu gweithredu yng Nghymru?
Y cwestiwn yr ydych chi'n ei gael, a'r cwestiwn yr wyf i'n ei gael, ac y mae pob Aelod yma sydd wedi siarad â lesddeiliaid yn ei gael, yw, 'Pryd y daw'r hunllef hon i ben?' Maen nhw'n teimlo eu bod mewn limbo, ac ni allan nhw weld, er gwaethaf y datganiadau gan Lywodraeth Cymru, er gwaethaf yr hyn sy'n cael ei ddweud yn San Steffan, ddiwedd yr hunllef hon. A allwch chi ddarparu unrhyw fath o amserlen i'r lesddeiliaid hyn ynghylch pryd y bydd y gwaith adfer wedi'i gwblhau yng Nghymru?
Roeddwn i'n eithaf balch o ddarllen eich bod chi wedi cysylltu â'r holl asiantau rheoli yng Nghymru a'ch bod chi wedi rhoi sicrwydd iddyn nhw y byddwch chi'n ymdrin â'r gwaith. Fodd bynnag, rydym ni'n dal i glywed gan lesddeiliaid am asiantau rheoli sy'n dal i wario swm enfawr o'u harian. A gawsoch chi ymateb cadarnhaol gan y rhan fwyaf o'r asiantau? A beth allwn ni ei wneud i sicrhau na fydd mwy o alwadau ariannol yn cael eu rhoi ar lesddeiliaid yn ystod y cyfnod hwn?
Mae gennych chi gefnogaeth drawsbleidiol yma, Gweinidog, ynglŷn â'r egwyddor rhaeadru: rydym ni i gyd yn cytuno mai'r lesddeiliad ddylai fod yr un olaf, ac rydym ni i gyd yn cytuno mai'r datblygwyr eu hunain yw'r bobl gyntaf a ddylai fod yn talu. Yn dilyn eich trafodaethau gyda nhw, a ydych chi'n rhagweld y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn arbed rhywfaint o'r £375 miliwn yr ydych chi wedi'i ymrwymo i'r gwaith hwn? Ac, o ran y datblygwyr nad ydyn nhw wedi ymgysylltu, rwyf i'n falch eich bod chi wedi'u henwi, a gobeithiaf y bydd hynny'n eu cywilyddio i weithredu. Os nad yw'n gwneud hynny, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn sicrhau nad ydyn nhw'n cael ceiniog yn fwy o gontractau sector cyhoeddus ac nad ydyn nhw'n cael ceiniog yn fwy o waith yma yng Nghymru. Nid ydym ni eisiau i bobl sydd wedi dangos difaterwch llwyr i ddiogelwch adeiladu, ac yna difaterwch llwyr i ofid meddwl a chaledi ariannol, fod yn rhan o'r diwydiant adeiladu yma yng Nghymru.
Mae'n dda clywed am y cynllun cymorth i lesddeiliaid a agorodd ddoe. Beth yr ydych chi'n bwriadu'i wneud gyda rhai o'r fflatiau y byddwch chi'n eu prynu yn y pen draw gan y lesddeiliaid? Ac fe orffennaf gyda hyn, Dirprwy Lywydd: mae'r sgandal hon, unwaith eto—ac mae'n debyg mai dyma lle yr wyf yn wahanol i fy nghyfaill ar y meinciau gyferbyn—mae'r sgandal hon, unwaith eto, wedi taflu goleuni ar annhegwch lesddaliadau. Gobeithiaf, wrth ystyried diwygiadau yn y dyfodol, fod Llywodraeth Cymru yn dod â'r crair ffiwdal hon i ben.
Cefais sgwrs hyfryd ddydd Gwener gyda'r cyn Weinidog Sue Essex, ac roedd hi'n sôn am yr ymgyrch y cafodd gyda fy nhad yn y 1970au ar gyfer diwygio lesddaliad yng Nghaerdydd. Oherwydd ymgyrchoedd fel hynny ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig, roedd lesddaliad yn fath o ddeiliadaeth a oedd yn trengi, ac eto mae wedi dychwelyd yn gryfach byth, er anfantais i filoedd o bobl, llawer ohonyn nhw'n gymdogion i ni yma ym Mae Caerdydd. Mae'n bryd i Gymru ymuno â'r llwyfan rhyngwladol i wrthod yr arfer annheg, hen ffasiwn hwn, fel y mae'r Alban, Iwerddon ac Awstralia wedi'i wneud—diwedd ar lesddaliad yn ein gwlad, diwedd ar rent tir, a diwedd ar gwmnïau rheoli dibreswyl. Diolch yn fawr, Gweinidog. Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd.
I completely agree with your exposition on the subject. It is slightly more complicated, however. When Sue Essex was doing her piece of work, one of the areas that we were looking at was commonhold and the Scottish system, but actually the building safety scandal has really highlighted some serious defects in the way that commonhold works and the way that the liability is passed on. So, we need to learn the lessons from Scotland about why that system has not been able to produce a simple, unified solution, because it certainly hasn't. The Scottish Government, I can assure you, are in the meetings with us and the UK Government with all the same problems that we have. So, we need to find a system that works for everyone and doesn't have that.
It's a combination of things, isn't it? We do absolutely need to reform leasehold. She's not here anymore, but I just said to Janet Finch-Saunders that one of the things we want to do in this instance actually is work with the UK Government. It's not because I don't want to do it myself, it's actually because most of the developers who build the high-rise buildings in particular work across England and Wales, and frankly they just don't build enough of them here for us to be able to make a significant financial impact on them, so we need the UK Government's broader heft in that instance to bring them to heel. What I don't want to happen is that we put provisions in place here in Wales, like a levy, for example, and all it means is they just build the buildings to 1 ft below that and the levy is ineffective. So, we do have to be a bit careful about the scale of some of this, but otherwise I completely agree with you.
The other thing we need to do is put in place a regime that makes sure that it never happens again, so that there are joint inspection teams and all the rest of it. Use of modern technology, frankly, filming the whole thing and so on, will make sure that we absolutely know what's inside those buildings without having to make a great big hole in your living room wall to have a look, and that we have proper inspection regimes and proper systems of accountability for who is accountable at which stage of the building. So, design, development, occupation—we need different regimes for those. We've been working on that very hard for a long time. We've been consulting with partners and local authorities. It will be different in Wales; we trust our local authority partners, so we'll be making them the inspectors and so on. So, we're well advanced on that work
And then just on the timescale for the remediation phase, we're in the middle of the intrusive surveys. It's easy to say that, standing here, isn't it? But an intrusive survey is intrusive. People really are having big holes cut in their homes. So, we need to do that in conjunction with those residents and to make sure that they're able to live with that. But those should all be complete by the end of the summer, and then we'll go into the remediation phase. I'm absolutely confident that in the early autumn term, for this place, we will have the first buildings going into the remediation phase. What I'm not able to tell you is when we'll have the last one done, because obviously we currently have 161 buildings with expressions of interest. We only have so many builders who can do this work and so on, so I'm afraid I can't put a backstop on it, but I can give you the start. Once the building starts going we'll obviously learn from that, we'll increase the workforce and so on.
The last point I wanted to make was that I want the developers to pay for it, but I don't want to hold the work up, so we have a scheme in place now that allows us to do it. The developers will have to come to a deal with us about how they pay for that, rather than us go through yet another iteration of arguments about who's going to actually cough up for the builders who are doing the work. So, just to say we're on to that, but we need to make sure that that happens properly and doesn't hold the work up.
Rwy'n cytuno'n llwyr â'ch traethiad ar y pwnc. Fodd bynnag, mae hi ychydig yn fwy cymhleth. Pan oedd Sue Essex yn cyflawni ei darn o waith, un o'r meysydd yr oeddem ni'n edrych arno oedd cyfunddaliad a system yr Alban, ond mewn gwirionedd mae'r sgandal diogelwch adeiladau wedi tynnu sylw at rai diffygion difrifol yn y ffordd y mae cyfunddaliad yn gweithio a'r ffordd y caiff yr atebolrwydd ei drosglwyddo. Felly, mae angen i ni ddysgu'r gwersi o'r Alban ynghylch pam nad yw'r system honno wedi gallu cynhyrchu ateb syml, unedig, oherwydd yn sicr nad yw wedi gwneud hynny. Mae Llywodraeth yr Alban, gallaf eich sicrhau chi, yn y cyfarfodydd gyda ni a Llywodraeth y DU gyda'r holl broblemau sydd gennym. Felly, mae angen i ni ddod o hyd i system sy'n gweithio i bawb ac nad oes ganddo hynny.
Mae'n gyfuniad o bethau, on'd yw e? Mae gwir angen i ni ddiwygio lesddaliad. Nid yw hi yma nawr, ond rwyf i newydd ddweud wrth Janet Finch-Saunders mai un o'r pethau yr ydym ni eisiau'i wneud yn yr achos hwn mewn gwirionedd yw gweithio gyda Llywodraeth y DU. Nid oherwydd nad wyf i eisiau'i wneud fy hun, mae hynny mewn gwirionedd oherwydd bod y rhan fwyaf o'r datblygwyr sy'n adeiladu'r adeiladau uchel yn arbennig yn gweithio ledled Cymru a Lloegr, a dweud y gwir, nid ydyn nhw'n adeiladu digon ohonyn nhw yma er mwyn i ni allu cael effaith ariannol sylweddol arnyn nhw, felly mae angen grym ehangach Llywodraeth y DU arnom ni yn yr achos hwnnw i'w cael nhw i ufuddhau. Yr hyn nad wyf i eisiau'i weld yn digwydd yw ein bod ni'n rhoi darpariaethau ar waith yma yng Nghymru, fel ardoll, er enghraifft, a'r cyfan y mae'n ei olygu yw eu bod yn adeiladu'r adeiladau 1 troedfedd yn is na hynny ac mae'r ardoll yn aneffeithiol. Felly, rhaid i ni fod ychydig yn ofalus ynghylch graddfa rhywfaint o hyn, ond fel arall rwy'n cytuno yn llwyr â chi.
Y peth arall y mae angen i ni ei wneud yw sefydlu cyfundrefn sy'n sicrhau na fydd hyn byth yn digwydd eto, fel bod timau arolygu ar y cyd ac yn y blaen. Bydd defnyddio technoleg fodern, a dweud y gwir, ffilmio'r holl beth ac yn y blaen, yn sicrhau ein bod ni'n gwybod yn iawn beth sydd y tu mewn i'r adeiladau hynny heb orfod gwneud twll enfawr yn wal eich ystafell fyw i gael golwg, a bod gennym ni gyfundrefnau arolygu priodol a systemau atebolrwydd priodol ar gyfer pwy sy'n atebol ar ba gam o'r adeiladu. Felly, dylunio, datblygu, meddiannu—mae angen cyfundrefnau gwahanol arnom ni ar gyfer y rheini. Rydym ni wedi bod yn gweithio ar hynny'n galed iawn ers amser maith. Rydym ni wedi bod yn ymgynghori â phartneriaid ac awdurdodau lleol. Bydd yn wahanol yng Nghymru; rydym ni'n ymddiried yn ein partneriaid yn yr awdurdodau lleol, felly byddwn ni'n eu gwneud yn arolygwyr ac yn y blaen. Felly, rydym wedi datblygu'n dda ar y gwaith hwnnw.
Ac yna dim ond ar yr amserlen ar gyfer y cyfnod adfer, rydym ni yng nghanol yr arolygon ymwthiol. Mae'n hawdd dweud, gan sefyll yma, onid yw? Ond mae arolwg ymwthiol yn ymwthiol. Mae pobl mewn gwirionedd yn cael tyllau mawr wedi'u torri yn eu cartrefi. Felly, mae angen i ni wneud hynny ar y cyd â'r preswylwyr hynny a sicrhau eu bod yn gallu byw gyda hynny. Ond dylai'r rheini i gyd fod wedi'u cwblhau erbyn diwedd yr haf, ac yna byddwn ni'n mynd i'r cyfnod adfer. Rwy'n gwbl hyderus y bydd yr adeiladau cyntaf yn mynd i'r cyfnod adfer yn gynnar yn nhymor yr hydref, ar gyfer y lle hwn. Yr hyn na allaf i ei ddweud wrthych chi yw pryd y byddwn ni'n cael yr un olaf, oherwydd mae'n amlwg bod gennym ni 161 o adeiladau ar hyn o bryd â datganiadau o ddiddordeb. Dim ond hyn a hyn o adeiladwyr sydd gennym ni sy'n gallu gwneud y gwaith hwn ac yn y blaen, felly mae arnaf i ofn na allaf i roi ôl-stop arno, ond gallaf i roi'r dechrau i chi. Pan fydd yr adeiladu yn dechrau, byddwn ni'n amlwg yn dysgu o hynny, byddwn ni'n cynyddu'r gweithlu ac yn y blaen.
Y pwynt olaf yr oeddwn i eisiau ei wneud oedd fy mod i eisiau i'r datblygwyr dalu amdano, ond nid wyf i eisiau dal y gwaith i fyny, felly mae gennym ni gynllun ar waith nawr sy'n caniatáu i ni wneud hynny. Bydd yn rhaid i'r datblygwyr ddod i gytundeb â ni ynglŷn â sut y maen nhw'n talu am hynny, yn hytrach na'n bod ni'n mynd drwy ailadroddiad arall eto o ddadleuon ynghylch pwy sy'n mynd i dalu'r adeiladwyr sy'n gwneud y gwaith. Felly, dim ond dweud ein bod ni'n gwneud hynny, ond mae angen i ni sicrhau bod hynny'n digwydd yn iawn ac nad yw'n dal y gwaith i fyny.