Y Cyfarfod Llawn - Y Bumed Senedd
Plenary - Fifth Senedd
01/05/2019Cynnwys
Contents
Cyfarfu’r Cynulliad am 13:30 gyda’r Llywydd (Elin Jones) yn y Gadair.
The Assembly met at 13:30 with the Llywydd (Elin Jones) in the Chair.
Galw'r Aelodau i drefn.
I call Members to order.
Yr eitem gyntaf ar ein hagenda ni'r prynhawn yma yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Addysg, a'r cwestiwn cyntaf, Darren Millar.
The first item on our agenda this afternoon is questions to the Minister for Education, and the first question, Darren Millar.
1. A wnaiff y Gweinidog roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am safonau addysg yn ysgolion Cymru? OAQ53770
1. Will the Minister provide an update on educational standards in Welsh schools? OAQ53770
Thank you, Darren. Estyn’s 2017-18 annual report shows that standards are 'good' or 'better' in just over eight in 10 primary schools, and remain 'good' or 'better' in half of secondary schools. I am committed to the reforms as outlined in 'Our national mission', which will give all of our children an equal opportunity to reach their full potential and see excellence in all of our schools.
Diolch, Darren. Dengys adroddiad blynyddol Estyn ar gyfer 2017-18 fod safonau yn 'dda' neu'n 'well' mewn ychydig dros wyth o bob 10 ysgol gynradd, ac yn parhau i fod yn 'dda' neu'n 'well' yn hanner yr ysgolion uwchradd. Rwyf wedi ymrwymo i'r diwygiadau fel y'u hamlinellir yn 'Cenhadaeth ein Cenedl', a fydd yn rhoi cyfle cyfartal i'n holl blant gyflawni eu llawn botensial a gweld rhagoriaeth ym mhob un o'n hysgolion.
Will you join me in congratulating Ysgol y Foryd on its five 'excellents'—Ysgol Y Foryd in Kinmel Bay, in my own constituency, which I visited over the Easter recess? It's an excellent school. But, of course, it's achieving that in spite of the significant financial challenges that schools are facing across Conwy and north Wales at the moment. You will know that, as a result of the Welsh Government's current funding arrangement with the UK Government, £1.20 is available to spend on children here, in terms of their education, for every £1 spent on a pupil in England, and yet the reality is that there is a significant funding gap in terms of the per pupil spend per year. What action is the Welsh Government taking to close that funding gap so that other schools can achieve the excellence that's available to children who are pupils at Ysgol Y Foryd?
A wnewch chi ymuno â mi i longyfarch Ysgol y Foryd ar ei phum 'rhagorol'—Ysgol y Foryd ym Mae Cinmel, yn fy etholaeth, ysgol yr ymwelais â hi dros doriad y Pasg? Mae'n ysgol ragorol. Ond wrth gwrs, mae'n cyflawni hynny er gwaethaf yr heriau ariannol sylweddol y mae ysgolion yn eu hwynebu yng Nghonwy a gogledd Cymru ar hyn o bryd. Fe fyddwch yn gwybod, o ganlyniad i drefniant ariannu presennol Llywodraeth Cymru gyda Llywodraeth y DU, fod £1.20 ar gael i'w wario ar blant yma, o ran eu haddysg, am bob £1 a werir ar ddisgybl yn Lloegr, ond serch hynny, y realiti yw bod bwlch ariannu sylweddol yn bodoli o ran gwariant fesul disgybl bob blwyddyn. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i gau'r bwlch ariannu hwnnw fel y gall ysgolion eraill sicrhau'r rhagoriaeth sydd ar gael i blant sy'n ddisgyblion yn Ysgol y Foryd?
Well, could I congratulate the staff, pupils and governors of the school in your constituency? Perhaps the Member would be kind enough to ask me to visit the school so I can see for myself, obviously, the high standards that are being achieved. Let's be absolutely clear: independent studies show that the funding gap between English and Welsh schools has closed and is barely negligible. Of course, we could put more money into front-line education services if we had a better deal from the Westminster Government. For instance, on the issue of the teachers' pension scheme, and increases to the TPS, which is of a huge concern to many in the profession, only 80 per cent of the resources to cover the rise in the cost of teachers' pensions has been provided from the Westminster Government, and the Welsh Government has had to find that additional 20 per cent so that we can pay for the teachers' pension rises in full.
Wel, a gaf fi longyfarch staff, disgyblion a llywodraethwyr yr ysgol yn eich etholaeth? Efallai y byddai'r Aelod yn ddigon caredig i ofyn i mi ymweld â'r ysgol, fel y gallaf weld â fy llygaid fy hun, yn amlwg, y safonau uchel sy'n cael eu cyflawni. Gadewch i ni fod yn gwbl glir: dengys astudiaethau annibynnol fod y bwlch ariannu rhwng ysgolion Cymru a Lloegr wedi cau a'i fod prin yn bodoli mwyach. Wrth gwrs, gallem roi mwy o arian i wasanaethau addysg rheng flaen pe baem yn cael gwell bargen gan Lywodraeth San Steffan. Er enghraifft, o ran mater y cynllun pensiwn athrawon, a chodiadau i'r cynllun pensiwn athrawon, sy'n peri cryn bryder i lawer yn y proffesiwn, 80 y cant yn unig o'r adnoddau i dalu am y cynnydd yng nghost pensiynau athrawon a ddarparwyd gan Lywodraeth San Steffan, a bu'n rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru ddod o hyd i'r 20 y cant ychwanegol er mwyn inni allu talu am y cynnydd ym mhensiynau athrawon.
Mae gan y cwricwlwm newydd y potensial i weddnewid profiadau dysgu ein plant a phobl ifanc, ond mi ydw i'n arswydo o feddwl bod ganddo fo hefyd y potensial o fethu yn llwyr. Mae bywyd pob ysgol yn hynod brysur o ddydd i ddydd ac yn llawn heriau, ac mae yna lawer o amser yn mynd ar ddelio efo toriadau yn wyneb cyllidebau sy'n crebachu. Rydych chi wedi cyhoeddi y bydd yna un diwrnod ychwanegol o hyfforddiant proffesiynol y flwyddyn, ond go brin fod hynny yn ddigon ar gyfer creu'r trawsnewid anferth sydd ynghlwm â'r cwricwlwm newydd. Sut ydych chi'n disgwyl i ysgolion greu'r gofod ar gyfer creu'r trawsnewid ac ar gyfer hyfforddi'r staff heb i'r Llywodraeth yma gynyddu cyllidebau ysgolion?
The new curriculum has the potential to transform the learning experiences of our children and young people, but I am shocked to think that it also has the potential of failing entirely. The life of every school is very busy on a day-to-day basis and is filled chock-full with challenges, and a lot of time is spend dealing with cuts in budgets that are shrinking. Now, you've suggested that there will be one additional in-service training day per year, but surely that isn't enough to create the huge transformation required with the new curriculum. So, how do you expect schools to create the necessary space to achieve that transformation and to train their staff properly without the Government here increasing school budgets?
Well, of course, we are currently out to consultation on the proposals to provide an additional INSET day for schools in preparation for the implementation of the curriculum, which will be statutory from 2022. Of course, schools already have a number of INSET days, which they can use to help prepare for the implementation of the curriculum. With regard to resources to allow professional development to be undertaken, the Member will be aware that this Government has made available £24 million direct to headteachers' budgets for the professional development of their staff, and that's the largest single investment in professional learning in the 20 years since this institution was created.
Wel, wrth gwrs, rydym yn ymgynghori ar hyn o bryd ar y cynigion i ddarparu diwrnod hyfforddiant mewn swydd ychwanegol i ysgolion i baratoi ar gyfer rhoi'r cwricwlwm ar waith, a fydd yn statudol o 2022 ymlaen. Wrth gwrs, mae gan ysgolion eisoes nifer o ddyddiau hyfforddiant mewn swydd, y gallant eu defnyddio i helpu i baratoi ar gyfer rhoi'r cwricwlwm ar waith. O ran adnoddau i alluogi athrawon i ymgymryd â datblygiad proffesiynol, bydd yr Aelod yn ymwybodol fod y Llywodraeth hon wedi darparu £24 miliwn yn uniongyrchol i gyllidebau penaethiaid ar gyfer datblygiad proffesiynol eu staff, a dyna yw'r buddsoddiad unigol mwyaf mewn dysgu proffesiynol yn y 20 mlynedd ers creu'r sefydliad hwn.
2. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am y canllawiau a roddir i awdurdodau addysg lleol ynghylch sicrhau bod digon o amser yn y diwrnod ysgol i ddiwallu anghenion iechyd a lles disgyblion? OAQ53777
2. Will the Minister make a statement on guidance given to local education authorities regarding ensuring that there is sufficient time in the school day to meet the health and well-being needs of pupils? OAQ53777
Thank you, Caroline. 'Our national mission' places well-being at the heart of our new curriculum, ensuring it permeates throughout the whole school day. The development of a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being will also help promote a culture where all school staff are responsible for supporting their learners.
Diolch, Caroline. Mae 'Cenhadaeth ein Cenedl' yn sicrhau bod lles yn ganolog i'n cwricwlwm newydd, gan sicrhau ei fod yn treiddio trwy gydol y diwrnod ysgol. Bydd datblygu ymagwedd ysgol gyfan at les emosiynol a meddyliol hefyd yn helpu i hybu diwylliant lle mae holl staff yr ysgol yn gyfrifol am gefnogi eu dysgwyr.
Thank you, Minister. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Nottage Primary School in Porthcawl are proposing to change their school day to align with the comprehensive school. In order to achieve this, without reducing teaching time, the proposals call for reducing playtime by 40 minutes and only allowing one 10-minute comfort break. Minister, do you agree with me that reducing play and limiting toilet breaks will have an adverse effect upon the health and well-being of the children?
Diolch, Weinidog. Nid wyf yn siŵr a ydych yn ymwybodol, ond mae Ysgol Gynradd Notais ym Mhorthcawl yn bwriadu newid eu diwrnod ysgol i gyd-fynd â'r ysgol gyfun. Er mwyn cyflawni hyn, heb gwtogi'r amser addysgu, mae'r cynigion yn galw am leihau amser chwarae 40 munud a chaniatáu un amser egwyl 10 munud yn unig. Weinidog, a ydych yn cytuno â mi y bydd lleihau amser chwarae a chyfyngu ar amser i fynd i'r tŷ bach yn effeithio'n andwyol ar iechyd a lles y plant?
I am aware of the proposals of Nottage school in Bridgend county. The organisation of the school day, indeed, the school week, is a matter for individual headteachers and their governing bodies. But any changes to the organisation of the school day should be undertaken in full consultation with parents, and, clearly, the health and well-being needs of children should be duly considered in those changes.
Rwy'n ymwybodol o gynigion ysgol Notais yn sir Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr. Mae trefnu'r diwrnod ysgol, yn wir, yr wythnos ysgol, yn fater i benaethiaid unigol a'u cyrff llywodraethu. Ond dylid gwneud unrhyw newidiadau i drefn y diwrnod ysgol drwy ymgynghori'n llawn â rhieni, ac yn amlwg, dylid ystyried anghenion iechyd a lles plant wrth wneud y newidiadau hynny.
Minister, do you agree with me that one group of children and young people in our schools who are particularly vulnerable are young carers and that they need extra time and support with appropriate staff to help them to both achieve what they can do academically, but also to have time to simply be a child? I share some of the concerns, because, for young carers, being at school is often a rest. You go to school and you can be a child, you can play. I have some concerns that the shortening of the school day, particularly for very young carers—and we know that children as young as six can be taking part in caring activities—could restrict young carers' abilities to have that time to be a child in school.
There are steps that you can take, perhaps in conjunction with the Deputy Minister for social services, to ensure that, as schools are making these proposed changes, they do consider the needs of this particularly vulnerable group of children and young people.
Weinidog, a ydych yn cytuno â mi fod gofalwyr ifanc yn un grŵp o blant a phobl ifanc yn ein hysgolion sy'n arbennig o agored i niwed a bod angen amser a chefnogaeth ychwanegol arnynt gyda'r staff priodol i'w helpu i gyflawni'r hyn y gallant ei wneud yn academaidd, ond hefyd i gael amser i fod yn blentyn? Rhannaf rai o'r pryderon, oherwydd i ofalwyr ifanc, mae bod yn yr ysgol yn aml yn seibiant. Rydych yn mynd i'r ysgol a gallwch fod yn blentyn, gallwch chwarae. Mae gennyf rai pryderon y gallai byrhau'r diwrnod ysgol, yn enwedig i ofalwyr ifanc iawn—a gwyddom y gall plant mor ifanc â chwech fod yn ymgymryd â chyfrifoldebau gofalu—gyfyngu ar allu gofalwyr ifanc i gael yr amser hwnnw i fod yn blentyn yn yr ysgol.
Mae camau y gallwch eu cymryd, efallai ar y cyd â'r Dirprwy Weinidog gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, i sicrhau, wrth i ysgolion wneud y newidiadau arfaethedig hyn, eu bod yn ystyried anghenion y grŵp hwn o blant a phobl ifanc sy'n arbennig o agored i niwed.
Thank you, Helen Mary. You are absolutely right to draw the Chamber's attention to the specific needs of carers within our educational system and to ensuring that our educators and schools and colleges are attuned to the sometimes very simple things that they can do to make school and college easier for those young people to fully participate and reach their full potential.
The issue around the organisation of school days is often associated with the issue of an asymmetric week. Members will be aware that the Public Policy Institute for Wales carried out research into the asymmetric school week, which often does lead to the curtailing, potentially, of either break times or lunch times. Actually, in those instances, it was reported that, sometimes, a shorter lunch break actually assisted the well-being of children because it cut down opportunities for bullying and some of the issues associated with long periods outside without the direct supervision of staff. But, of course, that's not necessarily applicable to the issue of carers.
The Member, I'm sure, will be aware that I have asked Estyn particularly to do a strategic review into what more we can do within the education system to ensure that that group of learners reach their full potential and, as I said, that the profession know how best to support them.
Diolch, Helen Mary. Rydych yn llygad eich lle i dynnu sylw'r Siambr at anghenion penodol gofalwyr yn ein system addysgol a sicrhau bod ein haddysgwyr a'n hysgolion a'n colegau yn ymwybodol o'r pethau syml iawn, weithiau, y gallant eu gwneud i sicrhau ei bod yn haws i'r bobl ifanc hynny gymryd rhan yn yr ysgol a'r coleg ac i gyflawni eu potensial llawn.
Mae mater trefnu diwrnodau ysgol yn aml yn gysylltiedig â mater yr wythnos anghymesur. Bydd yr Aelodau'n ymwybodol fod y Sefydliad Polisi Cyhoeddus i Gymru wedi cynnal ymchwil i'r wythnos ysgol anghymesur, sy'n aml yn arwain at gwtogi, o bosibl, naill ai amser egwyl neu amser cinio. Mewn gwirionedd, yn yr achosion hynny, dywedwyd bod egwyl ginio fyrrach yn cefnogi lles plant weithiau gan fod hynny'n lleihau'r cyfleoedd i fwlio a rhai o'r problemau sy'n gysylltiedig â chyfnodau hir y tu allan heb oruchwyliaeth uniongyrchol y staff. Ond wrth gwrs, nid yw hynny o reidrwydd yn berthnasol i'r mater sy'n ymwneud â gofalwyr.
Rwy'n siŵr y bydd yr Aelod yn ymwybodol fy mod wedi gofyn yn arbennig i Estyn gynnal adolygiad strategol o beth arall y gallwn ei wneud yn y system addysg i sicrhau bod y grŵp hwnnw o ddysgwyr yn cyflawni eu potensial llawn, ac fel y dywedais, fod y proffesiwn yn gwybod beth yw'r ffordd orau o'u cefnogi.
Minister, health and well-being goes beyond school. We also need to look at further education colleges and colleges post 16 as well, where there is not necessarily a compulsory time. But participation in competitive sport and other non-competitive physical activities can help schools and colleges to ensure that there are ample opportunities for learners to be aware of their own individual health and well-being agendas.
Will you join me in congratulating Wales's FE colleges, who on the weekend achieved success in the Association of Colleges Sport National Championships in Nottingham, competing in over 14 different competitions? And perhaps you will pledge to help to ensure Sport Wales, in conjunction with Welsh Colleges Sport continue to deliver a range of new, enjoyable activities to provide health and fitness opportunities for the 45,000 post-16 learners studying in FE colleges in Wales.
Weinidog, mae iechyd a lles yn mynd y tu hwnt i'r ysgol. Mae angen i ni edrych hefyd ar golegau addysg bellach yn ogystal â cholegau ôl-16, lle nad oes amser gorfodol o reidrwydd. Ond gall cymryd rhan mewn chwaraeon cystadleuol a gweithgareddau corfforol anghystadleuol eraill helpu ysgolion a cholegau i sicrhau bod digon o gyfleoedd ar gael i ddysgwyr fod yn ymwybodol o'u hagendâu iechyd a lles eu hunain.
A wnewch chi ymuno â mi i longyfarch colegau addysg bellach Cymru ar eu llwyddiant dros y penwythnos ym Mhencampwriaethau Chwaraeon Cenedlaethol Cymdeithas y Colegau yn Nottingham, lle buont yn cystadlu mewn dros 14 o gystadlaethau gwahanol? Ac efallai y gwnewch chi ymrwymo i helpu i sicrhau bod Chwaraeon Cymru, ar y cyd â Chwaraeon Colegau Cymru, yn parhau i gynnig ystod o weithgareddau newydd, pleserus ar gyfer darparu cyfleoedd iechyd a ffitrwydd i'r 45,000 o ddysgwyr ôl-16 sy'n astudio mewn sefydliadau addysg bellach yng Nghymru.
Well, thank you, David, for reminding of us of that tremendous effort on behalf of the students in our FE colleges the length and breadth of Wales and their success in representing their colleges and, indeed, representing Wales in those games. I know from discussions with colleagues in FE that they are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum in FE colleges that allows students to pursue not only their academic or vocational studies, but to be able to participate in an entire range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, but also drama, music and creative pursuits. And, as you know, David, the FE sector is one of the strengths of the Welsh education system, and this recent sporting success just compounds what we know—that the FE colleges in Wales are performing very well indeed.
Wel, diolch, David, am ein hatgoffa am yr ymdrech aruthrol honno ar ran y myfyrwyr yn ein colegau addysg bellach ledled Cymru, a'u llwyddiant wrth gynrychioli eu colegau, ac yn wir, wrth gynrychioli Cymru yn y gemau hynny. Gwn o drafodaethau gyda chydweithwyr addysg bellach eu bod wedi ymrwymo i ddarparu cwricwlwm eang a chytbwys mewn colegau addysg bellach sy'n caniatáu i fyfyrwyr ymgymryd nid yn unig â'u hastudiaethau academaidd neu alwedigaethol, ond hefyd i allu cymryd rhan mewn ystod lawn o weithgareddau allgyrsiol, gan gynnwys chwaraeon, ond hefyd drama, cerddoriaeth a gweithgareddau creadigol. Ac fel y gwyddoch, David, mae'r sector addysg bellach yn un o gryfderau'r system addysg yng Nghymru, ac mae'r llwyddiant diweddar hwn ym maes chwaraeon yn ategu'r hyn a wyddom—fod y colegau addysg bellach yng Nghymru yn perfformio'n dda iawn wir.
Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Suzy Davies.
Questions now from the party spokespeople. The Conservative spokesperson, Suzy Davies.
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Minister, can I just begin by thanking you for facilitating the briefing on the new curriculum yesterday, which Lynne Neagle organised? I think the overriding impression I've had at this stage is that this wholesale change of philosophy and culture is going to take some time to grasp and convert into real-life lesson plans, especially as schools, of course, will have to be delivering two sets of school curricula at the same time, on squeezed budgets, for some time. But, just because it's difficult doesn't mean that we shouldn't do it, and while I might feel the same about funding formula, perhaps we can leave that for another day.
I'm a one-nation Conservative, so I believe in co-production, big society and empowered individuals taking on personal responsibility as well as being under a duty to empower those around them. And so I will support the aims of a curriculum that helps raise young people who are resilient, compassionate problem solvers who recognise the imperative to contribute their talents to society as well as their taxes to the state. But they will also need a depth of subject knowledge based not just on their own experiences and choices. This is not a content-based curriculum—that was repeated a number of times yesterday—but it will have content based to a significant degree on staff and pupil choice. How will this proliferation of content be quality controlled?
Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Weinidog, a gaf fi ddechrau drwy ddiolch ichi am hwyluso'r briff ar y cwricwlwm newydd ddoe, a drefnwyd gan Lynne Neagle? Credaf mai'r argraff gyffredinol rwyf wedi'i chael ar y cam hwn yw y bydd yn cymryd peth amser i ddeall y newid mawr hwn o ran athroniaeth a diwylliant a'i droi'n gynlluniau gwersi go iawn, yn enwedig gan y bydd yn rhaid i ysgolion, wrth gwrs, ddarparu dwy set o gwricwla ysgol ar yr un pryd, ar gyllidebau cyfyngedig, am beth amser. Ond nid yw'r ffaith y bydd yn anodd yn golygu na ddylem wneud hynny, ac er fy mod yn teimlo'r un peth am y fformiwla ariannu, efallai y gallwn adael hynny at ddiwrnod arall.
Rwy'n Geidwadwr un genedl, felly rwy'n credu mewn cydgynhyrchu, cymdeithas fawr a grymuso unigolion i ysgwyddo cyfrifoldebau personol yn ogystal â'r ddyletswydd i rymuso'r rhai o'u cwmpas. Ac felly, byddaf yn cefnogi nodau cwricwlwm sy'n helpu i fagu pobl ifanc gwydn sy'n ddatryswyr problemau tosturiol ac yn cydnabod yr angen i gyfrannu eu doniau i gymdeithas yn ogystal â'u trethi i'r wladwriaeth. Ond byddant hefyd angen gwybodaeth fanwl am bynciau nad yw'n seiliedig ar eu profiadau a'u dewisiadau eu hunain yn unig. Nid yw hwn yn gwricwlwm sy'n seiliedig ar gynnwys—ailadroddwyd hynny sawl gwaith ddoe—ond bydd ganddo gynnwys a fydd yn seiliedig i raddau sylweddol ar ddewis staff a disgyblion. Sut y bydd ansawdd y doreth hon o gynnwys yn cael ei reoli?
Well, first of all, can I say I'm glad that the Member found the briefing yesterday useful? And could I also share her thanks to Lynne Neagle, the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee, who helped facilitate that briefing? I'm grateful to all the Members from the committee and, indeed, beyond the committee who took the time to come and listen to the presentations yesterday with regard to the new curriculum?
I think it is really important to recognise that the curriculum is not devoid of knowledge. It is a curriculum that builds on knowledge, skills and the experiences that I believe children and young people in Wales will need to ensure that, when they leave school, they will go on to live successful personal lives and will be able to contribute successfully to the nation.
With regard to quality control, obviously there are assessment arrangements that were also published yesterday, which demonstrate where we would expect a child to be in relation to the six areas of learning and experience broadly at stages throughout their educational career. And, of course, we will continue to assess those children via our innovative online assessment regimes, as well as a teacher assessment. And, of course, the overall policy of the curriculum experience will be underpinned by our accountability regime—the individual accountability of teachers, the role of governors, the role of our regional consortia or as our school improvement service and, ultimately, of course, Estyn, which will be visiting schools more often under our new regime than they currently do presently, and they will be there to look at ensuring that the curriculum that is being delivered is one of high quality.
Wel, yn gyntaf, a gaf fi ddweud fy mod yn falch fod yr Aelod yn credu bod y briff ddoe yn ddefnyddiol? Ac a gaf fi hefyd rannu ei diolch i Lynne Neagle, Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg, a helpodd i hwyluso'r briff hwnnw? Rwy'n ddiolchgar i'r holl Aelodau o'r pwyllgor, ac yn wir, y tu hwnt i'r pwyllgor, a roddodd o'u hamser i ddod i wrando ar y cyflwyniadau ddoe mewn perthynas â'r cwricwlwm newydd.
Credaf ei bod yn bwysig iawn cydnabod nad yw'r cwricwlwm yn brin o wybodaeth. Mae'n gwricwlwm sy'n adeiladu ar wybodaeth, sgiliau a'r profiadau y credaf y bydd eu hangen ar blant a phobl ifanc yng Nghymru er mwyn sicrhau, pan fyddant yn gadael yr ysgol, y byddant yn mynd yn eu blaenau i fyw bywydau personol llwyddiannus ac y byddant yn gallu cyfrannu'n llwyddiannus at y genedl.
O ran rheoli ansawdd, yn amlwg, cyhoeddwyd trefniadau asesu hefyd ddoe, sy'n dangos lle byddem yn disgwyl i blentyn fod, yn gyffredinol, mewn perthynas â'r chwe maes dysgu a phrofiad ar wahanol gamau drwy gydol eu gyrfa addysgol. Ac wrth gwrs, byddwn yn parhau i asesu'r plant hynny drwy ein cyfundrefnau asesu ar-lein arloesol, yn ogystal ag asesu athrawon. Ac wrth gwrs, bydd polisi cyffredinol profiad y cwricwlwm wedi'i ategu gan ein cyfundrefn atebolrwydd—atebolrwydd unigol yr athrawon, rôl llywodraethwyr, rôl ein consortia rhanbarthol neu ein gwasanaeth gwella ysgolion, ac yn y pen draw, wrth gwrs, Estyn, a fydd yn ymweld ag ysgolion yn amlach o dan ein trefn newydd nag y gwnânt ar hyn o bryd, a byddant yno i sicrhau bod y cwricwlwm a gyflwynir yn un o ansawdd uchel.
Well, thank you for that answer. I think it's actually quite a difficult question to answer outside the traditional world in terms of monitoring and assessment that you've just explained. I actually quite welcome the idea that it's going to be a more varied curriculum, but how to keep tabs on that I think is going to prove quite difficult. And how those links work over the next few years I think is going to be pretty important, because I think it would be fair to say that every new system will have its bedding-in period, even with the less demanding changes that we've seen in the made-in-Wales qualifications recently in moving some children from BTECs to GCSEs, and I know why you did that. We have seen some confusion about how to benchmark standards. Obviously, Qualifications Wales has the main role here, but I would like your view on how we are going to avoid prejudicing the transitional guinea pig cohort of learners—if I can call them that—who are going to be taught by teachers who may have had the CPD but have had no actual experience of teaching the curriculum these first few years. Because we did see casualties when we switched from the grammar to the comprehensive system all those years ago, before the new system bedded in. And I just want to make sure, as I'm sure you do, that you don't want to see that risk repeated.
The link between the new curriculum and what qualifications look like is still very unclear to me. So, how will you help learners and professionals protect standards and achievement in this transition period so that they're not compromised in the eyes of FEs, HEs and employers in the future who will have huge influence over a learner's post-16 choices?
Wel, diolch am eich ateb. Credaf ei fod, mewn gwirionedd, yn gwestiwn eithaf anodd ei ateb y tu allan i'r byd traddodiadol o ran monitro ac asesu fel yr esbonioch chi nawr. Yn wir, croesawaf y syniad y bydd yn gwricwlwm mwy amrywiol, ond bydd canfod sut i gadw golwg ar hynny yn eithaf anodd. A chredaf y bydd y ffordd y mae'r cysylltiadau hynny'n gweithio dros yr ychydig flynyddoedd nesaf yn bwysig iawn, gan y credaf y byddai'n deg dweud y bydd pob system newydd yn mynd drwy gyfnod o ymsefydlu, hyd yn oed gyda'r newidiadau llai anodd a welsom gyda'r cymwysterau 'a wnaed yng Nghymru' yn ddiweddar wrth symud rhai plant o BTEC i TGAU, a gwn pam y gwnaethoch hynny. Rydym wedi gweld rhywfaint o ddryswch ynglŷn â sut i feincnodi safonau. Yn amlwg, Cymwysterau Cymru sydd â'r prif rôl yn hyn o beth, ond hoffwn glywed eich barn ar sut y byddwn yn osgoi amharu ar y garfan o ddysgwyr trosiannol sy'n foch cwta—os caf eu galw'n hynny—a fydd yn cael eu haddysgu gan athrawon a all fod wedi cael y DPP ond heb gael unrhyw brofiad gwirioneddol o addysgu'r cwricwlwm yn ystod y blynyddoedd cyntaf hyn. Oherwydd gwelsom rai yn dioddef pan newidiasom o'r system ramadeg i'r system gyfun yr holl flynyddoedd yn ôl, cyn i'r system newydd ymsefydlu. A hoffwn sicrhau, fel yr hoffech chithau rwy'n siŵr, nad ydych am i'r risg honno gael ei hailadrodd.
Mae'r cysylltiad rhwng y cwricwlwm newydd a sut y bydd y cymwysterau'n edrych yn dal i fod yn aneglur iawn i mi. Felly, sut y byddwch yn helpu dysgwyr a gweithwyr proffesiynol i ddiogelu safonau a chyflawniad yn y cyfnod pontio hwn fel nad ydynt o dan anfantais ym marn sefydliadau addysg bellach, addysg uwch a chyflogwyr yn y dyfodol a fydd yn dylanwadu'n enfawr ar ddewisiadau ôl-16 dysgwr?
Well, Suzy, the first step that we are taking to ensure that children's life chances are not compromised was the decision that I made previously to roll out the curriculum over a number of years, especially in the secondary sector. It would have been unimaginable, indeed unthinkable, to think about changing the curriculum during a child's maybe crucial year 10 or year 11 period of study. And that's why you will be aware that the curriculum will begin to be rolled out in our secondary schools in 2022 in year 7, and will follow that cohort through.
With regard to a bedding-in period, you will be aware, again, that I took the quite difficult decision to delay the implementation of the curriculum, having listened to teachers who told me very clearly that they would need more time to prepare themselves and get ready. So, we had the draft published yesterday. This is now a period of genuine feedback for people to engage—not just the teaching profession, but also the employers, the colleges, the universities that you talked about so that they can feed back to us also. The final curriculum will be published in January of next year, thus giving schools, again, a significant period of time before it becomes statutory before they have to deliver it so that they can truly engage in it.
You will be aware that, throughout this process, Qualifications Wales have been deeply embedded. They have already begun their work on the implications for end of year 11 examinations, as a result of the changes to the curriculum. They are very clear in their advice to me that the GCSE brand is a strong brand—it is well understood by parents, pupils, employers, further education and higher education and they expect GCSEs to remain, but clearly the content may need to change. And we will continue to work with the independent body, Qualifications Wales, to ensure that the currency of those examinations will give Welsh students and young people a passport into the world of work and into the world of study, whether they do that in Wales or whether they choose to do that somewhere else.
Wel, Suzy, y cam cyntaf rydym yn ei gymryd i sicrhau nad yw cyfleoedd bywyd plant yn dioddef oedd y penderfyniad a wneuthum yn flaenorol i gyflwyno'r cwricwlwm dros nifer o flynyddoedd, yn enwedig yn y sector uwchradd. Byddai wedi bod yn amhosibl dychmygu, y tu hwnt i amgyffred yn wir, i feddwl am newid y cwricwlwm yn ystod cyfnod astudio plentyn ym mlwyddyn 10 neu 11, a all fod yn allweddol. A dyna pam y byddwch yn ymwybodol y bydd y broses o gyflwyno'r cwricwlwm yn dechrau yn ein hysgolion uwchradd ym 2022 ym mlwyddyn 7, a bydd yn dilyn y garfan honno o blant.
O ran cyfnod ymsefydlu, fe fyddwch yn ymwybodol unwaith eto fy mod wedi gwneud y penderfyniad eithaf anodd i ohirio'r broses o roi'r cwricwlwm ar waith, ar ôl gwrando ar athrawon a ddywedodd wrthyf yn glir iawn y byddai angen mwy o amser arnynt i baratoi. Felly, cyhoeddwyd y drafft ddoe. Mae hwn bellach yn gyfnod o adborth gwirioneddol fel y gall pobl ymgysylltu—nid y proffesiwn addysgu yn unig, ond hefyd y cyflogwyr, y colegau, y prifysgolion y siaradoch chi amdanynt fel y gallant hwythau roi adborth inni yn ogystal. Cyhoeddir y cwricwlwm terfynol ym mis Ionawr y flwyddyn nesaf, gan roi cyfnod sylweddol o amser, unwaith eto, i ysgolion, cyn iddo ddod yn statudol a chyn y bydd yn rhaid iddynt ei gyflwyno fel y gallant ymgysylltu'n iawn ag ef.
Fe fyddwch yn gwybod, drwy gydol y broses hon, fod Cymwysterau Cymru wedi bod yn rhan greiddiol o'r broses. Maent eisoes wedi dechrau eu gwaith ar y goblygiadau ar gyfer arholiadau diwedd blwyddyn 11, o ganlyniad i'r newidiadau i'r cwricwlwm. Dywedant yn glir iawn yn eu cyngor i mi fod y brand TGAU yn frand cryf—mae rhieni, disgyblion, cyflogwyr, addysg bellach ac addysg uwch yn ei ddeall yn dda ac maent yn disgwyl i TGAU barhau, ond yn amlwg, gallai fod angen i'r cynnwys newid. A byddwn yn parhau i weithio gyda'r corff annibynnol, Cymwysterau Cymru, i sicrhau bod yr arholiadau hynny'n rhoi pasbort i fyfyrwyr a phobl ifanc Cymru i mewn i'r byd gwaith ac i fyd astudio, p'un a'u bod yn gwneud hynny yng Nghymru neu'n dewis gwneud hynny yn rhywle arall.
Thank you for those answers. Yes, I've spoken to Qualifications Wales myself about this and I am still unclear about what it is that will be examined in approximately seven years' time in a GCSE. I appreciate that, in the period in between, we might get some clarity on that, but I still do have concerns about those individual teachers who start in year seven, and, even if they're with the same children until year 11 or 12, they will have had no prior experience of teaching this. That's why I asked this question about will there be some kind of—I don't want to call it 'special arrangements', but breathing space for the children who are caught up in the process in its first seven years.
I just want to move on now, still with the curriculum: Welsh Government often invites us to look at international comparators and I'm sure that we'll be invited to do so again, quite rightly, during the debates on removing the defence of reasonable punishment. Professor Donaldson's proposals were inspired by the experience of other countries—as we know, not least some of those were in Scandinavia—and we've had the chance to see them in practice, closer to home, in Scotland. Now, the Scotland experience hasn't been without its problems and you have reassured us, Minister, on more than one occasion that you've learned lessons from Scotland to avoid their mistakes. Recently, Scotland has learnt from its own mistakes. All of its councils have instructed their schools to teach CPR on the secondary school curriculum. It is compulsory on the curriculum in 20 per cent of European countries, including Norway and Denmark—Scandinavian countries—and in Sweden, where it's not, guess what, the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting are lower than in the rest of Scandinavia. Even America is on the ball now, with this training being compulsory in 36 states. If you are prepared to learn lessons from Scotland, why won't you learn this one?
Diolch am yr atebion hynny. Ydw, rwyf wedi siarad â Cymwysterau Cymru fy hun am hyn ac nid wyf yn siŵr o hyd beth fydd yn cael ei arholi ymhen rhyw saith mlynedd mewn arholiad TGAU. Rwy'n sylweddoli y gallem gael rhywfaint o eglurder ar hynny yn y cyfamser, ond mae gennyf bryderon o hyd ynglŷn â'r athrawon unigol sy'n dechrau ym mlwyddyn saith, a hyd yn oed os ydynt gyda'r un plant hyd nes blwyddyn 11 neu 12, ni fyddant wedi cael unrhyw brofiad blaenorol o addysgu hyn. Dyna pam y gofynnais y cwestiwn ynglŷn ag a fydd yno ryw fath o—nid wyf am eu galw'n 'drefniadau arbennig', ond lle i anadlu i blant sy'n rhan o'r broses yn ei saith mlynedd gyntaf.
Hoffwn symud ymlaen yn awr, gan aros gyda'r cwricwlwm: yn aml, mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ein gwahodd i edrych ar gymaryddion rhyngwladol ac rwy'n siŵr y byddwn yn cael ein gwahodd i wneud hynny eto, yn gwbl briodol, yn ystod y dadleuon ar ddileu amddiffyniad cosb resymol. Cafodd cynigion yr Athro Donaldson eu hysbrydoli gan brofiadau gwledydd eraill—fel y gwyddom, roedd llawer ohonynt yn Sgandinafia—ac rydym wedi cael cyfle i'w gweld ar waith, yn nes at adref, yn yr Alban. Nawr, nid yw profiad yr Alban wedi bod heb ei broblemau ac rydych wedi rhoi sicrwydd inni, Weinidog, ar fwy nag un achlysur eich bod wedi dysgu gwersi gan yr Alban i osgoi eu camgymeriadau hwy. Yn ddiweddar, mae'r Alban wedi dysgu o'u camgymeriadau eu hunain. Mae pob un o'u cynghorau wedi cyfarwyddo eu hysgolion i addysgu adfywio cardio-pwlmonaidd ar gwricwlwm yr ysgol uwchradd. Mae'n orfodol ar y cwricwlwm yn 20 y cant o wledydd Ewrop, gan gynnwys Norwy a Denmarc—gwledydd Sgandinafaidd—ac yn Sweden, lle nad yw ar y cwricwlwm, mae'r siawns o oroesi ataliad ar y galon y tu allan i ysbyty yn is nag yng ngweddill Sgandinafia. Mae hyd yn oed America o gwmpas eu pethau bellach, gyda'r hyfforddiant hwn yn orfodol mewn 36 talaith. Os ydych yn barod i ddysgu gwersi gan yr Alban, pam na wnewch chi ddysgu'r wers hon?
Let me begin my saying that life-saving skills and emergency first-aid procedures are clearly incredibly important, and I am very keen to raise awareness of those skills. I would encourage everyone to learn first aid, whether they are schoolchildren or indeed have left school. But it is for the schools themselves to decide if and how best to provide first-aid learning and those opportunities within the curriculum.
As you'll be aware from the briefing yesterday, the curriculum does include the new area of learning and experience of health and well-being—an AoLE that has been broadly welcomed by all who have given feedback to date and there will be ample opportunity within that AoLE for these subjects to be taught in schools.
Gadewch i mi ddechrau drwy ddweud bod sgiliau achub bywyd a gweithdrefnau cymorth cyntaf brys yn amlwg yn hynod o bwysig, ac rwy'n awyddus iawn i godi ymwybyddiaeth o'r sgiliau hynny. Buaswn yn annog pawb i ddysgu cymorth cyntaf, boed yn blant ysgol, neu yn wir, wedi gadael yr ysgol. Ond mater i'r ysgolion eu hunain yw penderfynu a ddylid darparu addysg cymorth cyntaf a'r cyfleoedd hynny o fewn y cwricwlwm, a sut i wneud hynny yn y ffordd orau.
Fel y gwyddoch o'r briff ddoe, mae'r cwricwlwm yn cynnwys maes dysgu a phrofiad newydd iechyd a lles—MDPh sydd wedi'i groesawu at ei gilydd gan bawb sydd wedi rhoi adborth hyd yma a bydd digon o gyfle o fewn y MDPh hwnnw i'r pynciau hyn gael eu haddysgu mewn ysgolion.
As you may have seen over the weekend, Buzzfeed reported that the UK Government was considering abolishing home fee status for EU nationals studying in England post 2021. I understand that the current Welsh Government position protects the current situation up until 2019-20 academic year here in Wales, and we, as a party, would support that. But, just in the interest of continuity and clarity, can you confirm if the Welsh Government will not abolish home status and financial support for EU students post 2020?
Fel y gwelsoch dros y penwythnos o bosibl, nododd Buzzfeed fod Llywodraeth y DU yn ystyried diddymu statws ffioedd cartref ar gyfer dinasyddion yr UE sy'n astudio yn Lloegr ar ôl 2021. Deallaf fod safbwynt presennol Llywodraeth Cymru yn diogelu'r sefyllfa bresennol hyd at flwyddyn academaidd 2019-20 yma yng Nghymru, a byddem ni, fel plaid, yn cefnogi hynny. Ond er budd parhad ac eglurder, a allwch gadarnhau na fydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn diddymu statws cartref a chymorth ariannol i fyfyrwyr yr UE ar ôl 2020?
The Member is quite correct—we have confirmed that we will continue to provide tuition fee support to students from the EU who start their studies in the 2019-20 academic year. I would like very much to clarify the position for 2020-21, but I am unable to confirm until we have a clear position from the UK Government on the provision of loans.
Mae'r Aelod yn llygad ei lle—rydym wedi cadarnhau y byddwn yn parhau i ddarparu cymorth ffioedd dysgu i fyfyrwyr o'r UE sy'n dechrau eu hastudiaethau ym mlwyddyn academaidd 2019-20. Hoffwn yn fawr egluro'r sefyllfa ar gyfer 2020-21, ond ni allaf gadarnhau hynny hyd nes y bydd gennym safbwynt clir gan Lywodraeth y DU o ran darparu benthyciadau.
Okay, thank you very much for that. And if I could ask for when you think, in your deliberations with the UK Government, you will be able to get that confirmation—from a previous response that you've given, I think it was to the education committee, you said it was because of Treasury rules. So, I'm understanding that that isn't now so much of a challenge for you. And, if that isn't so much of a challenge, could you tell us if you could continue with the support for students post 2019? Because, as far as I understand it, we already have that funding in place for EU students. So, could we not therefore continue the current settlement as is—i.e., we've already got that in our budgets as part of what we've agreed here in the Assembly—because of course it's really important that European students don't choose to go to another part of the UK? For example, Scotland, they've said that they will extend it beyond 2021, and so we don't want to lose out when students will be making those decisions in the next year to decide potentially not to go to Wales and go to Scotland instead, when we need the financial backing from European students, because we are losing some of those students already because of, unfortunately, the discussions around Brexit.
Iawn, diolch yn fawr iawn am hynny. Ac os caf ofyn pryd, yn eich trafodaethau â Llywodraeth y DU, y credwch y bydd modd i chi gael y cadarnhad hwnnw—o ymateb blaenorol a roddwyd gennych i'r pwyllgor addysg, rwy'n credu, dywedasoch fod hyn oherwydd rheolau'r Trysorlys. Felly, deallaf nad yw hynny bellach yn gymaint o her i chi. Ac os nad yw'n gymaint o her, a allech ddweud wrthym p'un a allech barhau â'r gefnogaeth i fyfyrwyr ar ôl 2019? Oherwydd, hyd y gwelaf, mae'r arian hwnnw yn ei le ar gyfer myfyrwyr yr UE eisoes. Felly, oni allem barhau â'r setliad presennol fel y mae—hynny yw, mae hynny eisoes yn ein cyllidebau fel rhan o'r hyn a gytunwyd gennym yma yn y Cynulliad—oherwydd, wrth gwrs, mae'n bwysig iawn nad yw myfyrwyr Ewropeaidd yn dewis mynd i ran arall o'r DU? Er enghraifft, yn yr Alban, maent wedi dweud y byddant yn ei ymestyn y tu hwnt i 2021, ac felly nid ydym am fod ar ein colled pan fydd myfyrwyr yn gwneud y penderfyniadau hynny yn y flwyddyn nesaf i benderfynu peidio â mynd i Gymru o bosibl, ac i fynd i'r Alban yn lle hynny, pan fydd arnom angen y gefnogaeth ariannol gan fyfyrwyr Ewropeaidd, gan ein bod yn colli rhai o'r myfyrwyr hynny eisoes, yn anffodus, oherwydd y trafodaethau ynghylch Brexit.
Well, firstly, let me be clear that I want as many students from the EU, indeed as many students from around the world, to come and study here at our universities. We have a significant higher education offer, which would be of huge benefit to them. If I could just clarify to the Member, it is not our own budgets that are pertinent to this point—we need to have confirmation from the Westminster Government about the provision of loans. If that does not come forward, the Welsh Government would have to guarantee around £45 million of support to EU students to ensure that they would have the funding in place for the entirely of their study. I'm sure the Member would agree with me that would pose a significant risk to the Welsh Government budget. That's why we require clarity from the Westminster Government around access to loans. Without that clarity, I do not feel that I'm in a position to expose our budgets to those risks. I have pressed the UK higher education Minister, Mr Skidmore, on this issue at every meeting that I have with him. My understanding of the situation now is that we are unlikely to receive a decision or publicly have confirmation from the Westminster Government during the purdah period for the European elections.
Wel, yn gyntaf, gadewch i mi ddweud yn glir fy mod am i gynifer o fyfyrwyr o'r UE, yn wir, cynifer o fyfyrwyr o bob cwr o'r byd, ddod i astudio yma yn ein prifysgolion. Mae gennym gynnig addysg uwch da iawn, a fyddai o fudd mawr iddynt. Hoffwn egluro i'r Aelod nad ein cyllidebau ein hunain sy'n berthnasol i'r pwynt hwn—mae angen inni gael cadarnhad gan Lywodraeth San Steffan ynghylch darparu benthyciadau. Os na chawn hynny, byddai'n rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru warantu oddeutu £45 miliwn o gymorth i fyfyrwyr yr UE i sicrhau y byddai'r arian ar gael iddynt drwy gydol eu cyfnod astudio. Rwy'n siŵr y byddai'r Aelod yn cytuno â mi y byddai hynny'n peri risg sylweddol i gyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru. Dyna pam fod angen inni gael eglurder gan Lywodraeth San Steffan ynghylch mynediad at fenthyciadau. Heb yr eglurder hwnnw, nid wyf yn teimlo fy mod mewn sefyllfa i wneud ein cyllidebau yn agored i'r risgiau hynny. Rwyf wedi codi'r mater hwn gyda Gweinidog addysg uwch y DU, Mr Skidmore, ym mhob cyfarfod a gefais gydag ef. Fy nealltwriaeth o'r sefyllfa ar hyn o bryd yw ein bod yn annhebygol o gael penderfyniad neu gadarnhad cyhoeddus gan Lywodraeth San Steffan yn ystod y cyfnod purdah cyn yr etholiadau Ewropeaidd.
Thank you for that reply, and I'm not asking from a position of hostility, I'm asking from a position of support, because of course we would want to support the Government's stance on this because we acknowledge how important those EU students would be to the Welsh economy, but also to enhance the lives of the students not only from the continent of Europe, but the lives of students who are here in Wales. So, if there's anything we can do to put influence on the UK Government in regard to the loan, then we would be fully supportive of being able to do that to show that Wales is open for business, despite the deliberations around Brexit.
On the third and final question, I just wanted to ask in relation to continuing the theme on the curriculum reform, but specifically in relation to further education. I've heard that many—. There has been welcoming of the actual change in process, but I've heard from some in the sector that they are worried about the progression to work-based learning and to post-16 education in relation to the transition. So, can you guarantee that this process will happen in a seamless way so that, when people are leaving school with these changes in qualifications, when they're accessing post-16 education or work-based learning, those skills will be able to be adaptable to that environment and that you will be engaging with the post-16 education sector in that vein to include them fully in any deliberations that you will be having on the changes to the curriculum?
Diolch am eich ateb, ac nid wyf yn gofyn yn elyniaethus, rwy'n gofyn er mwyn rhoi cefnogaeth, oherwydd wrth gwrs, hoffem gefnogi safiad y Llywodraeth ar hyn gan ein bod yn cydnabod pa mor bwysig fyddai'r myfyrwyr hynny o'r UE i economi Cymru, ond hefyd i wella bywydau'r myfyrwyr nid yn unig o gyfandir Ewrop, ond hefyd bywydau'r myfyrwyr sydd yma yng Nghymru. Felly, os oes unrhyw beth y gallwn ei wneud i ddylanwadu ar Lywodraeth y DU mewn perthynas â'r benthyciad, byddem yn gwbl gefnogol i allu gwneud hynny er mwyn dangos bod Cymru yn agored i fusnes, er gwaethaf y trafodaethau ynghylch Brexit.
O ran y trydydd cwestiwn a'r cwestiwn olaf, roeddwn am ofyn mewn perthynas â pharhau â'r thema ynghylch diwygio'r cwricwlwm, ond yn benodol mewn perthynas ag addysg bellach. Rwyf wedi clywed bod llawer—. Cafwyd croeso i'r newid yn y broses ei hun, ond clywais gan rai yn y sector eu bod yn poeni ynglŷn â'r symud i ddysgu seiliedig ar waith ac i addysg ôl-16 mewn perthynas â'r cyfnod pontio. Felly, a allwch warantu y bydd y broses hon yn digwydd mewn ffordd ddi-dor fel y gellir sicrhau, pan fydd pobl yn gadael yr ysgol gyda'r newidiadau hyn o ran cymwysterau, pan fyddant yn cael mynediad at addysg ôl-16 neu ddysgu seiliedig ar waith, y gall y sgiliau hynny fod yn addasadwy i'r amgylchedd hwnnw ac y byddwch yn ymgysylltu â'r sector addysg ôl-16 yn yr un modd i'w cynnwys mewn unrhyw drafodaethau y byddwch yn eu cael ar y newidiadau i'r cwricwlwm?
Well, I'm grateful for the Member's support of the Welsh Government's stance with regard to the desire to continue to welcome EU students to study at our universities. I'm grateful for her understanding that, until we have clarity around those students' ability to access loans, which comes from the Westminster Treasury, we're not in a position to make further announcements.
Can I assure the member that FE have been intricately involved in the pioneer process in the development of the curriculum to date? Clearly, we would want any child emerging from our schools, following the implementation of the curriculum, with a set of qualifications, skills and aptitudes that will allow them to go on to pursue either the world of work or further education study, whether that be in apprenticeships, whether that be traditional academic A-level courses or vocational courses, and representatives of the FE sector have been involved to date. But may I use this opportunity, Presiding Officer, to encourage everybody who has an interest in Welsh education to engage in the period that we are in now, as we test, refine and challenge ourselves as to the development of our new curriculum—the first time in the history of this nation that we will have devised our own curriculum for our children and young people?
Wel, rwy'n ddiolchgar am gefnogaeth yr Aelod i safiad Llywodraeth Cymru o ran yr awydd i barhau i groesawu myfyrwyr yr UE i astudio yn ein prifysgolion. Rwy'n ddiolchgar iddi am ddeall nad ydym mewn sefyllfa i wneud cyhoeddiadau pellach hyd nes y cawn eglurder gan Drysorlys San Steffan ynghylch gallu'r myfyrwyr hynny i gael mynediad at fenthyciadau.
A gaf fi sicrhau'r Aelod fod addysg bellach wedi chwarae rhan fanwl yn y broses arloesi wrth ddatblygu'r cwricwlwm hyd yn hyn? Yn amlwg, byddem am i unrhyw blentyn a ddaw o'n hysgolion wedi i'r cwricwlwm gael ei roi ar waith feddu ar set o gymwysterau, sgiliau a doniau a fydd yn eu galluogi i fynd yn eu blaenau naill ai i'r byd gwaith neu i astudio mewn addysg bellach, boed hynny drwy brentisiaethau, drwy gyrsiau Safon Uwch academaidd traddodiadol neu gyrsiau galwedigaethol, ac mae cynrychiolwyr o'r sector addysg bellach wedi bod yn rhan o'r broses hyd yn hyn. Ond a gaf fi ddefnyddio'r cyfle hwn, Lywydd, i annog pawb sydd â diddordeb mewn addysg yng Nghymru i gymryd rhan yn y cyfnod rydym ynddo ar hyn o bryd, wrth i ni brofi, mireinio a herio ein hunain gyda datblygiad ein cwricwlwm newydd—y tro cyntaf yn hanes y genedl hon y byddwn wedi dyfeisio ein cwricwlwm ein hunain ar gyfer ein plant a'n pobl ifanc?
3. Sut y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cefnogi disgyblion sy'n defnyddio iaith arwyddion Prydain mewn ysgolion? OAQ53779
3. How is the Welsh Government supporting pupils using British Sign Language in schools? OAQ53779
Thank you very much, Mark. Our ambitious additional learning needs reforms will help ensure that all children and young people requiring British Sign Language to access education are at the heart of the planning process and have the support properly planned and protected.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Mark. Bydd ein diwygiadau uchelgeisiol i anghenion dysgu ychwanegol yn helpu i sicrhau bod pob plentyn a pherson ifanc sydd angen Iaith Arwyddion Prydain er mwyn cael mynediad at addysg yn ganolog i'r broses gynllunio ac y caiff y cymorth ei gynllunio'n briodol a'i ddiogelu.
Thank you. On 6 February, we debated the Deffo! Wales Deaf Youth Forum petition asking for deaf young people to have better access to education, qualified staff to work with, and help to develop the skills of deaf young people using British Sign Language. Deffo! is concerned that, in your subsequent response to a letter you were forwarded from them, you stated that none of the £289,000 extra money being put into the additional learning needs budget is to go for support for teaching assistants—or, as they prefer to be called, communication support workers—and they say that's truly shocking. How do you respond to their concern that, to date, they've had no further correspondence from your or anyone in Welsh Government regarding the plan to set up an advisory group to begin the actions that were agreed at the debate?
Diolch. Ar 6 Chwefror, buom yn trafod deiseb Deffo! Fforwm Ieuenctid Byddar Cymru a oedd yn gofyn am well mynediad at addysg i bobl ifanc fyddar, staff cymwys i weithio gyda hwy, a chymorth i ddatblygu sgiliau pobl ifanc byddar sy'n defnyddio Iaith Arwyddion Prydain. Mae Deffo! yn pryderu eich bod wedi dweud yn eich ymateb dilynol i lythyr ganddynt a ddaeth i'ch sylw na fydd dim o'r £289,000 o arian ychwanegol sy'n cael ei ddarparu i'r gyllideb anghenion dysgu ychwanegol yn mynd tuag at gymorth i gynorthwywyr addysgu—neu, fel y mae'n well ganddynt gael eu galw, gweithwyr cymorth cyfathrebu—a dywedant fod hynny'n wirioneddol syfrdanol. Sut yr ymatebwch i'w pryder nad ydynt wedi cael unrhyw ohebiaeth bellach oddi wrthych chi na neb yn Llywodraeth Cymru hyd yma ynglŷn â'r cynllun i sefydlu grŵp ymgynghori i ddechrau'r camau gweithredu a gytunwyd yn y ddadl?
I would be very happy to update the campaigners, and I will put a copy of that letter, if appropriate, Presiding Officer, in the Library and also copy it to the Member concerned.
Buaswn yn fwy na pharod i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i'r ymgyrchwyr, a byddaf yn rhoi copi o'r llythyr hwnnw, os yw'n briodol, Lywydd, yn y Llyfrgell, a'i gopïo hefyd i'r Aelod dan sylw.
4. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i wella hawliau plant i gael addysg am rywioldeb a chydberthynas ym mhob ysgol? OAQ53776
4. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to improve the rights of children to access sexuality and relationships education in all schools? OAQ53776
Can I thank the Member for the question? I'm committed to ensuring that all young people receive high-quality sexuality and relationships education. I announced in May 2018 my intention to rename this area of study and have proposed that relationships and sexuality education will be statutory for all learners in the new curriculum.
A gaf fi ddiolch i'r Aelod am ei chwestiwn? Rwyf wedi ymrwymo i sicrhau bod yr holl bobl ifanc yn derbyn addysg rhywioldeb a pherthnasoedd o ansawdd uchel. Ym mis Mai 2018, cyhoeddais fy mwriad i ailenwi'r maes astudio hwn ac rwyf wedi cynnig y bydd addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb yn statudol i bob dysgwr yn y cwricwlwm newydd.
Thank you very much, Minister, for that. I think, having picked up the draft statutory guidance yesterday, it reads really, really well about what we're trying to do and also, hopefully, will calm down anybody who has been encouraged to think that this was, in some way, a way of brainwashing our children into one piece of action or another.
Obviously, the new areas of learning don't come into force for a little while, so, given the problems that there have been in England, where some quite homophobic remarks have been made, particularly by people who claim to be professionals, how can we ensure that parents in Wales realise that what we're trying to do is give children the tools they need to live a healthy life and to inform healthy relationships? Is there some sort of summary version that's going to be issued so that all parents are aware of what can become quite a contentious issue if it's in the wrong person's hands?
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Weinidog. Ar ôl darllen y canllawiau statudol drafft ddoe, credaf eu bod yn egluro'r hyn rydym yn ceisio'i wneud yn dda iawn, a hefyd, gobeithio, yn tawelu meddwl unrhyw un sydd wedi'i annog i feddwl bod hyn, rywsut, yn ffordd o gyflyru ein plant i weithredu mewn rhyw ffordd neu'i gilydd.
Yn amlwg, ni fydd y meysydd dysgu newydd yn dod i rym am beth amser, felly, o gofio'r problemau a gafwyd yn Lloegr, lle gwnaed sylwadau eithaf homoffobig, yn enwedig gan bobl sy'n honni eu bod yn weithwyr proffesiynol, sut y gallwn sicrhau bod rhieni yng Nghymru yn sylweddoli mai'r hyn y ceisiwn ei wneud yw rhoi'r arfau sydd eu hangen arnynt i blant allu byw bywyd iach a hybu perthnasoedd iach? A fydd rhyw fath o fersiwn gryno yn cael ei chyhoeddi fel bod pob rhiant yn ymwybodol o'r hyn a all ddod yn fater go ddadleuol yn nwylo'r unigolyn anghywir?
Can I thank Jenny for her positive welcome of the draft that was published yesterday? It is absolutely crucial that everybody understands that what we are proposing here is age and developmentally appropriate relationship and sexuality education that is fully inclusive and reflects the society our children and young people are growing up in and will become adults in. It is about giving those children and young people the language and the knowledge that they will need, as you say, to form healthy relationships—in the first instance, within their own family, and among their peers in school—how they can keep themselves safe, how they have the knowledge to understand what a healthy relationship looks like and what an abusive one looks like. And that is at the heart of what we're trying to do in the development of the new curriculum. But, clearly, I understand that, often, these are sensitive issues, particularly for adults. They're rarely so sensitive for children and young people, who seem to take it all very much in their stride. But it can be very sensitive for adults. And, as part of our engagement around the new curriculum, I will be undertaking a series of roadshow events, and I'll look in particular at engaging with families—mums, dads and carers—on these particular issues. But I'm grateful for the Member's support.
A gaf fi ddiolch i Jenny am ei chroeso cadarnhaol i'r drafft a gyhoeddwyd ddoe? Mae'n gwbl hanfodol fod pawb yn deall mai'r hyn rydym yn ei gynnig yma yw addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb sy'n briodol i oedran a datblygiad, sy'n gwbl gynhwysol ac sy'n adlewyrchu'r gymdeithas y mae ein plant a'n pobl ifanc yn tyfu i fyny ynddi ac y byddant yn dod yn oedolion ynddi. Mae'n ymwneud â rhoi'r iaith a'r wybodaeth y byddant eu hangen i'r plant a'r bobl ifanc hynny, fel y dywedwch, er mwyn iddynt allu ffurfio perthnasoedd iach—yn gyntaf, yn eu teuluoedd eu hunain, ac ymhlith eu cyfoedion yn yr ysgol—sut y gallant gadw eu hunain yn ddiogel, sut y mae ganddynt wybodaeth i ddeall sut beth yw perthynas iach a sut beth yw perthynas gamdriniol. Ac mae hynny'n ganolog i'r hyn y ceisiwn ei wneud wrth ddatblygu'r cwricwlwm newydd. Ond yn amlwg, rwy'n deall bod y rhain yn aml yn faterion sensitif, yn enwedig i oedolion. Anaml y byddant mor sensitif â hynny i blant a phobl ifanc, sydd i'w gweld yn ymdrin â'r cyfan yn ddigyffro. Ond gallant fod yn sensitif iawn i oedolion. Ac fel rhan o'n hymgysylltiad ar y cwricwlwm newydd, byddaf yn cynnal cyfres o ddigwyddiadau teithiol, a byddaf yn edrych yn benodol ar ymgysylltu â theuluoedd—mamau, tadau a gofalwyr—ar y materion hyn. Ond rwy'n ddiolchgar am gefnogaeth yr Aelod.
Welsh Women's Aid believes that schools need to be equipped with the resources they need to properly publicise the benefits of the new RSE curriculum—relationships and sexuality education—in order to ensure and protect children's rights. How do you respond to the reinforcement by Welsh Women's Aid of the need for a designated and trained RSE lead practitioner to develop and deliver the RSE curriculum and embed RSE in a whole-school approach, as recommended by the expert panel to improve impact and access for children across Wales?
Cred Cymorth i Fenywod Cymru fod angen i ysgolion gael yr adnoddau sydd eu hangen arnynt i roi cyhoeddusrwydd priodol i fanteision y cwricwlwm addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb newydd er mwyn sicrhau ac amddiffyn hawliau plant. Sut yr ymatebwch i Cymorth i Fenywod Cymru, sydd wedi atgyfnerthu'r angen am ymarferwr arweiniol addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb dynodedig a hyfforddedig i ddatblygu a chyflwyno'r cwricwlwm addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb ac ymgorffori addysg cydberthynas a rhywioldeb mewn dull ysgol gyfan, fel yr argymhellwyd gan y panel arbenigol i wella effaith a mynediad i blant ledled Cymru?
Mark, as you'll be aware, the Welsh Government has funded Welsh Women's Aid to help us develop materials and resources to go into schools. Additional resources have been made available specifically to help train teachers and professionals working in our schools to discuss these issues with children and with young people.
I was delighted to receive today a letter from the Children's Commissioner for Wales that says that, having studied the draft of the curriculum that was published yesterday, she believes that that draft curriculum not only puts Wales at the forefront of the UK in ensuring children learn and are able to exercise their rights, but it puts us at the forefront internationally. Now, clearly, there is more work to be done, and the children's commissioner will want to provide feedback, but I'm delighted to receive her initial assessment of where this puts us—Wales—internationally at the forefront for children's rights.
Mark, fel y gwyddoch, mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cyllido Cymorth i Fenywod Cymru i'n helpu i ddatblygu deunyddiau ac adnoddau i fynd i mewn i ysgolion. Mae adnoddau ychwanegol wedi eu darparu'n benodol i helpu i hyfforddi athrawon a gweithwyr proffesiynol sy'n gweithio yn ein hysgolion i drafod y materion hyn gyda phlant a phobl ifanc.
Roeddwn yn falch iawn o dderbyn llythyr heddiw gan Gomisiynydd Plant Cymru sy'n dweud ei bod yn credu, ar ôl astudio'r cwricwlwm drafft a gyhoeddwyd ddoe, fod y cwricwlwm drafft hwnnw nid yn unig yn rhoi Cymru ar flaen y gad o ran sicrhau bod plant yn dysgu ac yn gallu arfer eu hawliau, ond mae'n ein rhoi ar flaen y gad yn rhyngwladol. Nawr, yn amlwg, mae mwy o waith i'w wneud, a bydd y comisiynydd plant yn awyddus i roi adborth, ond mae'n bleser gennyf dderbyn ei hasesiad cychwynnol o ble mae hyn yn ein rhoi ni—Cymru—yn rhyngwladol ar flaen y gad o ran hawliau plant.
5. Pa asesiad y mae'r Gweinidog wedi'i wneud o rai ysgolion yng Nghanolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru yn cau amser cinio dydd Gwener? OAQ53782
5. What assessment has the Minister made of some schools in Mid and West Wales shutting at lunchtime on Fridays? OAQ53782
Thank you, Joyce. We are aware of some schools in west Wales that run an asymmetric week, with Friday afternoons used for planning and training time for teachers. It is for the schools to decide how to structure their week. However, in doing so, they must consult with parents before making any changes.
Diolch, Joyce. Rydym yn ymwybodol fod rhai ysgolion yng ngorllewin Cymru yn gweithredu wythnos anghymesur, gyda phrynhawniau Gwener yn cael eu defnyddio ar gyfer cynllunio ac amser hyfforddi i athrawon. Yr ysgolion sydd i benderfynu sut i strwythuro'u hwythnos. Fodd bynnag, wrth wneud hynny, mae'n rhaid iddynt ymgynghori â'r rhieni cyn gwneud unrhyw newidiadau.
A number of the schools in my constituency have already introduced that early finish on a Friday, as you say, to allow time for teacher training, with many more expressing plans to follow suit in September. The concern is that some parents are wondering what, if any, subjects might be not delivered or reduced as a result of the two hours' reduced teaching time.
Also, some parents are concerned about the shortened week and what that might mean for them in terms of supervision for their children when they're working. I wonder whether you've had any discussions over those particular items that have been brought to my attention, and those concerns from those parents, with the schools in question.
Mae nifer o'r ysgolion yn fy etholaeth eisoes yn cau yn gynnar ar ddydd Gwener, fel y dywedwch, i ganiatáu amser ar gyfer hyfforddi athrawon, gyda llawer ohonynt yn sôn am gynlluniau i wneud yr un peth ym mis Medi. Y pryder yw bod rhai rhieni yn meddwl tybed pa bynciau, os o gwbl, na fydd yn cael eu darparu neu eu cwtogi o ganlyniad i ddwy awr yn llai o amser addysgu.
Hefyd, mae rhai rhieni'n pryderu am yr wythnos fyrrach a'r hyn y gallai hynny ei olygu iddynt hwy o ran goruchwylio'u plant pan fyddant yn y gwaith. Tybed a ydych wedi cael unrhyw drafodaethau ynglŷn â'r materion penodol a ddygwyd i fy sylw, a phryderon y rhieni hynny, gyda'r ysgolion dan sylw.
Thank you, Joyce. Officials have been in touch with Pembrokeshire with regard to proposals to introduce the asymmetric week in some schools and the implementation already of the asymmetric week in others. Let me be absolutely clear: the assurances that I have had from Pembrokeshire County Council say that no child has to go home on a Friday afternoon as there is significant provision of extra-curricular activities and opportunities to stay for lunch and to participate in an entire range of extra-curricular activities, either of an artistic or expressive arts kind, or sport, or of an academic kind.
All schools, as I said, are required to undertake a community consultation should they wish to change to the asymmetric week. I know, for instance, in the case of Ysgol Harri Tudur, they continue to keep under review the asymmetric week and whether they wish to make further changes. Of course, Pembrokeshire is not the only area. Treorchy Comprehensive, for instance, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, has been operating an asymmetric week now for, I believe, two years.
Diolch, Joyce. Mae swyddogion wedi cysylltu â sir Benfro mewn perthynas â chynigion i gyflwyno'r wythnos anghymesur mewn rhai ysgolion a'r wythnos anghymesur sydd eisoes ar waith mewn ysgolion eraill. Gadewch i mi ddweud yn gwbl glir: yn ôl y sicrwydd a gefais gan Gyngor Sir Penfro, nid oes yn rhaid i unrhyw blentyn fynd adref ar brynhawn Gwener gan fod darpariaeth sylweddol o weithgareddau allgyrsiol a chyfleoedd i aros i gael cinio ac i gymryd rhan mewn ystod lawn o weithgareddau allgyrsiol, naill ai o natur gelfyddydol artistig neu fynegiannol, neu chwaraeon, neu o fath academaidd.
Mae'n ofynnol i bob ysgol, fel y dywedais, gynnal ymgynghoriad cymunedol os ydynt am newid i'r wythnos anghymesur. Gwn, er enghraifft, yn achos Ysgol Harri Tudur, eu bod yn parhau i adolygu'r wythnos anghymesur a ph'un a ydynt am wneud rhagor o newidiadau. Wrth gwrs, nid sir Benfro yw'r unig ardal. Mae Ysgol Gyfun Treorci, er enghraifft, yn Rhondda Cynon Taf, wedi bod yn gweithredu wythnos anghymesur ers dwy flynedd bellach, rwy'n credu.
Minister, do you agree with me that it's very important that any decision to move towards an asymmetric week is based on whether that's good for children and not whether that's convenient for adults, whether those adults are the teachers who are teaching them or the parents who are looking after them? Can you confirm that in the consultation you expect schools to undertake one of the issues that is covered would be the issue for rural schools of school transport and of children having absolutely no way to get to or from school except school buses, and the complications that that can bring to family life? The situation of children in very rural schools is, of course, different, potentially, with regard to an asymmetric week, if the children are not in school, to what it would be in a more urban area where there are more transport options.
Weinidog, a ydych yn cytuno â mi ei bod yn bwysig iawn fod unrhyw benderfyniad i newid i wythnos anghymesur yn seiliedig ar ba mor dda yw hynny i'r plant yn hytrach na pha mor gyfleus ydyw i oedolion, boed yn athrawon sy'n eu haddysgu neu'r rhieni sy'n gofalu amdanynt? Yn yr ymgynghoriad y disgwyliwch i ysgolion ei gynnal, a allwch gadarnhau mai un o'r materion dan sylw i ysgolion gwledig fyddai mater cludiant ysgol a phlant heb unrhyw ffordd o fynd i neu o'r ysgol heblaw ar fysiau ysgol, a'r cymhlethdodau y gall hyn eu cyflwyno i fywyd teuluol? Mae sefyllfa plant mewn ysgolion gwledig iawn, wrth gwrs, yn wahanol, o bosibl, o ran wythnos anghymesur, os nad yw'r plant yn yr ysgol, i'r hyn y byddai mewn ardal fwy trefol lle ceir mwy o opsiynau trafnidiaeth.
I would absolutely agree that each school making these decisions has to look into the context in which they are delivering education, and that varies from community to community, let alone from local authority area to local authority area. What's really interesting in the work that was done by the Public Policy Institute for Wales is that one of the advantages of the asymmetric week that they found in the report was that, actually, they identified improvements in pupils' well-being, including the ability to engage in extracurricular activities that perhaps they would not be able to otherwise, to be able to spend more time with their families, to be able to spend a bit more time relaxing, rather than being—we often hear from parents about the constant pressure children feel in our academic settings—and it actually allows children to undertake personal appointments that would otherwise mean they were missing the school day. So, there are some advantages that the PPIW work highlighted, but the disadvantage of issues around transport, particularly in a rural area, is also something that they've identified. The Welsh Government does not have a stated policy on the asymmetric week in the sense that it is for individual schools to judge what is in the best interests of their pupils. And the Member is absolutely right; it has to be in the best interest of their pupils to make any changes to what is regarded as a traditional school day.
Buaswn yn cytuno'n llwyr fod yn rhaid i bob ysgol sy'n gwneud y penderfyniadau hyn ystyried y cyd-destun y maent yn darparu addysg ynddo, ac mae hwnnw'n amrywio o un gymuned i'r llall, heb sôn am rhwng ardaloedd awdurdodau lleol. Yr hyn sy'n wirioneddol ddiddorol yn y gwaith a wnaed gan y Sefydliad Polisi Cyhoeddus i Gymru yw mai un o fanteision yr wythnos anghymesur yn ôl eu canfyddiadau o'r adroddiad oedd eu bod, mewn gwirionedd, wedi nodi gwelliannau o ran lles disgyblion, gan gynnwys y gallu i gymryd rhan mewn gweithgareddau allgyrsiol, na fyddent wedi'i wneud fel arall, y gallu i dreulio mwy o amser gyda'u teuluoedd, y gallu i dreulio ychydig mwy o amser yn ymlacio, yn hytrach na bod—rydym yn aml yn clywed gan rieni ynglŷn â'r pwysau cyson y mae plant yn ei deimlo yn ein sefydliadau academaidd—ac mewn gwirionedd, mae'n caniatáu i blant allu mynd i apwyntiadau personol a fyddai'n golygu, fel arall, eu bod yn colli'r diwrnod ysgol. Felly, mae gwaith y Sefydliad Polisi Cyhoeddus i Gymru wedi nodi rhai manteision, ond mae anfanteision mewn perthynas â thrafnidiaeth, yn enwedig mewn ardal wledig, hefyd yn rhywbeth a nodwyd ganddynt. Nid oes gan Lywodraeth Cymru bolisi datganedig ar yr wythnos anghymesur yn yr ystyr mai mater i ysgolion unigol yw barnu beth sydd orau i'w disgyblion. Ac mae'r Aelod yn gwbl gywir; dylid sicrhau bod unrhyw newidiadau i'r hyn a ystyrir yn ddiwrnod ysgol traddodiadol o'r budd gorau i'w disgyblion.
6. Beth y mae'r Gweinidog yn ei wneud i sicrhau bod ysgolion yn cael eu hariannu'n ddigonol? OAQ53785
6. What is the Minister doing to ensure that schools are adequately financed? OAQ53785
Thank you very much, Leanne. I have taken action to support budgets for local authorities in order to safeguard front-line services in schools. Education funding remains a key priority for me and for this Government, in spite of continued austerity.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Leanne. Rwyf wedi cymryd camau i gefnogi cyllidebau i awdurdodau lleol er mwyn diogelu gwasanaethau rheng flaen mewn ysgolion. Mae cyllid addysg yn parhau i fod yn flaenoriaeth allweddol i mi ac i'r Llywodraeth hon, er gwaethaf y cyni parhaus.
Speaking to headteachers in the Rhondda, it seems that their job is as much about clever accounting as it is about providing direction, leadership and drive to staff. In the local authority that covers the Rhondda, some secondary schools are more than £0.5 million in the red. There's pressure to balance the books, but services have already been cut to the bone, so the only way now to make those further cuts is to make large numbers of unsustainable staff redundancies. This, of course, will have a negative impact on the education of our children, and it's their education that should be our top priority.
I've raised the issues of what the teaching unions say is almost £0.5 billion—almost a fifth of all spending allocated for schools—of the education budget being kept from the front line because it's retained by local authorities or consortia. Now, I know that you dispute that figure. So, what advice and support can you give to our leaders in education who face very difficult financial decisions in the immediate future unless you make some changes?
Wrth siarad â phenaethiaid yn y Rhondda, ymddengys bod eu swydd yn ymwneud i'r un graddau â chyfrifyddu clyfar ag y mae â darparu cyfeiriad, arweinyddiaeth ac ysgogiad i staff. Yn yr awdurdod lleol sy'n gyfrifol am y Rhondda, mae gan rai ysgolion uwchradd fwy na £0.5 miliwn o ddyled. Ceir pwysau i fantoli'r llyfrau, ond mae gwasanaethau eisoes wedi'u torri i'r asgwrn, felly yr unig ffordd o wneud y toriadau pellach hynny yw drwy ddiswyddo nifer fawr o staff, sy'n anghynaladwy. Bydd hyn, wrth gwrs, yn niweidio addysg ein plant, a dylai eu haddysg fod yn brif flaenoriaeth inni.
Rwyf wedi codi'r materion ynghylch y £0.5 biliwn, bron â bod—bron un rhan o bump o'r holl wariant a ddyrennir i ysgolion—o'r gyllideb addysg a gedwir yn ôl rhag y rheng flaen gan gonsortia neu awdurdodau lleol yn ôl undebau'r athrawon. Nawr, gwn eich bod yn anghytuno â'r ffigur hwnnw. Felly, pa gyngor a chefnogaeth y gallwch ei roi i'n harweinwyr mewn addysg sy'n wynebu penderfyniadau ariannol anodd iawn yn y dyfodol agos oni bai eich bod yn gwneud rhai newidiadau?
Thank you, Leanne. I don't doubt for a minute the significant challenges that many headteachers are facing with regards to school budgets. It is important to recognise that the responsibility for day-to-day funding of schools lies with individual local education authorities. Like you, I share the ambition of ensuring that as much money gets to the front line as possible, and that's, for instance, why we took the decision to ensure that the £21 million for professional development was passported straight to individual headteachers.
Whatever the figure is, it is a source of great concern to me that any money that should be in the schools budget is being held inappropriately, either at LEA level or at consortia level, or, indeed, that there is a duplication of funding from LEAs and consortia. After all, the consortia are run by their constituent parts, and it would be strange indeed, wouldn't it, for a local authority to allow a regional consortium that it runs to duplicate spending when those budgets, as you quite rightly identified, are tight.
I am carrying out work centrally within Government to ensure that the direct grants that we have control of are being used appropriately and that that money is getting to the front line. But in the work that is being carried out by the Children, Young People and Education Committee, as I'm sure you're aware, there is not a consensus on whether moving to a system of direct funding of schools, bypassing both the LEA and the regional consortia, is a policy that has a consensus behind it. Indeed, your own education spokesperson feels very strongly that that should not be the case.
Diolch, Leanne. Nid wyf yn amau am funud yr heriau sylweddol y mae llawer o benaethiaid yn eu hwynebu mewn perthynas â chyllidebau ysgolion. Mae'n bwysig cydnabod mai awdurdodau addysg lleol unigol sy'n gyfrifol am ariannu ysgolion o ddydd i ddydd. Fel chi, rwy'n rhannu'r uchelgais i sicrhau bod cymaint o arian â phosibl yn cyrraedd y rheng flaen, a dyna, er enghraifft, pam y gwnaethom y penderfyniad i sicrhau bod y £21 miliwn ar gyfer datblygiad proffesiynol yn cael ei basbortio'n syth i benaethiaid unigol.
Beth bynnag yw'r ffigur, mae'n destun cryn bryder i mi fod unrhyw arian a ddylai fod yn y gyllideb ysgolion yn cael ei gadw yn amhriodol, naill ai ar lefel AALl neu ar lefel consortia, neu yn wir, fod arian yn cael ei ddyblygu o AALlau a chonsortia. Wedi'r cyfan, caiff y consortia eu rhedeg gan eu rhannau cyfansoddol, a byddai'n rhyfedd iawn pe bai awdurdod lleol yn caniatáu i gonsortiwm rhanbarthol y mae'n ei redeg ddyblygu gwariant pan fo'r cyllidebau hynny'n dynn, fel y nodoch chi'n gwbl gywir.
Rwy'n gwneud gwaith yn ganolog yn y Llywodraeth i sicrhau bod y grantiau uniongyrchol a reolir gennym yn cael eu defnyddio'n briodol a bod yr arian hwnnw'n cyrraedd y rheng flaen. Ond o ran y gwaith a wneir gan y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg, fel y gwyddoch rwy'n siŵr, ni cheir consensws ynglŷn ag a yw newid i system o ariannu ysgolion yn uniongyrchol, gan osgoi'r AALl a'r consortia rhanbarthol, yn bolisi y ceir consensws y tu ôl iddo. Yn wir, mae eich llefarydd addysg eich hun yn teimlo'n gryf iawn na ddylai hynny ddigwydd.
As you said, Minister, we need to ensure that funding reaches the front line. To be fair, programmes such as twenty-first century schools have provided much-needed funding for local authorities to improve school buildings and other aspects of school life, but, of course, that doesn't help the revenue situation of existing schools, particularly when they don't always tick the right funding formula boxes. For example, as I've raised with you before, in the Monmouthshire local authority area, schools have traditionally received less funding by virtue of the fact that they have fewer children accessing free school meals. Now, I can understand the reason for having that aspect of the formula, but that does mean that Monmouthshire schools have received less over time even though there are, of course, children going to those schools who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. So, my question to you is: how are you ensuring that the funding formula does work overall and does fairly fund local authorities and schools in different parts of Wales so that our children do have the best start in life?
Fel y dywedasoch, Weinidog, mae angen inni sicrhau bod cyllid yn cyrraedd y rheng flaen. A bod yn deg, mae rhaglenni fel ysgolion yr unfed ganrif ar hugain wedi darparu cyllid mawr ei angen i awdurdodau lleol allu gwella adeiladau ysgolion ac agweddau eraill ar fywyd ysgol, ond wrth gwrs, nid yw hynny'n helpu sefyllfa refeniw ysgolion presennol, yn enwedig pan nad ydynt bob amser yn ticio'r blychau cywir o ran y fformiwla ariannu. Er enghraifft, fel rwyf wedi'i godi gyda chi eisoes, yn ardal awdurdod lleol sir Fynwy, mae ysgolion yn draddodiadol wedi derbyn llai o gyllid oherwydd bod ganddynt lai o blant yn cael prydau ysgol am ddim. Nawr, gallaf ddeall y rheswm dros yr agwedd honno ar y fformiwla, ond golyga hynny fod ysgolion sir Fynwy wedi cael llai o arian dros amser er bod plant o gefndiroedd difreintiedig yn mynychu'r ysgolion hynny wrth gwrs. Felly, fy nghwestiwn i chi yw: sut y sicrhewch fod y fformiwla ariannu'n gweithio yn gyffredinol ac yn ariannu awdurdodau lleol ac ysgolion mewn gwahanol rannau o Gymru yn deg fel bod ein plant yn cael y dechrau gorau mewn bywyd?
As the Member will be more than aware, the decision on individual funding for schools is a matter for each individual local authority. With regards to the funding formula, I think the Member is referring to the funding formula for local government as a whole. You will be aware that there is a funding formula review group that regularly looks at different aspects of the revenue support grant scheme. My understanding is that, certainly, last year, there was a representative from Monmouthshire council on that very group and had the ability to influence the data and the formula as it was undertaken. Both myself and the local government Minister have said that we are more than happy to engage with individual Members who may have suggestions on how the formula operates, but I have to tell the Member, when given the opportunity earlier last year to change issues around the indicator-based assessment for education, it was local government representatives themselves that decided not to proceed with that change.
Fel y gŵyr yr Aelod yn iawn, mater i bob awdurdod lleol unigol yw'r penderfyniad ynglŷn â chyllid i ysgolion unigol. O ran y fformiwla ariannu, credaf fod yr Aelod yn cyfeirio at y fformiwla ariannu ar gyfer llywodraeth leol yn gyffredinol. Fe fyddwch yn ymwybodol fod grŵp adolygu fformiwla ariannu yn edrych yn rheolaidd ar wahanol agweddau ar gynllun y grant cynnal refeniw. Yn ôl yr hyn a ddeallaf, yn sicr, y llynedd, roedd cynrychiolydd o gyngor sir Fynwy ar y grŵp hwnnw a chanddynt y gallu i ddylanwadu ar y data a'r fformiwla wrth iddi gael ei rhoi ar waith. Mae'r Gweinidog llywodraeth leol a minnau wedi dweud ein bod yn fwy na pharod i ymgysylltu ag Aelodau unigol a allai fod ag awgrymiadau ynglŷn â sut y mae'r fformiwla'n gweithredu, ond mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud wrth yr Aelod, pan roddwyd cyfle yn gynharach y llynedd i newid materion yn ymwneud â'r asesiad yn seiliedig ar ddangosyddion ar gyfer addysg, penderfynodd y cynrychiolwyr llywodraeth leol eu hunain beidio â bwrw ymlaen â'r newid hwnnw.
7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am gadw myfyrwyr yng Ngogledd Cymru ar ôl cwblhau addysg bellach? OAQ53774
7. Will the Minister make a statement on the retention of students in North Wales after completion of further education? OAQ53774
Thank you, Mandy. Further education colleges across Wales do excellent work in planning their curriculum to reflect employer needs, and in preparing students at all levels to progress into further learning and employment that reflects their skills and their personal aspirations.
Diolch, Mandy. Mae colegau addysg bellach ledled Cymru yn gwneud gwaith rhagorol ar gynllunio eu cwricwlwm i adlewyrchu anghenion cyflogwyr, ac ar baratoi myfyrwyr ar bob lefel i gamu ymlaen i ddysgu pellach a chyflogaeth sy'n adlewyrchu eu sgiliau a'u dyheadau personol.
Thank you for that answer. Minister, I've read that our young people in Wales are the most likely of any in the UK nations to apply to study outside of their home nation. Some 40 per cent go to England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. We know that when young people go away to study they may never come back, and this is having a very negative effect in parts of my region. How will the Welsh Government seek to incentivise young people to study here at home?
Diolch am eich ateb. Weinidog, rwyf wedi darllen mai ein pobl ifanc yng Nghymru yw'r mwyaf tebygol o bob un o wledydd y DU o wneud cais i astudio y tu allan i'w gwlad eu hunain. Mae oddeutu 40 y cant yn mynd i Loegr, yr Alban neu Ogledd Iwerddon. Pan fydd pobl ifanc yn mynd oddi yma i astudio, gwyddom efallai na fyddant byth yn dychwelyd, ac mae hyn yn effeithio'n negyddol iawn ar rannau o fy rhanbarth. Sut y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ceisio cymell pobl ifanc i astudio yma?
I've been very, very clear that I don't want to put any limitations on the aspirations of Welsh young people to study in institutions either in their home nation or in the rest of the United Kingdom, or, indeed, internationally. Of course, what we need to do in Wales is to ensure that the quality of our offer is strong, and I believe that it is, but secondly look at what we can do to persuade people who do study abroad or study in other parts of the United Kingdom to come home to Wales, just like I did and many other people in this Chamber will have done. Just one of the ways in which we will be doing that is that there will be additional financial incentives for students coming back to Wales to do their postgraduate study in core subjects that will benefit the economy. They will be entitled to additional support for their studies if they undertake them here in Wales and if they undertake them in a subject that is particularly pertinent to the needs of the Welsh economy.
Rwyf wedi dweud yn glir iawn nad wyf am roi unrhyw gyfyngiadau ar ddyheadau pobl ifanc Cymru i astudio mewn sefydliadau naill ai yn eu gwlad eu hunain neu yng ngweddill y Deyrnas Unedig, neu yn wir, yn rhyngwladol. Wrth gwrs, yr hyn sydd angen inni ei wneud yng Nghymru yw sicrhau bod ansawdd ein cynnig yn gryf, a chredaf ei fod, ond yn ail, mae angen inni edrych ar yr hyn y gallwn ei wneud i berswadio pobl sy'n astudio dramor neu mewn rhannau eraill o'r Deyrnas Unedig i ddod adref i Gymru, yn union fel y gwneuthum innau a llawer o bobl eraill yn y Siambr hon. Un o'r ffyrdd y byddwn yn gwneud hynny fydd cymhellion ariannol ychwanegol i fyfyrwyr sy'n dychwelyd i Gymru i ymgymryd â'u hastudiaethau ôl-raddedig mewn pynciau craidd a fydd o fudd i'r economi. Bydd ganddynt hawl i gymorth ychwanegol ar gyfer eu hastudiaethau os byddant yn eu cyflawni yma yng Nghymru ac os byddant yn eu cyflawni mewn pwnc sy'n arbennig o berthnasol i anghenion economi Cymru.
I'm just looking to see who's next. I know somebody is next. And it's you, Mr Griffiths. Question 8, John Griffiths.
Rwy'n edrych i weld pwy sydd nesaf. Gwn fod rhywun nesaf. A chi yw hwnnw, Mr Griffiths. Cwestiwn 8, John Griffiths.
8. Pa gamau pellach y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i sicrhau bod y system addysg yn darparu'r sgiliau sy'n ofynnol i gefnogi economi Cymru? OAQ53761
8. What further steps will the Welsh Government take to ensure that the education system provides the skills required to support the Welsh economy? OAQ53761
It's a good job the Presiding Officer found you, John; it's a most excellent question. We are working to deliver a new curriculum for all learners by 2022. It'll be purpose led so that by the age of 16 they should be capable, confident, ethical individuals who play an active part in their community and society, and are prepared to thrive in the world of work.
Diolch byth fod y Llywydd wedi dod o hyd i chi, John; mae'n gwestiwn ardderchog. Rydym yn gweithio i gyflwyno cwricwlwm newydd i bob dysgwr erbyn 2022. Bydd yn gwricwlwm a arweinir gan ddibenion, felly erbyn y byddant yn 16 oed, dylent fod yn unigolion galluog, hyderus, moesegol sy'n chwarae rhan weithredol yn eu cymuned a'u cymdeithas, ac yn barod i ffynnu ym myd gwaith.
Thank you, Minister. I wonder if you're familiar with a recent proposal for a national technology institute, which came from Newport economic network. It's really about looking at how we provide this sort of applied education for world-class technical, digital and entrepreneurial skills, really in responding to the fourth industrial revolution. It does have a good deal of work behind it, Minister, and it is about the practicalities of taking that forward with existing institutions and providers rather than creating something very new in that sense. I can see that you are familiar with it, and I'd be very interested in your views.
Diolch, Weinidog. Tybed a ydych yn gyfarwydd â chynnig diweddar ar gyfer sefydliad technoleg cenedlaethol, a ddaeth gan rwydwaith economaidd Casnewydd. Mae'n ymwneud ag edrych ar sut y darparwn y math hwn o addysg gymhwysol ar gyfer sgiliau technegol, digidol ac entrepreneuraidd o'r radd flaenaf, wrth ymateb i'r pedwerydd chwyldro diwydiannol. Mae llawer iawn o waith y tu ôl iddo, Weinidog, ac mae'n ymwneud ag ymarferoldeb bwrw ymlaen â hynny gyda sefydliadau a darparwyr presennol yn hytrach na chreu rhywbeth newydd iawn yn yr ystyr hwnnw. Gallaf weld eich bod yn gyfarwydd ag ef, a hoffwn yn fawr glywed eich barn.
Well, John, you're right, I am familiar with it and officials have met with representatives from Newport City Council and the Newport economic network to discuss the content of the report and the exciting vision that it presents. There are meetings planned with existing providers and other stakeholders to consider the proposal and what the next steps could be to develop it even further.
Wel, John, rydych chi'n iawn, rwy'n gyfarwydd ag ef ac mae swyddogion wedi cyfarfod â chynrychiolwyr o Gyngor Dinas Casnewydd a rhwydwaith economaidd Casnewydd i drafod cynnwys yr adroddiad a'r weledigaeth gyffrous a gyflwynir ganddo. Mae cyfarfodydd wedi'u cynllunio gyda darparwyr presennol a rhanddeiliaid eraill i ystyried y cynnig a beth allai'r camau nesaf fod er mwyn ei ddatblygu ymhellach.
Diolch i'r Gweinidog.
Thank you, Minister.
Y cwestiynau nesaf, felly, yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Alun Davies.
The next questions are the questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services, and the first question is from Alun Davies.
1. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am fynediad at feddygon teulu ym Mlaenau Gwent? OAQ53765
1. Will the Minister make a statement on access to GPs in Blaenau Gwent? OAQ53765
Yes. Thank you for the question. We want to see sustainable and accessible GP services across Wales, including, of course, in Blaenau Gwent. GP practices are using components of the newly established primary care model to improve the way that they provide services with, and for, patients.
Gwnaf. Diolch am y cwestiwn. Rydym am weld gwasanaethau meddygon teulu cynaliadwy a hygyrch ledled Cymru, gan gynnwys, wrth gwrs, ym Mlaenau Gwent. Mae practisau meddygon teulu yn defnyddio elfennau o'r model gofal sylfaenol newydd i wella'r ffordd y maent yn darparu gwasanaethau gyda chleifion, ac ar eu cyfer.
Minister, it was a real pleasure to welcome you to Blaenau Gwent some months ago, where we discussed the access to GP services in and throughout the borough. You'll be aware, as well, that the Welsh Government has helped to invest in a new well-being centre in Brynmawr. I think nearly £4 million has been invested in improving the facilities available to the people of Brynmawr and the upper Ebbw Fach valley, but since the opening of the new centre, I've had literally hundreds of people contacting me, talking about how difficult it is to access the services in the well-being centre. I'm sure you share the frustration of people in Brynmawr and myself and elsewhere that we invest in fantastic new facilities to improve the healthcare infrastructure in Brynmawr and then people find it difficult to access services within those facilities. What do you say to those people who see this wonderful new facility but are enormously frustrated being unable to get an appointment to see a GP or other healthcare professionals?
Weinidog, roedd yn bleser eich croesawu i Flaenau Gwent rai misoedd yn ôl, lle buom yn trafod mynediad at wasanaethau meddygon teulu ledled y fwrdeistref. Fe fyddwch yn ymwybodol hefyd fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi helpu i fuddsoddi mewn canolfan les newydd ym Mryn-mawr. Credaf fod bron i £4 miliwn wedi'i fuddsoddi i wella'r cyfleusterau sydd ar gael i bobl Bryn-mawr a rhan uchaf dyffryn Ebwy Fach, ond ers agor y ganolfan newydd, mae cannoedd o bobl, yn llythrennol, wedi cysylltu â mi i sôn am ba mor anodd yw cael mynediad at y gwasanaethau yn y ganolfan les. Rwy'n siŵr eich bod yn rhannu rhwystredigaeth pobl Bryn-mawr a minnau a mannau eraill ein bod yn buddsoddi mewn cyfleusterau newydd gwych i wella'r seilwaith gofal iechyd ym Mryn-mawr a bod pobl wedyn yn ei chael yn anodd cael mynediad at wasanaethau yn y cyfleusterau hynny. Beth a ddywedwch wrth y bobl sy'n gweld y cyfleuster newydd gwych hwn ond sy'n rhwystredig iawn am na allant gael apwyntiad i weld meddyg teulu neu weithwyr gofal iechyd proffesiynol eraill?
Well, I'd say that we recognise that access is one of the key priorities for the public when it comes to the national health service and local health services in particular. It's the largest issue of concern in the National Survey for Wales and it's grown as an issue. That's why we're determined to make progress on improving access. The investments that we're making in facilities are designed to do that, but it does require change in practice. And everywhere that new access arrangements are made, in particular about triage arrangements, whether by non-clinical staff, nurse led or GP led, there's almost always been a bump in getting over a new way of working for staff, but also for the public to access that service.
I expect, where those new arrangements are introduced, that people inform the public of changes in advance and then listen to what the public are saying about how they access those services, because I do expect everyone to be able to access the right clinicians at the right place and in the right time. And if you haven't had a satisfactory response from the practice manager at the new centre, I'd be more than happy to sit there with you to run through what we can do to try and ensure the improvement we plainly want to see for residents in Blaenau Gwent and Brynmawr.
Wel, buaswn yn dweud ein bod yn cydnabod bod mynediad yn un o'r blaenoriaethau allweddol i'r cyhoedd o ran y gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol a gwasanaethau iechyd lleol yn arbennig. Dyma'r mater sy'n peri'r pryder mwyaf yn Arolwg Cenedlaethol Cymru ac mae wedi tyfu fel problem. Dyna pam ein bod yn benderfynol o wneud cynnydd ar wella mynediad. Mae'r buddsoddiadau a wnawn mewn cyfleusterau wedi'u cynllunio i wneud hynny, ond mae angen newidiadau o ran ymarfer. Ac ym mhob man y gwneir trefniadau mynediad newydd, yn enwedig mewn perthynas â threfniadau brysbennu, boed hynny gan staff anghlinigol, o dan arweiniad nyrs neu o dan arweiniad meddyg teulu, mae rhwystr i'w oresgyn bron bob amser o ran ymdopi â ffordd newydd o weithio i staff, ond hefyd o ran gallu'r cyhoedd i gael mynediad at y gwasanaeth hwnnw.
Lle caiff y trefniadau newydd hynny eu cyflwyno, rwy'n disgwyl bod pobl yn hysbysu'r cyhoedd ynglŷn â'r newidiadau ymlaen llaw ac yna'n gwrando ar yr hyn y mae'r cyhoedd yn ei ddweud ynglŷn â sut y maent yn defnyddio'r gwasanaethau hynny, gan fy mod yn disgwyl i bawb allu cael mynediad at y clinigwyr cywir yn y lle iawn ac ar yr amser iawn. Ac os nad ydych wedi cael ymateb boddhaol gan reolwr y practis yn y ganolfan newydd, buaswn yn fwy na pharod i eistedd yno gyda chi i drafod yr hyn y gallwn ei wneud i geisio sicrhau'r gwelliannau rydym yn amlwg am eu gweld ar gyfer trigolion Blaenau Gwent a Bryn-mawr.
Aneurin Bevan health board confirmed to me today that of their 398 GPs, only 34 of those are in Blaenau Gwent, and that's 8.5 per cent of the total compared to perhaps the around 12 per cent we'd expect by population. One way they try and tackle this is through the directly employed GPs, and I was pleased to hear that, actually, the majority of those were in Blaenau Gwent, but less pleased to hear that that meant only four out of the seven full-time equivalents.
Does the Minister think that these managed GPs, directly employed by the health boards, could be significantly expanded in number to at least in part address the shortages and difficulties of access to GPs in Blaenau Gwent?
Cefais gadarnhad gan fwrdd iechyd Aneurin Bevan heddiw, mai 34 yn unig o'u 398 o feddygon teulu sydd ym Mlaenau Gwent, sef 8.5 y cant o'r cyfanswm o gymharu, efallai, â'r oddeutu 12 y cant y byddem yn ei ddisgwyl yn ôl poblogaeth. Un ffordd y maent yn ceisio mynd i'r afael â hyn yw drwy'r meddygon teulu a gyflogir yn uniongyrchol, ac roeddwn yn falch o glywed bod y mwyafrif ohonynt, mewn gwirionedd, ym Mlaenau Gwent, ond roeddwn yn llai hapus o glywed bod hynny'n golygu pedwar yn unig o'r saith meddyg cyfwerth ag amser llawn.
A yw'r Gweinidog yn credu y gellid ehangu'n sylweddol nifer y meddygon teulu a reolir, ac a gyflogir yn uniongyrchol gan y byrddau iechyd, er mwyn mynd i'r afael, yn rhannol o leiaf, â'r prinder a'r anhawster i gael mynediad at feddygon teulu ym Mlaenau Gwent?
Well, this is a subject that I regularly get asked about in this Chamber, about whether there is a Welsh Government agenda to get rid of the partnership model in general practice, and that is not our intention at all. The great majority of general practice is delivered through the partnership model, the independent contractor model, and the managed practices are there to try and help through to deliver new models of care or to manage a transition, where traditionally, when GPs are retiring, we need to make sure that the service continues, and it is true that no person in Wales has been left without a GP.
So, I see managed practices as part of the future answer, but not a replacement for the independent contractor model. And that is about the conversation with local GPs, and our cluster model has helped to promote that better working between practices, and I think we will continue to see more mergers and federations between practices and a new way of employing GPs, but I still think that the independent contractor model will be the foundation of general practice here in Wales for some time to come.
Wel, caf fy holi'n rheolaidd ynglŷn â'r pwnc hwn yn y Siambr hon, ynglŷn ag a oes agenda gan Lywodraeth Cymru i gael gwared ar y model partneriaeth mewn ymarfer meddygol, ac nid dyna yw ein bwriad o gwbl. Caiff y mwyafrif helaeth o ymarfer meddygol ei ddarparu drwy'r model partneriaeth, model y contractwr annibynnol, ac mae'r practisau a reolir yno i geisio helpu tuag at ddarparu modelau gofal newydd neu i reoli cyfnod pontio, lle mae angen i ni sicrhau, yn draddodiadol, pan fo meddygon teulu yn ymddeol, fod y gwasanaeth yn parhau, ac mae'n wir nad oes unrhyw unigolyn yng Nghymru wedi'i adael heb feddyg teulu.
Felly, credaf fod practisau a reolir yn rhan o'r ateb yn y dyfodol, ond ni fyddant yn cymryd lle model y contractwr annibynnol. Ac mae hynny'n ymwneud â'r sgwrs gyda meddygon teulu lleol, ac mae ein model clwstwr wedi helpu i hyrwyddo gweithio gwell rhwng practisau, a chredaf y byddwn yn parhau i weld mwy o gyfuno a ffederasiynau rhwng practisau a ffordd newydd o gyflogi meddygon teulu, ond rwy'n dal i gredu mai model y contractwr annibynnol fydd y sylfaen ar gyfer ymarfer meddygol yma yng Nghymru am beth amser eto.
2. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am raglenni sgrinio ar gyfer canser yng Nghymru? OAQ53783
2. Will the Minister make a statement on cancer screening programmes in Wales? OAQ53783
Thank you for the question. Population screening is a public health priority. We know that cancer screening programmes save lives. Public Health Wales is responsible for delivering the cancer screening programmes in Wales and they are overseeing significant improvements aimed at maximising uptake and, of course, preventing more cancers.
Diolch am eich cwestiwn. Mae sgrinio'r boblogaeth yn flaenoriaeth iechyd y cyhoedd. Gwyddom fod rhaglenni sgrinio ar gyfer canser yn achub bywydau. Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru sy'n gyfrifol am ddarparu'r rhaglenni sgrinio ar gyfer canser yng Nghymru ac maent yn goruchwylio gwelliannau sylweddol gyda'r bwriad o gynyddu'r nifer sy'n manteisio arnynt, ac atal mwy o ganserau wrth gwrs.
Thank you, Minister. Earlier this year, I and my office staff became cancer screening champions after completing a training session led by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Public Health Wales. I'm also proud to be the Assembly's first bowel cancer champion, and I'm delighted that eight colleagues have since signed up. Worryingly, Newport has one of the lowest rates of all cancer screening participation in Wales. Nationally across Wales, the uptake of bowel screening last year was only 55 per cent. Improving the uptake of these free and potentially lifesaving screening programmes is vital.
The simpler, more sensitive fecal immunochemical bowel screening test has been available in Wales since January. What action is the Welsh Government taking to publicise this new test and encourage those who are eligible to take part in all screening programmes?
Diolch, Weinidog. Yn gynharach eleni, daeth staff fy swyddfa a minnau yn hyrwyddwyr sgrinio ar gyfer canser ar ôl cwblhau sesiwn hyfforddi o dan arweiniad Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan ac Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru. Rwyf hefyd yn falch o fod yn hyrwyddwr canser y coluddyn cyntaf y Cynulliad, ac rwy'n falch iawn fod wyth o fy nghyd-Aelodau wedi cytuno i wneud hynny wedyn. Yn anffodus, gan Gasnewydd y mae un o'r cyfraddau isaf yng Nghymru o ran y nifer sy'n cael eu sgrinio ar gyfer canser. Yn genedlaethol ledled Cymru, 55 y cant yn unig a fanteisiodd ar ddarpariaeth sgrinio'r coluddyn y llynedd. Mae'n hanfodol ein bod yn cynyddu nifer y bobl sy'n manteisio ar y rhaglenni sgrinio rhad ac am ddim hyn a allai achub bywydau.
Mae'r prawf imiwnocemegol ysgarthol newydd ar gyfer sgrinio'r coluddyn, sy'n symlach ac yn fwy sensitif, wedi bod ar gael yng Nghymru ers mis Ionawr. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i roi cyhoeddusrwydd i'r prawf newydd hwn ac i annog y rheini sy'n gymwys i gymryd rhan ym mhob rhaglen sgrinio?
Thank you for the question. You're correct that we started introducing the new, more sensitive and, importantly, easier to administer test from January this year. It will be fully implemented across the whole of Wales by June this year. Actually, when people receive their invite to undertake the test, that's part of the direct contact with people, and it's also part of our broader message about the fact that screening really does save lives. It's important to introduce it in a way where we don't actually provide more demand than our system can cope with. That's why we're having a phased approach, having greater sensitivity within the test to make sure that we have the right number of people to deliver treatment after that. So, we'll continue, at each point, to review again the figures on uptake and the impact that means for the service. You can expect to hear on a regular basis that encouragement, a simple message from the Government and Public Health Wales to use the test, to take it up, because undertaking that screening really will save lives.
Diolch am eich cwestiwn. Rydych yn gywir i ddweud ein bod wedi dechrau cyflwyno'r prawf newydd, sy'n fwy sensitif, ac yn bwysicach, yn haws i'w gynnal ers mis Ionawr eleni. Bydd yn cael ei weithredu'n llawn ledled Cymru erbyn mis Mehefin eleni. A dweud y gwir, pan fydd pobl yn derbyn eu gwahoddiad i wneud y prawf, mae hynny'n rhan o'r cysylltiad uniongyrchol â phobl, ac mae hefyd yn rhan o'n neges ehangach ynghylch y ffaith bod sgrinio yn achub bywydau. Mae'n bwysig ei gyflwyno mewn ffordd lle nad ydym yn creu mwy o alw nag y gall ein system ymdopi ag ef. Dyna pam ein bod wedi dewis dull graddol, a chael mwy o sensitifrwydd yn y prawf er mwyn sicrhau bod gennym y nifer gywir o bobl i ddarparu triniaeth wedi hynny. Felly, ar bob cam, byddwn yn parhau i adolygu'r ffigurau ar y nifer sy'n manteisio ar y profion ac effaith hynny ar y gwasanaeth. Gallwch ddisgwyl clywed yr anogaeth honno yn rheolaidd, neges syml gan y Llywodraeth ac Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru i ddefnyddio'r prawf, i fanteisio arno, gan y bydd cymryd rhan yn y broses sgrinio honno yn achub bywydau.
Minister, bowel cancer screening is clearly an important area. The FIT test is sensitivity based and, actually, the level of sensitivity is going to be crucial in that, but also perhaps the age, because at the moment it's 60 but it could go down to 50, but there are also smear tests. So, there is a variety of tests that are basically declining. What discussions are you having with Public Health Wales to ensure that we promote these tests, so that we get more people taking the tests, because, as you say, you get them early and we can avoid people having cancer because we can actually spot things earlier or we can treat it earlier, which means an earlier diagnosis and better results?
Weinidog, mae'n amlwg bod sgrinio ar gyfer canser y coluddyn yn faes pwysig. Mae'r prawf imiwnocemegol ysgarthol yn seiliedig ar sensitifrwydd, ac mewn gwirionedd, bydd lefel y sensitifrwydd yn hanfodol yn hynny o beth, ond hefyd yr oedran, o bosibl, oherwydd ar hyn o bryd, 60 yw'r oedran hwnnw ond gallai ostwng i 50, ond ceir profion ceg y groth hefyd. Felly, ceir amrywiaeth o brofion sy'n lleihau o ran y nifer sy'n eu cael, yn y bôn. Pa drafodaethau rydych yn eu cael gydag Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru i sicrhau ein bod yn hyrwyddo'r profion hyn, fel bod mwy o bobl yn eu cael, oherwydd, fel y dywedwch, rydych yn eu cael yn gynnar a gallwn atal pobl rhag cael canser gan y gallwn weld pethau'n gynharach neu gallwn eu trin yn gynharach, sy'n golygu diagnosis cynharach a chanlyniadau gwell?
You're right, and it's of course a point of concern that there's been a slow decline, not just in Wales but across the UK, in people actually taking up the smear tests that are offered. That's partly about looking at if there's going to be a change in the test and there is some research being done on self-administered screening. There's a pilot taking place that's due to start in September this year in London, so I'll be interested in the results, which will be shared across the UK. But it's the reinforcing of the message and understanding which particular groups we need to target, because younger women are the least likely to take up the tests that are available. So, you will have seen the #loveyourcervix campaign that we started in March. We wanted to see something that was more body positive, so that people are not embarrassed about attending, and again recognise the same message with bowel screening. The tests are designed to help save lives and not taking the test means that there is an unknown risk for that person and more broadly. So, I'm more than happy to reiterate the message that I want everybody who is offered a screening test in Wales to take up the opportunity to do that for themselves and their families.
Rydych yn iawn, ac wrth gwrs, mae'n achos pryder fod dirywiad araf wedi bod, nid yn unig yng Nghymru ond ledled y DU, o ran nifer y bobl sy'n manteisio ar y profion ceg y groth a gynigir. Mae hynny'n ymwneud yn rhannol ag edrych i weld a fydd newid yn y prawf, ac mae rhywfaint o ymchwil yn mynd rhagddo ar hunan-sgrinio. Bydd cynllun peilot yn dechrau ym mis Medi eleni yn Llundain, felly bydd diddordeb gennyf yn y canlyniadau, a fydd yn cael eu rhannu ledled y DU. Ond mae a wnelo hyn ag atgyfnerthu'r neges a deall pa grwpiau penodol y mae angen inni eu targedu, gan mai menywod iau yw'r lleiaf tebygol o fanteisio ar y profion sydd ar gael. Felly, fe fyddwch wedi gweld yr ymgyrch #loveyourcervix a gychwynnwyd gennym ym mis Mawrth. Roeddem am weld rhywbeth a oedd yn fwy cadarnhaol am y corff, fel na fyddai pobl yn teimlo embaras ynglŷn â mynychu, ac adnabod yr un neges, unwaith eto, gyda sgrinio'r coluddyn. Mae'r profion wedi'u cynllunio i helpu i achub bywydau ac mae peidio â chymryd y prawf yn golygu bod risg anhysbys i'r unigolyn dan sylw ac yn fwy cyffredinol. Felly, rwy'n fwy na pharod i ailadrodd y neges fy mod am i bawb sy'n cael cynnig prawf sgrinio yng Nghymru fanteisio ar y cyfle i wneud hynny er eu mwyn hwy a'u teuluoedd.
Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Helen Mary Jones.
Questions now from party spokespeople. Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Helen Mary Jones.
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Thank you. Last year, the General Medical Council struck off 76 doctors and the Nursing and Midwifery Council struck off 257 individuals regarded as no longer fit to practice in the health service across the UK. I'm sure the Minister will agree with me that it's right for professionals in the health service to be held accountable for serious malpractice and misconduct. Does the Minister believe that managers in the health service should also be held accountable and, if so, can he tell this Chamber how many senior managers or board members in the Welsh NHS have lost their jobs as a result of service failures or mismanagement since 2016?
Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Diolch. Y llynedd, diswyddwyd 76 o feddygon gan y Cyngor Meddygol Cyffredinol a diswyddwyd 257 o unigolion gan y Cyngor Nyrsio a Bydwreigiaeth gan yr ystyrid nad oeddent bellach yn addas i ymarfer yn y gwasanaeth iechyd ar draws y DU. Rwy'n siŵr y bydd y Gweinidog yn cytuno â mi ei bod yn iawn fod gweithwyr proffesiynol yn y gwasanaeth iechyd yn atebol am gamymddwyn a chamymddygiad difrifol. A yw'r Gweinidog yn credu y dylid gwneud rheolwyr yn y gwasanaeth iechyd yn atebol hefyd, ac os felly, a all ddweud wrth y Siambr hon faint o uwch reolwyr neu aelodau byrddau yn y GIG yng Nghymru sydd wedi colli eu swyddi o ganlyniad i fethiannau yn y gwasanaeth neu gamreoli ers 2016?
Well, of course, the Member's aware that I don't have at my fingertips the number of staff who have left the health service from managerial positions going back to 2016. It is worth reflecting, as I said yesterday when a similar point was made, that a number of managers and leaders in services within the health service are, of course, registered clinicians as well and have professional duties too. So, you'd need to look at those people who are caught by their professional responsibilities as well as their responsibilities as managers. This goes into the broader point about leadership, governance and accountability within each one of those NHS organisations.
Wel, wrth gwrs, mae'r Aelod yn ymwybodol nad yw nifer y staff sydd wedi gadael y gwasanaeth iechyd o swyddi rheoli ers 2016 gennyf wrth law. Mae'n werth cofio, fel y dywedais ddoe pan wnaed pwynt tebyg, fod nifer o reolwyr ac arweinwyr gwasanaethau yn y gwasanaeth iechyd yn glinigwyr cofrestredig hefyd wrth gwrs a bod ganddynt ddyletswyddau proffesiynol yn ogystal. Felly, byddai angen i chi edrych ar y bobl sydd â chyfrifoldebau proffesiynol yn ogystal â'u cyfrifoldebau fel rheolwyr. Mae hyn yn ymwneud â'r pwynt ehangach am arweinyddiaeth, llywodraethu ac atebolrwydd ym mhob un o'r sefydliadau GIG hynny.
I'm sure that the Minister will understand, after yesterday's statement, that issues with regard to leadership and accountability are of great concern to Members in this Chamber. Can the Minister explain to us why he has had Betsi Cadwaladr health board in special measures for about four years and we don't seem to have seen any change after this lengthy intervention? Can he account for why, if we come back to the Cwm Taf situation, there were eight reports over six years and none of those reports triggered the change that was clearly needed, and mothers and babies continued to be let down and some grievously harmed? Can the Minister explain to this Chamber why families in the Cwm Taf area should trust him, his officials and the measures that they've put in place to sort out the system in Cwm Taf, given that he failed to pick up on any of these eight reports over those six years after the first concerns were raised and that the problems in Betsi Cadwaladr are nowhere near being solved after four years?
Rwy'n siŵr y bydd y Gweinidog yn deall, ar ôl datganiad ddoe, fod materion sy'n ymwneud ag arweinyddiaeth ac atebolrwydd yn peri cryn bryder i'r Aelodau yn y Siambr hon. A all y Gweinidog esbonio wrthym pam ei fod wedi cadw bwrdd iechyd Betsi Cadwaladr mewn mesurau arbennig ers tua phedair blynedd a pham, yn ôl pob golwg, nad ydym wedi gweld unrhyw newid ar ôl yr ymyrraeth hirfaith hon? A all ddweud pam, os dychwelwn at sefyllfa Cwm Taf, fod wyth adroddiad wedi bod dros chwe blynedd heb i unrhyw un o'r adroddiadau hynny sbarduno'r newid oedd ei angen yn amlwg, a bod mamau a babanod wedi parhau i gael cam a rhai ohonynt wedi'u niweidio'n ddifrifol? A all y Gweinidog esbonio i'r Siambr hon pam y dylai teuluoedd yn ardal Cwm Taf ymddiried ynddo ef, ei swyddogion a'r mesurau y maent wedi'u rhoi ar waith i roi trefn ar y system yng Nghwm Taf, o gofio ei fod wedi methu ymateb i unrhyw un o'r wyth adroddiad dros y chwe blynedd ar ôl i'r pryderon cyntaf gael eu mynegi, ac o gofio hefyd nad yw'r problemau yn Betsi Cadwaladr yn agos at gael eu datrys ar ôl pedair blynedd?
I think there are three particular questions there, Llywydd, the first about—[Interruption.] The first about special measures in north Wales, and, of course, it's factually incorrect to say no progress has been made. For example, one of the main issues that saw Betsi Cadwaladr go into special measures were challenges in their maternity services, and they have come out of special measures, because real and sustained improvement has been made, because the steps that we took, including new leadership within the midwifery service and a change in culture across the whole service, actually have made a difference. It's also true, for example, that the out-of-hours service in north Wales has come out of special measures as a concern. There are remaining concerns, and that's why that health board remains in special measures, because I'm determined to make sure there is a real measure of progress and it's not simply an artificial device for a politician to use.
When it comes to Cwm Taf, as explained at length yesterday in the statement and in answer to questions to it, the seriousness and the depths of the concerns were not apparent from those previous reports, which is why action was not taken until I commissioned the joint royal colleges review in October last year. Part of the concern is about why other factors, why other flags of concern and complaints, in particular, did not lead to a change in culture and practice within the health board at the time. That's why I've taken the action that I outlined in detail yesterday in writing and in the oral statement.
And in terms of the confidence that public and staff should have, a key part of that is the work that not just our independent regulators will be doing, but the independent oversight group that I have appointed, with independent clinicians, to oversee the 43 serious incidents and to look back to 2010. I will meet directly with families over the next two weeks, as well as staff, to hear directly from them, together with Mick Giannasi, their concerns and to understand how we help to rebuild confidence in the service that must improve, and that certainly requires significant change.
Credaf fod tri chwestiwn penodol yn y fan honno, Lywydd, ac mae'r cyntaf yn ymwneud â—[Torri ar draws.] Mae'r cyntaf yn ymwneud â mesurau arbennig yng ngogledd Cymru, ac wrth gwrs, mae'n ffeithiol anghywir dweud nad oes unrhyw gynnydd wedi bod. Er enghraifft, un o'r prif faterion a olygodd fod Betsi Cadwaladr wedi'u rhoi mewn mesurau arbennig oedd heriau yn eu gwasanaethau mamolaeth, ac maent wedi dod allan o fesurau arbennig oherwydd eu bod wedi gwneud gwelliannau real a pharhaus, am fod y camau a gymerwyd gennym, gan gynnwys arweinyddiaeth newydd o fewn y gwasanaeth bydwreigiaeth a newid diwylliant ar draws y gwasanaeth cyfan, wedi gwneud gwahaniaeth. Mae hefyd yn wir, er enghraifft, fod y gwasanaeth y tu allan i oriau yng ngogledd Cymru wedi dod allan o fesurau arbennig fel testun pryder. Ceir pryderon o hyd, a dyna pam fod y bwrdd iechyd hwnnw'n parhau i fod yn destun mesurau arbennig, oherwydd rwy'n benderfynol o sicrhau y ceir cynnydd gwirioneddol yn hytrach na bod yn ddyfais artiffisial i wleidydd ei defnyddio.
O ran Cwm Taf, fel yr eglurwyd yn glir ddoe yn y datganiad ac wrth ateb cwestiynau amdano, nid oedd difrifoldeb a dyfnder y pryderon yn amlwg o'r adroddiadau blaenorol hynny, a dyna pam na chymerwyd camau hyd nes i mi gomisiynu adolygiad ar y cyd gan y colegau brenhinol ym mis Hydref y llynedd. Mae rhan o'r pryder yn ymwneud â pham nad arweiniodd ffactorau eraill, yn enwedig arwyddion o bryderon a chwynion eraill, at newid diwylliant ac ymarfer o fewn y bwrdd iechyd ar y pryd. Dyna pam y cymerais y camau a amlinellais yn fanwl ddoe yn ysgrifenedig ac yn y datganiad llafar.
Ac o ran yr hyder a ddylai fod gan y cyhoedd a'r staff, rhan allweddol o hynny yw'r gwaith y bydd nid yn unig ein rheoleiddwyr annibynnol yn ei wneud, ond y grŵp goruchwylio annibynnol rwyf wedi'i benodi, gyda chlinigwyr annibynnol, i oruchwylio'r 43 digwyddiad difrifol ac i edrych yn ôl hyd at 2010. Byddaf yn cyfarfod yn uniongyrchol â theuluoedd dros y pythefnos nesaf, yn ogystal â staff, i glywed yn uniongyrchol ganddynt, ynghyd â Mick Giannasi, ynglŷn â'u pryderon ac i ddeall sut y gallwn helpu i ail-feithrin hyder yn y gwasanaeth gan fod yn rhaid iddo wella, ac yn sicr, mae angen iddo newid yn sylweddol.
Well, I'm sure, Llywydd, that this Chamber will be rather concerned that after eight reports over six years, the Minister and his officials had not picked up on the seriousness of this situation. We heard individual testimonies in this Chamber suggesting that those concerns actually go back a lot further than the first report that I'm referring to in 2012. I'm just really concerned, Llywydd, that this is suggesting that we have a Minister who doesn't have a grip on the system. Eight reports over six years, and nothing was done until you called for the report years ago.
I try to avoid being sensationalist in the Chamber, but during those years children died, mothers were traumatised and families were traumatised. I have to ask the Minister why he thinks that we should now be reassured that he and his officials will be able to pick up on these issues effectively when they didn't for that period of years.
I wonder if the Minister agrees with Owen Smith MP when he says in the Western Mail today that the Welsh Government cannot be absolved of blame for the failings in Cwm Taf. I wonder if the Minister understands that many people are concerned about what appears to be a complacent response from him. I was astonished, for example, to hear him yesterday dismiss the implications of the inverse care law—the fact that these communities that were so badly served were so poor. I was shocked to hear him dismiss that. It suggests to me that he doesn't understand those communities very well. I was also shocked—and I am not easily shocked—to hear the Minister say, when asked by ITV yesterday whether the buck stops with him, the Minister's response was that the buck stops with everyone. Well, I'm afraid I must put it to this Chamber, Llywydd, that the buck does not stop with everyone—the buck stops with the Minister. And I am going to ask him again to consider his position, and if he is unable to consider his position, to explain what further, what more serious situation would occur in the health service in Wales, what more has to go wrong before he is prepared to take personal responsibility?
Wel, rwy'n siŵr, Lywydd, y bydd y Siambr hon braidd yn bryderus nad oedd y Gweinidog a'i swyddogion, ar ôl wyth adroddiad dros chwe blynedd, wedi sylwi ar ddifrifoldeb y sefyllfa hon. Clywsom dystiolaethau unigol yn y Siambr hon a awgrymai fod y pryderon hynny, mewn gwirionedd, yn dyddio'n ôl ymhellach o lawer na'r adroddiad cyntaf y cyfeiriaf ato yn 2012. Rwy'n bryderus dros ben, Lywydd, fod hyn yn awgrymu bod gennym Weinidog nad oes ganddo afael ar y system. Wyth adroddiad dros chwe blynedd, ac ni wnaed unrhyw beth nes i chi alw am yr adroddiad flynyddoedd yn ôl.
Rwy'n ceisio osgoi cyffrogarwch yn y Siambr, ond yn ystod y blynyddoedd hynny, bu farw plant, cafodd mamau eu trawmateiddio a chafodd teuluoedd eu trawmateiddio. Mae'n rhaid i mi ofyn i'r Gweinidog pam y credwch y dylem fod yn dawel ein meddyliau bellach y bydd ef a'i swyddogion yn gallu bwrw iddi'n effeithiol ar y materion hyn ar ôl methu gwneud hynny dros y cyfnod hwnnw o flynyddoedd.
Tybed a yw'r Gweinidog yn cytuno ag Owen Smith AS sy'n dweud yn y Western Mail heddiw nad yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn rhydd o fai am y methiannau yng Nghwm Taf. Tybed a yw'r Gweinidog yn deall bod llawer o bobl yn pryderu ynglŷn â'r hyn sy'n ymddangos yn ymateb hunanfodlon ganddo. Cefais fy syfrdanu, er enghraifft, wrth ei glywed ddoe yn gwrthod goblygiadau'r ddeddf gofal gwrthgyfartal—y ffaith bod y cymunedau a wasanaethwyd mor wael yn rhai mor dlawd. Cefais fy syfrdanu wrth ei glywed yn gwrthod hynny. Awgryma hynny i mi nad yw'n deall y cymunedau hynny'n dda iawn. Cefais fy syfrdanu hefyd—ac nid wyf yn cael fy syfrdanu'n hawdd—wrth glywed y Gweinidog yn dweud, pan ofynnodd ITV iddo ddoe ai ei gyfrifoldeb ef oedd hyn yn y pen draw, ymateb y Gweinidog oedd ei fod yn gyfrifoldeb i bawb yn y pen draw. Wel, mae arnaf ofn fod yn rhaid imi ddweud wrth y Siambr hon, Lywydd, nad yw'n gyfrifoldeb i bawb—cyfrifoldeb y Gweinidog ydyw. Ac rwy'n mynd i ofyn iddo, unwaith eto, i ystyried ei sefyllfa, ac os na all ystyried ei sefyllfa, gofynnaf iddo egluro beth arall, pa sefyllfa fwy difrifol a fyddai'n digwydd yn y gwasanaeth iechyd yng Nghymru, beth arall sy'n mynd i orfod mynd o'i le cyn iddo fod yn barod i dderbyn cyfrifoldeb personol?
I return to the range of points—I think there are five different points made at that time, Llywydd. In terms of the eight reports that the Member refers to, none of them refer to the depth of challenge that was revealed in the autumn of last year, which led to my commissioning of the joint royal colleges report. That was a decision I took because of the concern that had been properly revealed at that time. And it's a matter of a simple fact that, of course, I hadn't been in this role during the whole six years that you refer to. I've acted in the time that I have been in office on all the information that I have had available to me. And it is part of the challenge to understand how and why concern was not flagged up and acted on at an earlier point. That's why the independence in the oversight arrangements in the review process is absolutely crucial, to rebuild the trust and confidence that staff and the wider public will expect.
I certainly have not dismissed the inverse care law. I have made clear that I expect every person, every family, every community, in Wales to be treated appropriately by our national health service, with dignity and respect, to have their voices listened to. It is part of what I have found deeply upsetting in respect of Cwm Taf maternity services. That clearly did not happen to a range of families who have spoken about their experiences. So, the action that we have taken more broadly about the inverse care law, we have particular programmes undertaken in Aneurin Bevan, together with Cwm Taf. So, this is something that we are deliberately taking proactive action upon here within the health service in Wales.
Now, when I say, 'Who has a share of responsibility?', everyone in this health service does have a share of the responsibility for the way the whole health service works. But, ultimately, I'm the Minister for Health and Social Services, and I have overall responsibility for what happens. And I am far from complacent about my responsibilities, not only in the sense of the whole performance of the service, not just the challenges, but the good that the service does. But my responsibility is to see through the improvement that I recognise is plainly required and I am determined to see delivered.
Dychwelaf at yr ystod o bwyntiau—credaf fod pum pwynt gwahanol wedi'u gwneud y tro hwnnw, Lywydd. O ran yr wyth adroddiad y cyfeiria'r Aelod atynt, nid oes unrhyw un ohonynt yn cyfeirio at ddyfnder yr her a ddatgelwyd yn ystod yr hydref y llynedd, a arweiniodd at gomisiynu adroddiad ar y cyd gan y colegau brenhinol. Roedd hwnnw'n benderfyniad a wneuthum oherwydd y pryder a ddatgelwyd yn briodol bryd hynny. Ac mae'n ffaith syml, wrth gwrs, nad oeddwn wedi bod yn y swydd hon am y cyfnod cyfan o chwe blynedd y cyfeiriwch ato. Rwyf wedi gweithredu ers i mi fod yn y swydd yn unol â'r holl wybodaeth sydd wedi bod ar gael i mi. Ac mae deall sut a pham na nodwyd pryderon a pham na weithredwyd yn eu cylch yn gynharach yn rhan o'r her. Dyna pam fod yr annibyniaeth yn y trefniadau goruchwylio yn y broses adolygu yn gwbl hanfodol, er mwyn ailadeiladu'r ymddiriedaeth a'r hyder y bydd y staff a'r cyhoedd yn eu disgwyl.
Yn sicr, nid wyf wedi diystyru'r ddeddf gofal gwrthgyfartal. Rwyf wedi dweud yn glir fy mod yn disgwyl i bob unigolyn, pob teulu, pob cymuned, yng Nghymru gael eu trin yn briodol gan ein gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol, gydag urddas a pharch, i'w lleisiau gael eu clywed. Mae'n rhan o'r hyn sydd wedi peri cryn ofid i mi mewn perthynas â gwasanaethau mamolaeth Cwm Taf. Yn amlwg, ni ddigwyddodd hynny i amryw o deuluoedd sydd wedi siarad am eu profiadau. Felly, o ran y camau rydym wedi'u cymryd yn fwy cyffredinol mewn perthynas â'r ddeddf gofal gwrthgyfartal, mae gennym raglenni penodol ar waith yn Aneurin Bevan, ynghyd â Chwm Taf. Felly, mae hyn yn rhywbeth rydym yn cymryd camau rhagweithiol arno'n fwriadol yn y gwasanaeth iechyd yng Nghymru.
Nawr, pan ddywedaf, 'Pwy sy'n rhannu'r cyfrifoldeb?', mae pawb yn y gwasanaeth iechyd hwn yn rhannu'r cyfrifoldeb am y ffordd y mae'r gwasanaeth iechyd cyfan yn gweithio. Ond yn y pen draw, fi yw'r Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol, a fi sydd â'r cyfrifoldeb cyffredinol am yr hyn sy'n digwydd. Ac rwy'n bell o fod yn hunanfodlon ynglŷn â fy nghyfrifoldebau, nid yn unig yn yr ystyr o berfformiad cyffredinol y gwasanaeth, nid yn unig yr heriau, ond y daioni y mae'r gwasanaeth yn ei wneud. Ond fy nghyfrifoldeb i yw sicrhau'r gwelliant rwy'n cydnabod bod ei angen yn daer ac rwy'n benderfynol o gyflawni hynny.
Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Janet Finch-Saunders.
The Conservative spokesperson, Janet Finch-Saunders.
It is widely known among stakeholders, users, politicians in Wales that social care funding across Wales is considered to be very serious. Alongside the 2019-20 local government settlement, providing councils with nothing but real-terms cuts once again, leaving them with little choice but to cut vital services, Wales is likely to have a 35 per cent increase in population over the age of 65 by 2039. The additional pressure on local authorities has been noted by the Welsh Local Government Association, who have estimated that there will be £344 million-worth of service pressures in social care by 2021-2. Clearly—[Interruption.] Allow the Minister, if he can, to respond to me. Clearly, a realistic vision is required, rather than the current rhetoric so often heard in this Chamber. The introduction of a transformative reform package is a necessity, and one that frees up local authorities from the continual, significant and ever-increasing financial burden. The provision of appropriate social care for our most vulnerable in Wales is not only an entitlement, it is a basic human right. Will you, as the portfolio holder and Minister, acknowledge the fact that local authorities across Wales are massively under-resourced by your department, by your Government, financially to provide social care? And will you look at transforming how this is funded?
Mae'n dra hysbys ymhlith rhanddeiliaid, defnyddwyr, gwleidyddion yng Nghymru yr ystyrir bod cyllid gofal cymdeithasol ledled Cymru yn ddifrifol iawn. Ochr yn ochr â'r setliad llywodraeth leol ar gyfer 2019-20, nad yw'n rhoi unrhyw beth i gynghorau ond toriadau mewn termau real unwaith eto, gan roi fawr o ddewis iddynt ond torri gwasanaethau hanfodol, mae Cymru yn debygol o weld cynnydd o 35 y cant yn y boblogaeth dros 65 oed erbyn 2039. Mae'r pwysau ychwanegol ar awdurdodau lleol wedi'i nodi gan Gymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru, sydd wedi amcangyfrif y bydd gwerth £344 miliwn o bwysau ar wasanaethau gofal cymdeithasol erbyn 2021-2. Yn amlwg—[Torri ar draws.] Gadewch i'r Gweinidog ymateb i mi, os gall. Yn amlwg, mae angen gweledigaeth realistig, yn hytrach na'r rhethreg a glywir mor aml yn y Siambr hon ar hyn o bryd. Mae angen cyflwyno pecyn trawsnewidiol o ddiwygiadau, ac un sy'n cael gwared ar y baich ariannol parhaus, sylweddol a chynyddol ar awdurdodau lleol. Mae darparu gofal cymdeithasol priodol i'n pobl fwyaf agored i niwed yng Nghymru nid yn unig yn hawl, mae'n hawl dynol sylfaenol. A wnewch chi, fel deiliad y portffolio a'r Gweinidog, gydnabod y ffaith nad yw eich Llywodraeth yn darparu digon o adnoddau ariannol i awdurdodau lleol ledled Cymru ar gyfer darparu gofal cymdeithasol? Ac a wnewch chi ystyried trawsnewid y ffordd y caiff hyn ei ariannu?
Well, Llywydd, the questioner shows a staggering lack of self-awareness in asking the question. The unavoidable reality is that the Welsh Government has suffered a 7 per cent real-term reduction in our budget—well over £1 billion—and that has consequences that are unavoidable and directly flow from the policy of austerity implemented by the Government that you support, a policy that you have campaigned for in three successive general elections.
I should also point out that if all of the spending demands made by Conservatives in this Chamber, and outside it, were acceded to, then we would have a much larger sum of money because we simply cannot meet all of the demands you make upon us. They are wholly unrealistic, as well as ignoring the impact of Conservative austerity. When you talk about the challenges of local government and paying for care, the biggest challenge they face is austerity. If you want to see a change in the position of local government and their funding, you should join with others in this Chamber and outside and call on the Conservative Government to end the policy on austerity to stop the damage being done in each and every one of our communities. I think many people will hear what you have had to say and wonder if at all you understand what is happening, or that if you do, whether you're potentially just a touch hypocritical.
Wel, Lywydd, mae'r holwr yn dangos diffyg hunanymwybyddiaeth syfrdanol wrth ofyn y cwestiwn. Y realiti anochel yw bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dioddef gostyngiad o 7 y cant yn ein cyllideb mewn termau real—ymhell dros £1 biliwn—ac mae hynny'n arwain at ganlyniadau na ellir eu hosgoi ac sy'n deillio'n uniongyrchol o'r polisi cyni a weithredir gan y Llywodraeth rydych yn ei chefnogi, polisi rydych wedi ymgyrchu drosto mewn tri etholiad cyffredinol yn olynol.
Dylwn nodi hefyd, pe bai pob un o'r galwadau am wariant a wneir gan y Ceidwadwyr yn y Siambr hon, a'r tu allan iddi, yn cael eu gwrando, byddai gennym swm llawer mwy o arian gan na allwn ateb yr holl alwadau a wnewch. Maent yn gwbl afrealistig, ac maent yn anwybyddu effaith cyni'r Ceidwadwyr. Pan fyddwch yn sôn am yr heriau i lywodraeth leol a thalu am ofal, yr her fwyaf y maent yn ei hwynebu yw cyni. Os ydych am weld newid sefyllfa llywodraeth leol a'u cyllid, dylech ymuno ag eraill yn y Siambr hon a'r tu allan a galw ar y Llywodraeth Geidwadol i ddod â pholisi cyni i ben er mwyn atal y difrod a wneir ym mhob un o'n cymunedau. Credaf y bydd llawer o bobl yn clywed yr hyn a oedd gennych i'w ddweud ac yn meddwl tybed a ydych yn deall beth sy'n digwydd o gwbl, neu os ydych yn deall, p'un a ydych o bosibl braidd yn rhagrithiol.
I thought we were in for a kinder politics, actually. I haven't insulted you personally.
Now, one recent idea as to how to fund social care is the proposal this week that has been outlined by the Rt Hon Damian Green MP in his paper on fixing the care crisis. It's fair to say that the UK Government realise that it's a ticking time bomb where social care pressures are and they are prepared to do something about it. Now, this would see a pension-style system introduced, guaranteeing a reasonable universal safety net. I'm not endorsing this at this point, but what I'm saying is that they are looking at it and coming up with meaningful and potential ways to address the issue. The way you smile, you look as if you don't even believe that there's a social care funding crisis in Wales. Now, this would help increase the flow of private funding into the—. [Interruption.] You can heckle and try and support him from the sidelines—
Roeddwn o dan yr argraff ein bod am gael gwleidyddiaeth fwy caredig. Nid wyf wedi'ch sarhau chi'n bersonol.
Nawr, un syniad diweddar ynglŷn â sut i ariannu gofal cymdeithasol yw'r cynnig yr wythnos hon a amlinellwyd gan y Gwir Anrhydeddus Damian Green AS yn ei bapur ar ddatrys yr argyfwng gofal. Mae'n deg dweud bod Llywodraeth y DU yn sylweddoli fod gennym fom sy'n tician o ran ble mae'r pwysau ar ofal cymdeithasol ac maent yn barod i wneud rhywbeth ynglŷn â hynny. Nawr, byddai hyn yn golygu cyflwyno system debyg i'r system bensiynau, gan warantu rhwyd ddiogelwch gyffredinol resymol. Nid wyf yn cymeradwyo hyn ar hyn o bryd, ond yr hyn rwy'n ei ddweud yw eu bod yn ystyried y mater ac yn cynnig ffyrdd ystyrlon a phosibl o fynd i'r afael ag ef. Y ffordd rydych yn gwenu, rydych yn edrych fel pe na baech hyd yn oed yn credu bod argyfwng ariannu gofal cymdeithasol yn bodoli yng Nghymru. Nawr, byddai hyn yn helpu i gynyddu llif yr arian preifat i'r—. [Torri ar draws.] Gallwch heclo a cheisio'i gefnogi o'r cyrion—
Don't take any notice of them; that's the best advice I can give. Ignore them completely and carry on.
Peidiwch â chymryd unrhyw sylw ohonynt; dyna'r cyngor gorau y gallaf ei roi. Anwybyddwch hwy yn llwyr a pharhewch.
Thank you. Just for the reference, £1.20 is spent on public services in Wales—provided by the UK Government—for every £1 in England. So, there's an obvious fault there, isn't there, when, clearly, there's less money being spent in England, and—[Inaudible.]—delivery? But, anyway, on with my question. This would encourage a greater voluntary contribution of the around £163 billion in non-pension assets possessed by each annual cohort of 65-year-olds in Great Britain. Now, the merits of the proposal may be a debate for another day, but at least, as I've said, they're looking at it. But we must acknowledge that something has to be done in Wales. Can you say yourself that the Welsh Government, and you as a Minister, are doing enough to do this, and will you also confirm to me how you have taken forward one, two or even more of the nine recommendations of the Finance Committee report, 'The cost of caring for an ageing population', especially No. 7, which highlights the need to engage with the public about the future funding of social care in Wales, and to have a national conversation? Have you taken those recommendations forward, and are you prepared to have that national conversation?
Diolch. Er gwybodaeth, caiff £1.20 ei wario ar wasanaethau cyhoeddus yng Nghymru—a ddarperir gan Lywodraeth y DU—am bob £1 yn Lloegr. Felly, onid oes gwendid amlwg yno, pan fo llai o arian yn cael ei wario yn Lloegr, ac—[Anghlywadwy.]—darpariaeth? Ond beth bynnag, yn ôl at fy nghwestiwn. Byddai hyn yn annog cyfraniad gwirfoddol mwy o faint o'r oddeutu £163 biliwn mewn asedau nad ydynt yn bensiynau sydd gan bob carfan flynyddol o bobl 65 oed ym Mhrydain. Nawr, gall rhinweddau'r cynnig fod yn ddadl ar gyfer rhyw dro eto, ond o leiaf, fel y dywedais, maent yn ei ystyried. Ond mae'n rhaid i ni gydnabod bod yn rhaid gwneud rhywbeth yng Nghymru. A allwch ddweud eich hun fod Llywodraeth Cymru, a chi fel Gweinidog, yn gwneud digon i wneud hyn, ac a wnewch chi gadarnhau i mi hefyd sut rydych wedi bwrw ymlaen ag un, dau neu fwy na hynny hyd yn oed o'r naw argymhelliad yn adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyllid, 'Cost gofalu am boblogaeth sy'n heneiddio', yn enwedig Rhif 7, sy'n nodi'r angen i ymgysylltu â'r cyhoedd ynghylch ariannu gofal cymdeithasol yng Nghymru yn y dyfodol, ac i gael sgwrs genedlaethol? A ydych wedi bwrw ymlaen â'r argymhellion hynny, ac a ydych yn barod i gael y sgwrs genedlaethol honno?
Well, I'd like to thank the Member for her latest interesting take and bring her back to reality. The undeniable challenges on social care exist right across the United Kingdom, including here in Wales. Within the significant reductions made to our budget by the UK Conservative Government that she supports and has campaigned for, we have made honest choices about the share in resources between health, local government and all other public services and money we spend on supporting the economy. If the Conservatives in the United Kingdom Government were really serious about fixing this issue, they would have done something about it. We've been promised a Green Paper, not a paper by Damian Green, to understand what the UK Government are going to do on this. It has been delayed again and again and again.
The Dilnot commission that was supposed to help take this matter forward was buried by the Conservative Government in the last term. The reality is we could have made more progress right across the United Kingdom if the UK Government had been a straight and honest dealer in this and actually taken action rather than kicking the can down the road. Here in Wales, we do have an inter-ministerial group that I chair on looking at the future payment for social care, and looking at how we generate more money to go into our social care system. And that is not a consequence of free choice to make at all, and if we want more resources to go in, there are difficult choices about where that money comes from and if we're prepared to fund that in a variety of different ways.
I suggest that rather than just looking at it, the UK Government needs to recognise that they are responsible for the position on social care funding, and it comes back again to the choice on austerity. End austerity—there are different choices that every Government within the United Kingdom can make. End austerity, and your Conservative colleagues who run councils in England will have a different settlement, because don't take my word for it, but the choices that your Government across the United Kingdom has made have had even more serious consequences in England than any other part of the UK. They look on the way Welsh local government has been treated and they recognise there is a much better deal available for local government here because there is a Welsh Labour Government that has balanced our resources and prioritised local services.
Wel, hoffwn ddiolch i'r Aelod am ei safbwynt diddorol diweddaraf a dod â hi'n ôl i realiti. Mae'r heriau anochel yn bodoli i ofal cymdeithasol ledled y Deyrnas Unedig, gan gynnwys yma yng Nghymru. O fewn y gostyngiadau sylweddol a wnaed i'n cyllideb gan Lywodraeth Geidwadol y DU y mae hi'n ei chefnogi ac wedi ymgyrchu drostynt, rydym wedi gwneud dewisiadau gonest ynglŷn â rhannu adnoddau rhwng iechyd, llywodraeth leol a phob gwasanaeth cyhoeddus arall ac arian a wariwn ar gefnogi'r economi. Pe bai'r Ceidwadwyr yn Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig o ddifrif ynghylch datrys y mater hwn, byddent wedi gwneud rhywbeth yn ei gylch. Rydym wedi cael addewid o Bapur Gwyrdd, nid papur gan Damian Green, i ddeall beth y mae Llywodraeth y DU yn mynd i'w wneud ar hyn. Mae wedi'i ohirio dro ar ôl tro ar ôl tro.
Cafodd comisiwn Dilnot, a oedd i fod i helpu i symud y mater hwn yn ei flaen, ei gladdu gan y Llywodraeth Geidwadol yn ystod y tymor diwethaf. Y gwir amdani yw y gallem fod wedi gwneud mwy o gynnydd ledled y Deyrnas Unedig pe bai Llywodraeth y DU wedi bod yn onest yn hyn o beth ac wedi gweithredu yn hytrach na chicio'r penderfyniad hwn ymhellach i lawr y ffordd. Yma yng Nghymru, mae gennym grŵp rhyngweinidogol a gadeirir gennyf sy'n ystyried y broses o dalu am ofal cymdeithasol yn y dyfodol, ac i ystyried sut y cynhyrchwn fwy o arian i fynd i mewn i'n system gofal cymdeithasol. Ac nid yw hynny'n deillio o'r rhyddid i ddewis mewn unrhyw ffordd, ac os ydym am i fwy o adnoddau fynd i mewn, ceir dewisiadau anodd ynglŷn ag o ble y daw'r arian hwnnw ac a ydym yn barod i ariannu hynny mewn amrywiaeth o ffyrdd gwahanol.
Yn hytrach nag ystyried hyn yn unig, awgrymaf fod angen i Lywodraeth y DU gydnabod eu bod yn gyfrifol am y sefyllfa o ran cyllid gofal cymdeithasol, ac mae'n ymwneud unwaith eto â'r dewis ynghylch cyni. Dewch â chyni i ben—mae gwahanol ddewisiadau y gall pob Llywodraeth yn y Deyrnas Unedig eu gwneud. Dewch â chyni i ben, a bydd eich cydweithwyr Ceidwadol sy'n rhedeg cynghorau yn Lloegr yn cael setliad gwahanol, oherwydd, peidiwch â derbyn fy ngair i ar hyn, ond mae'r dewisiadau y mae eich Llywodraeth wedi'u gwneud ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig wedi arwain at ganlyniadau hyd yn oed yn fwy difrifol yn Lloegr nag yn unrhyw ran arall o'r DU. Maent yn edrych ar y ffordd y mae llywodraeth leol Cymru wedi cael ei thrin ac maent yn cydnabod bod bargen well o lawer ar gael i lywodraeth leol yma am fod gennym Lywodraeth Lafur yng Nghymru sydd wedi cydbwyso ein hadnoddau ac wedi blaenoriaethu gwasanaethau lleol.
A very, very weak response from a Government Minister. You have just actually admitted to this Chamber that despite you having the levers, despite you having the resources financially, and despite you having the powers, you're actually waiting for a Green Paper from the United Kingdom Government. What happened to devolution? What happened to you taking the lead as a Government Minister and as a Welsh Labour Government? You've answered that question. But, anyway, I've got one more for you. [Laughter.]
There are 370,000 carers in Wales providing 96 per cent of the care in communities across Wales and they contribute more than £8.1 billion to the Welsh economy every year. Now, if just a small percentage of these hard-working carers stopped caring, health and social care services would undoubtedly submerge into a deeper crisis than I have mentioned. Therefore, challenges faced by unpaid carers in Wales must be addressed by you. For example, I am shocked, and I am sure other Members here would be, to learn—
Ymateb gwan tu hwnt gan Weinidog Llywodraeth. Rydych newydd gyfaddef i'r Siambr hon, er bod y dulliau gennych, er bod yr adnoddau ariannol gennych, ac er bod y pwerau gennych, eich bod yn aros am Bapur Gwyrdd gan Lywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig. Beth ddigwyddodd i ddatganoli? Beth ddigwyddodd i chi'n cymryd yr awenau fel Gweinidog Llywodraeth ac fel Llywodraeth Lafur yng Nghymru? Rydych wedi ateb y cwestiwn hwnnw. Ond beth bynnag, mae gennyf un arall i chi. [Chwerthin.]
Mae 370,000 o ofalwyr yng Nghymru yn darparu 96 y cant o'r gofal mewn cymunedau ledled Cymru ac maent yn cyfrannu dros £8.1 biliwn i economi Cymru bob blwyddyn. Nawr, pe bai canran fechan yn unig o'r gofalwyr gweithgar hyn yn rhoi'r gorau i ofalu, byddai gwasanaethau iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol, heb os, yn wynebu argyfwng mwy difrifol na'r un y soniais amdano. Felly, mae'n rhaid i chi fynd i'r afael â'r heriau sy'n wynebu gofalwyr di-dâl yng Nghymru. Er enghraifft, rwy'n synnu, ac rwy'n siŵr y byddai Aelodau eraill yma'n synnu, wrth glywed—
You do need to come to your question now. You don't need to preamble your third question.
Mae angen i chi ofyn eich cwestiwn nawr. Nid oes angen rhagymadrodd i'ch trydydd cwestiwn.
Many carers are unable to access appropriate breaks from their caring responsibilities in order for themselves to live healthy and fulfilling lives and to reach their own potential in terms of education and employment. What urgent steps are you taking to ensure that all carers receive the adequate breaks they require and that the full cost of replacement of respite care in order for them to live their own fulfilled lives is achieved?
Mae llawer o ofalwyr yn methu manteisio ar gyfnodau egwyl priodol o'u cyfrifoldebau gofalu er mwyn iddynt allu byw bywydau iach a chyflawn eu hunain a chyrraedd eu potensial eu hunain o ran addysg a chyflogaeth. Pa gamau a roddwch ar waith ar fyrder i sicrhau bod pob gofalwr yn cael yr egwyl angenrheidiol, ac y telir am gost lawn trefnu gofal seibiant er mwyn iddynt allu byw bywydau cyflawn eu hunain?
Thank you for the question on carers—an important subject on which there is some cross-party agreement that we need to find a better deal on. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 provides rights that do not exist in other parts of the United Kingdom. Our challenge is how we work with our partners and make sure those rights are realised. There is no lack of focus on carers and, indeed, the Deputy Minister is leading work with carers on implementing a better deal for them here in Wales.
I actually think the problem with this set of questions is that when you talk about powers, levers and resources that already exist, actually the undeniable truth is we have only recently had powers over changing our income. We have not had the resources. That's a point I've continually made about austerity and your failure to take any kind of responsibility for the choice that you have actively campaigned for in three successive general elections. It is a Conservative choice, it is a Conservative creation—the crisis that we see across public services right across the United Kingdom.
The challenge in this exchange is that, unfortunately, Llywydd, I just don't think the Member understands what is actually happening within the country, and let's just leave it at that.
Diolch am eich cwestiwn ar ofalwyr—pwnc pwysig, a cheir rhywfaint o gytundeb trawsbleidiol fod angen i ni sicrhau bargen well ar eu cyfer. Mae Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) 2014 yn darparu hawliau nad ydynt yn bodoli mewn rhannau eraill o'r Deyrnas Unedig. Yr her i ni yw sut y gweithiwn gyda'n partneriaid a sicrhau bod yr hawliau hynny'n cael eu gwireddu. Ni cheir diffyg ffocws ar ofalwyr, ac yn wir, mae'r Dirprwy Weinidog yn arwain gwaith gyda gofalwyr ar sicrhau bargen well ar eu cyfer yma yng Nghymru.
Mewn gwirionedd, credaf mai'r broblem gyda'r set hon o gwestiynau, pan fyddwch yn siarad am bwerau, ysgogiadau ac adnoddau sy'n bodoli eisoes, y gwir amdani yw mai yn ddiweddar iawn y cawsom bwerau dros newid ein hincwm. Ni fu'r adnoddau gennym i wneud hynny. Rwyf wedi codi'r pwynt yn barhaus ynghylch cyni a'ch methiant i gymryd unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y dewis rydych wedi ymgyrchu'n weithredol drosto mewn tri etholiad cyffredinol yn olynol. Mae'n ddewis Ceidwadol, yn greadigaeth Geidwadol—yr argyfwng a welwn mewn gwasanaethau cyhoeddus ledled y Deyrnas Unedig.
Yr her yn y ddadl hon, yn anffodus, Lywydd, yw na chredaf fod yr Aelod yn deall beth sy'n digwydd yn y wlad mewn gwirionedd, a gadewch i ni adael pethau ar hynny.
Llefarydd UKIP, Neil Hamilton.
UKIP spokesperson, Neil Hamilton.
Diolch, Llywydd. The Minister will know that in the years 2017-18, 100,000 ophthalmology patients' appointments were cancelled, often at very short notice, and that figure was a rise of 5.5 per cent on two years before. Those who have been waiting for twice as long as they should for a follow-up appointment were 35,000 in December 2018, up from 15,000 in April 2015. The latest figures that I have been able to find for those people who go blind whilst waiting for treatment in Wales is 48. That was back in 2014 in a Royal National Institute of Blind People report. Is it not a scandal that a single person in Wales should go blind whilst waiting for treatment by the NHS?
Diolch, Lywydd. Bydd y Gweinidog yn ymwybodol fod 100,000 o apwyntiadau cleifion offthalmoleg wedi'u canslo yn y blynyddoedd 2017-18, yn aml heb fawr o rybudd, ac roedd y ffigur hwnnw'n gynnydd o 5.5 y cant ar ddwy flynedd ynghynt. Roedd 35,000 o bobl wedi bod yn aros ddwywaith mor hir ag y dylent am apwyntiad dilynol ym mis Rhagfyr 2018, i fyny o 15,000 ym mis Ebrill 2015. Dengys y ffigurau diweddaraf y gallais ddod o hyd iddynt fod 48 o bobl wedi mynd yn ddall wrth aros am driniaeth yng Nghymru. Roedd hynny yn ôl yn 2014 mewn adroddiad gan Sefydliad Cenedlaethol Brenhinol Pobl Ddall. Onid yw'n warth fod unrhyw unigolyn yng Nghymru yn mynd yn ddall wrth aros am driniaeth gan y GIG?
This is an area in which we've actually changed measures, and the difference between measures and what happened in the service actually matters. We were measuring a referral-to-treatment target that didn't actually take account of the clinical priority of patients. So, we had a blunt measure that didn't take account of how the service should act to actually deal with the potential clinical harm. So, one of the things that I have done is that I have now worked with the service, together with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and we have new measures in place that actually take account of clinical priority. So, some people will wait longer, but we will prioritise those people in the greatest need to avoid the prospect of people actually suffering avoidable sight loss. It's a deliberate choice that we've made, and I believe the health service and the people of Wales will be better off for it, and it enjoys the widespread support of both clinicians and the third sector.
Mae hwn yn faes lle rydym wedi newid y mesurau, mewn gwirionedd, ac mae'r gwahaniaeth rhwng y mesurau a'r hyn a ddigwyddodd yn y gwasanaeth yn bwysig. Roeddem yn mesur targed rhwng atgyfeirio a thriniaeth nad oedd yn ystyried blaenoriaeth glinigol y cleifion. Felly, roedd gennym fesur amrwd nad oedd yn ystyried sut y dylai'r gwasanaeth weithredu i fynd i'r afael â'r niwed clinigol posibl. Felly, un o'r pethau a wneuthum yw gweithio gyda'r gwasanaeth, ynghyd â'r Sefydliad Cenedlaethol Brenhinol Pobl Ddall, ac mae gennym fesurau newydd ar waith sy'n ystyried blaenoriaeth glinigol. Felly, bydd rhai pobl yn aros am gyfnodau hwy, ond byddwn yn blaenoriaethu'r bobl â'r angen mwyaf er mwyn osgoi'r posibilrwydd y bydd pobl yn colli eu golwg lle gellir osgoi hynny. Rydym wedi gwneud dewis bwriadol, a chredaf y bydd y gwasanaeth iechyd a phobl Cymru yn well eu byd o'i herwydd, ac mae clinigwyr a'r trydydd sector yn gyffredinol yn ei gefnogi.
Well, better late than never, I certainly acknowledge that, but there is still a very long way to go. The Minister will know that the Public Accounts Committee has been taking an interest in this area, and recently we took evidence form Aneurin Bevan health board, which noted the need for improvement on its current 62 per cent performance of risk 1 patients being seen by the target date or within 25 per cent in excess of the target date. Risk 1 is defined by the RNIB as a risk of irreversible harm or significant patient adverse outcome if the patient target date is missed. These delays are really intolerable, are they not?
If you look at the follow-up appointments in certain health boards, there is a very significant disparity between performance. In Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, there were 5,000 people waiting twice as long as they should do for follow-up appointments—that's four times as many as two years before. In Cardiff and Vale, 10,000 people are waiting twice as long as they need for eye appointments. That's four times the position two years ago. This is something that calls for the most urgent action possible from the health Secretary, and perhaps he could tell us what, in practical terms, he's now going to do to sort the problem out.
Wel, gwell hwyr na hwyrach, rwy'n sicr yn cydnabod hynny, ond mae llawer i'w wneud o hyd. Bydd y Gweinidog yn gwybod bod gan y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus ddiddordeb yn y maes hwn, ac yn ddiweddar, cawsom dystiolaeth gan fwrdd iechyd Aneurin Bevan, a dynnodd sylw at yr angen i wella ei berfformiad cyfredol o 62 y cant o gleifion risg 1 yn cael eu gweld erbyn y dyddiad targed, neu o fewn 25 y cant i'r dyddiad targed. Diffinnir risg 1 gan y Sefydliad Cenedlaethol Brenhinol Pobl Ddall fel risg o niwed diwrthdro neu ganlyniad niweidiol sylweddol i'r claf os na ellir eu trin erbyn y dyddiad targed. Onid yw'r oedi hwn yn gwbl annerbyniol?
Os edrychwch ar yr apwyntiadau dilynol mewn rhai byrddau iechyd, mae eu perfformiad yn amrywio'n sylweddol iawn. Yn Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, roedd 5,000 o bobl yn aros ddwywaith cyhyd ag y dylent am apwyntiadau dilynol—pedair gwaith cymaint â dwy flynedd ynghynt. Yng Nghaerdydd a'r Fro, mae 10,000 o bobl yn aros ddwywaith cyhyd ag y mae angen am apwyntiadau llygaid. Mae hynny bedair gwaith cymaint â'r sefyllfa ddwy flynedd yn ôl. Mae hyn yn rhywbeth sy'n galw am weithredu ar fyrder mor gyflym â phosibl gan yr Ysgrifennydd iechyd, ac efallai y gall ddweud wrthym beth, yn ymarferol, y mae'n mynd i'w wneud i ddatrys y broblem.
Well, the new measures themselves are not simply an answer in themselves. They are actually about how we organise and run the whole system. It's about actually ensuring that we're able to transfer care into community-based services wherever possible, and actually Aneurin Bevan have been leading on a range of that work, to provide greater time and capacity within hospital-based services for people who need to be seen by a hospital-based clinician. So, it's about re-engineering our whole system. And actually if you talk to people within the service, and if you talk to people across the system within the United Kingdom, they recognise that we're doing the right things here in Wales and there is a challenge about how other parts of the UK catch up with what we're doing, both in local treatment within the community as well as more priority for the right people to be seen more quickly within a hospital system. That means different measures that accurately reflect what matters to the person and what should matter to all of us to make sure that the right care is provided at the right time and in the right place.
Wel, nid yw'r mesurau newydd yn ateb ynddynt eu hunain. Mewn gwirionedd, maent yn ymwneud â sut y trefnwn ac y gweithredwn y system gyfan. Mae'n ymwneud â sicrhau y gallwn drosglwyddo gofal i wasanaethau yn y gymuned lle bo modd, ac mewn gwirionedd, mae Aneurin Bevan wedi bod yn arwain ar lawer o'r gwaith hwnnw, i ddarparu mwy o amser a chapasiti o fewn gwasanaethau ysbyty i bobl sydd angen gweld clinigydd mewn ysbyty. Felly, mae a wnelo ag ailbeiriannu ein system gyfan. Ac mewn gwirionedd, os siaradwch â phobl yn y gwasanaeth, ac os siaradwch â phobl ar draws y system yn y Deyrnas Unedig, maent yn cydnabod ein bod yn gwneud y pethau iawn yma yng Nghymru a bod her i'w chael ynglŷn â sut y mae rhannau eraill o'r DU yn dal i fyny â'r hyn rydym ni'n ei wneud, o ran triniaeth leol yn y gymuned yn ogystal â mwy o flaenoriaeth i'r bobl iawn gael eu gweld yn gyflymach o fewn system ysbyty. Golyga hynny wahanol fesurau sy'n adlewyrchu'n gywir yr hyn sy'n bwysig i'r unigolyn, yn ogystal â beth ddylai fod yn bwysig i bob un ohonom, er mwyn sicrhau y darperir y gofal iawn ar yr adeg iawn ac yn y lle iawn.
3. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am fynediad at wasanaethau meddygon teulu yng Ngogledd Cymru? OAQ53773
3. Will the Minister make a statement on access to GP services in North Wales? OAQ53773
Yes. We want to see sustainable and accessible GP services across Wales. GP practices are using components of the primary care model to improve the way they provide services to patients, including, of course, within north Wales.
Gwnaf. Rydym am weld gwasanaethau meddygon teulu cynaliadwy a hygyrch ledled Cymru. Mae practisau meddygon teulu yn defnyddio elfennau o'r model gofal sylfaenol i wella'r ffordd y maent yn darparu gwasanaethau i gleifion, gan gynnwys, wrth gwrs, yng ngogledd Cymru.
Thank you for that answer, Minister. GP services are suffering. My constituents report waiting weeks for a routine appointment and just not being able to get through on the phone, sometimes needing to try up to 50 times and then giving up. Many say that they are losing confidence and faith in the health service. We've already heard that recent changes to the funding available for the indemnity scheme seem to be a step too far for many of those GPs. Minister, your very first ministerial responsibility is oversight of NHS delivery and performance. Are you doing your job properly?
Diolch am eich ateb, Weinidog. Mae gwasanaethau meddygon teulu yn dioddef. Dywed fy etholwyr eu bod yn aros wythnosau am apwyntiad arferol ac yn methu cael ateb dros y ffôn, gan ddweud, mewn ambell i achos, eu bod yn rhoi cynnig arni hyd at 50 o weithiau ac yna'n rhoi'r gorau iddi. Dywed llawer eu bod yn colli hyder a ffydd yn y gwasanaeth iechyd. Rydym eisoes wedi clywed bod newidiadau diweddar i'r cyllid sydd ar gael ar gyfer y cynllun indemniad, yn ôl pob golwg, gam yn rhy bell i lawer o'r meddygon teulu hynny. Weinidog, eich cyfrifoldeb gweinidogol cyntaf yw goruchwylio darpariaeth a pherfformiad y GIG. A ydych yn gwneud eich gwaith yn iawn?
'Yes' is the simple answer to the final question, but actually we know that, in response to the question asked by Alun Davies, there is a need to recognise that access is a key challenge in every community across Wales. And actually, as politicians, when you go out and talk to people, you know if there's a problem because it's localised—because some houses you'll talk to won't have a problem at all and won't raise it, and a few streets over, you'll have lots of people saying they have real challenges about accessing their local general practice.
That's why I've made access such a priority in conversations with local health services not just in the last year, but in the year moving ahead as well. It's part of our conversations with general practice in terms of how we introduce those new models, because, actually, most general practices in the country don't have a problem with having access to the right person at the right time, but a significant minority do, and almost all of us will know people, if not ourselves, who have had some of those challenges.
When it comes to the general practice contract for general medical services, we have made real progress. We have made a real step forward on indemnity arrangements. It will de-risk the future of local healthcare for general practitioners. On the broader contract, I am optimistic that we will secure agreement, as I have always intended to. Recently, and over the last month, there have been further negotiations between the BMA general practice committee, the Welsh Government and the NHS, and I'm optimistic that in the coming weeks we'll reach an agreement to take this matter forward.
'Ydw' yw'r ateb syml i'r cwestiwn olaf, ond gwyddom, mewn gwirionedd, mewn ymateb i'r cwestiwn a ofynnwyd gan Alun Davies, fod angen cydnabod bod mynediad yn her allweddol ym mhob cymuned ledled Cymru. Ac mewn gwirionedd, fel gwleidyddion, pan ewch allan i siarad â phobl, fe wyddoch fod problem oherwydd ei bod wedi'i chyfyngu i un ardal—gan na fydd gan rai tai y byddwch yn siarad â hwy unrhyw broblem o gwbl ac ni fyddant yn codi'r mater, ac ychydig o strydoedd oddi yno, bydd gennych lawer o bobl yn dweud eu bod yn wynebu heriau gwirioneddol o ran cael mynediad at eu practis cyffredinol lleol.
Dyna pam rwyf wedi sicrhau bod mynediad yn gymaint o flaenoriaeth mewn sgyrsiau â gwasanaethau iechyd lleol nid yn unig dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, ond dros y flwyddyn i ddod hefyd. Mae'n rhan o'n sgyrsiau gydag ymarfer cyffredinol o ran sut y cyflwynwn y modelau newydd hynny, oherwydd, mewn gwirionedd, nid oes gan y rhan fwyaf o bractisau yn y wlad broblem o ran mynediad at yr unigolyn iawn ar yr adeg iawn, ond mae problem gan leiafrif sylweddol ohonynt, a bydd pob un ohonom, bron â bod, yn adnabod pobl, os nad ni ein hunain, sydd wedi wynebu rhai o'r heriau hynny.
O ran y contract ymarfer cyffredinol ar gyfer gwasanaethau meddygol cyffredinol, rydym wedi gwneud cynnydd gwirioneddol. Rydym wedi gwneud cam go iawn ymlaen o ran trefniadau indemniad. Bydd hynny'n cael gwared ar y risgiau i ddyfodol gofal iechyd lleol i feddygon teulu. O ran y contract ehangach, rwy'n obeithiol y byddwn yn sicrhau cytundeb, fel oedd yn fwriad gennyf o'r cychwyn. Yn ddiweddar, a thros y mis diwethaf, cafwyd trafodaethau pellach rhwng pwyllgor ymarfer cyffredinol Cymdeithas Feddygol Prydain, Llywodraeth Cymru a'r GIG, ac rwy'n obeithiol y byddwn yn dod i gytundeb yn yr wythnosau nesaf er mwyn bwrw ymlaen â'r mater hwn.
Wrth gwrs, oherwydd y diffyg mewn niferoedd meddygon teulu yn y gogledd, mae mwy a mwy o feddygfeydd wedi bod yn mynd i mewn i reolaeth uniongyrchol gan fwrdd iechyd Betsi Cadwaladr. Felly, gaf i ofyn a ydy Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gwneud unrhyw ddadansoddiad neu unrhyw astudiaeth yn cymharu gwasanaethau gan y meddygfeydd hynny o'u cymharu, wrth gwrs, â'r model o bractisys mwy traddodiadol?
Of course, because of the shortage of GPs in north Wales, more and more surgeries have been coming under direct management by the Betsi Cadwaladr health board. Can I ask whether Welsh Government has carried out any analysis or any sort of study comparing services provided by those surgeries as compared to the more traditional practice model?
Yes, there's quite a lot of information available about the relative cost of independent contractors or managed practices, but it's also about our ability to attract and retain people to work in those services, not just GPs, but other clinical staff as well. So, we do have a range of those practices that have come in to be managed by Betsi Cadwaladr, and they've all managed to maintain a service for the local public, but my ambition is to have a more stable model for local healthcare to be delivered. That's why we talk about clusters coming together; we think we're going to see more co-working between those different practices. Those may be formal mergers; they may be federations. But, actually, to have that stability, whether doctors choose to work as an employed doctor employed by other doctors, or whether they wish to become partners—and we ought to incentivise people to become partners in general practice—and then to make sure they have a proper multidisciplinary team, that is more and more what we are going to deliver in local healthcare. If the Member wants further detail, I'd be happy to discuss outside the Chamber in correspondence.
Oes, mae llawer o wybodaeth ar gael am gost gymharol contractwyr annibynnol neu bractisau a reolir, ond mae a wnelo hefyd â'n gallu i ddenu pobl i weithio yn y gwasanaethau hynny a'u cadw, nid meddygon teulu yn unig, ond staff clinigol eraill hefyd. Felly, mae amryw o'r practisau hynny wedi dod i gael eu rheoli gan Betsi Cadwaladr, ac mae pob un ohonynt wedi llwyddo i gynnal gwasanaeth ar gyfer y cyhoedd yn lleol, ond fy uchelgais yw sicrhau model mwy sefydlog ar gyfer darparu gofal iechyd lleol. Dyna pam y soniwn am glystyrau'n dod at ei gilydd; credwn y byddwn yn gweld mwy o gydweithio rhwng y gwahanol bractisau hynny. Gallant fod yn uniadau ffurfiol; gallant fod yn ffederasiynau. Ond mewn gwirionedd, mae sicrhau'r sefydlogrwydd hwnnw, p'un a yw meddyg yn dewis gweithio fel meddyg cyflogedig a gyflogir gan feddygon eraill, neu p'un a ydynt am ddod yn bartneriaid—a dylem gymell pobl i ddod yn bartneriaid mewn practisau cyffredinol—ac yna i sicrhau bod ganddynt dîm amlddisgyblaethol priodol, yn gynyddol, dyna fyddwn yn ei gyflawni mewn gofal iechyd lleol. Os yw'r Aelod yn dymuno cael rhagor o fanylion, rwy'n fwy na pharod i drafod mewn gohebiaeth y tu allan i'r Siambr.
4. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am amseroedd aros ysbytai ar gyfer cleifion yng ngogledd Cymru? OAQ53771
4. Will the Minister make a statement on hospital waiting times for patients in north Wales? OAQ53771
Yes. Whilst the health board has improved its 36-week position by 3 per cent between February last year and this year, I am disappointed with the number of people who are still waiting too long. I have made my expectations clear for the health board, and I expect to see further improvements in waiting times before the end of this year and into the next. To help that, the Welsh Government has provided additional funding to help achieve that improvement in performance.
Gwnaf. Er bod y bwrdd iechyd wedi gwella ei berfformiad 36 wythnos 3 y cant rhwng mis Chwefror y llynedd ac eleni, rwy'n siomedig ynglŷn â nifer y bobl sy'n dal i aros yn rhy hir. Rwyf wedi datgan fy nisgwyliadau yn glir i'r bwrdd iechyd, ac rwy'n disgwyl gweld gwelliannau pellach o ran amseroedd aros cyn diwedd eleni ac i mewn i'r flwyddyn nesaf. Er mwyn cynorthwyo hynny, mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi darparu cyllid ychwanegol i helpu i gyflawni'r gwelliant hwnnw yn y perfformiad.
Too many people are waiting too long for treatment in north Wales. People on orthopaedic waiting lists are typically waiting, now, for two years in order to get access to their treatment. You clawed back £1 million from the health board this year because of its failure to hit your waiting time targets, and £3 million was clawed back last year because of a similar failure in that period. The situation with the Countess of Chester hospital, which took a significant number of referrals from north-east Wales, is going to make waiting times even longer and more difficult to achieve in terms of the targets. When will you wake up, make sure that the Countess of Chester hospital gets the funding it needs to make sure that it can care for the Welsh patients that need access to that service so that we can get these waiting times down, and when will you sign off the orthopaedic waiting time plan, which has been sat on your desk for 18 months, in order that these patients can get access to the treatment they need within the waiting time target?
Mae gormod o bobl yn aros yn rhy hir am driniaeth yng ngogledd Cymru. Mae'n arferol i bobl ar restrau aros orthopedig dwy flynedd bellach i gael triniaeth. Fe adfachoch chi £1 filiwn oddi wrth y bwrdd iechyd eleni oherwydd ei fethiant i gyflawni eich targedau amser aros, ac adfachwyd £3 miliwn y llynedd oherwydd methiant tebyg yn y cyfnod hwnnw. Bydd y sefyllfa gydag Ysbyty Iarlles Caer, a dderbyniai nifer sylweddol o atgyfeiriadau o ogledd-ddwyrain Cymru, yn golygu y bydd amseroedd aros hyd yn oed yn hwy ac yn anos eu cyflawni o fewn y targedau. Pa bryd y gwnewch chi ddeffro, a sicrhau bod Ysbyty Iarlles Caer yn cael yr arian sydd ei angen arnynt i sicrhau y gall ofalu am y cleifion o Gymru sydd angen mynediad at y gwasanaeth hwnnw fel y gallwn leihau'r amseroedd aros hyn, a pha bryd y byddwch yn cymeradwyo'r cynllun amser aros orthopedig, sydd wedi bod yn eistedd ar eich desg ers 18 mis, fel y gall y cleifion hyn gael mynediad at y driniaeth sydd ei hangen arnynt o fewn yr amseroedd targed?
I think there are three particular points there, Llywydd. The first is that two years is not the standard wait for all orthopaedic patients. That is not even the average wait. But there are some specialities, in particular some forms of joint replacements, where the wait is of that order, and that is simply far too long and simply not acceptable.
The orthopaedic plan has not been sat on my desk for 18 months. I am yet to receive an orthopaedic plan from the health board that I can make a determination on, on whether to invest in that or not. It has taken more time than I certainly have wanted to get a joint plan that clinicians across Wales and the health board can agree will actually match the capacity now and in the future.
When it comes to the Countess of Chester, the Member is simply wrong to suggest that the Welsh system is refusing to make payments and that that is the reason, while the Countess of Chester took unilateral action. It is rather more complicated than that. The Welsh system has not behaved inappropriately, and I hope that people in the Countess of Chester will behave in a way that reflects the values that should exist right across the national health service in every one of the four nations and not disadvantage patients while discussions continue about an appropriate rate of payment. And each and every year, the Welsh system has paid its bills in full and on time.
Credaf fod tri phwynt penodol yn y fan honno, Lywydd. Y cyntaf yw nad dwy flynedd yw'r amser aros safonol i bob claf orthopedig. Nid dyna'r amser aros cyfartalog, hyd yn oed. Ond ceir rhai arbenigeddau, yn enwedig rhai mathau o driniaethau gosod cymalau newydd, lle mae'n rhaid aros am gyfnodau o'r fath, ac mae hynny'n rhy hir o lawer ac nid yw'n dderbyniol.
Nid yw'r cynllun orthopedig wedi bod yn eistedd ar fy nesg ers 18 mis. Nid wyf eto wedi cael cynllun orthopedig gan y bwrdd iechyd y gallaf benderfynu yn ei gylch, o ran a ddylid buddsoddi ynddo ai peidio. Mae wedi cymryd mwy o amser nag y dymunwn, yn bendant, i sicrhau cynllun ar y cyd y gall clinigwyr ledled Cymru a'r bwrdd iechyd gytuno y bydd yn addas ar gyfer y capasiti ar hyn o bryd ac yn y dyfodol.
O ran Ysbyty Iarlles Caer, mae'r Aelod yn anghywir i awgrymu bod y system Gymreig yn gwrthod gwneud taliadau ac mai dyna'r rheswm, tra bo Ysbyty Iarlles Caer wedi gweithredu'n unochrog. Mae ychydig yn fwy cymhleth na hynny. Nid yw system Cymru wedi ymddwyn yn amhriodol, a gobeithio y bydd pobl yn Ysbyty Iarlles Caer yn ymddwyn mewn ffordd sy'n adlewyrchu'r gwerthoedd a ddylai fod ar waith ar draws y gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol ym mhob un o'r pedair gwlad yn hytrach na rhoi cleifion o dan anfantais tra bo trafodaethau'n parhau am gyfradd briodol o dâl. A phob blwyddyn yn ddi-ffael, mae system Cymru wedi talu ei biliau'n llawn ac yn brydlon.
Dŷch chi'n dweud eich bod chi'n siomedig bod pobl yn aros rhy hir. Mae'n werth cymryd eiliad i feddwl beth yn union mae 'rhy hir' yn ei olygu yn y cyd-destun yma. Mi ysgrifennais i at fwrdd iechyd Betsi Cadwaladr a chael ateb ar 8 Ebrill. Roeddwn i wedi ysgrifennu ar ran claf sy'n aros am ben-glin newydd. Roedd yr ateb yn dweud bod rhyw 2,200 o gleifion yn aros am driniaeth orthopedig a bod amser aros am driniaeth elective o gwmpas 100 wythnos—dwy flynedd ydy hynny. Bythefnos yn ddiweddarach, roeddwn i'n cael ateb yn dweud bod amser aros ar gyfer triniaeth clin yn fwy na 110 o wythnosau. Dydy hyn ddim ar unrhyw lefel yn agos at beth sydd yn dderbyniol i ni. Onid ydy hi'n amser inni sylweddoli nad yw mesurau arbennig ynddynt eu hunain ddim yn ddigon, bod angen symud i ryw fath o fesurau argyfwng ar gyfer Betsi Cadwaladr, neu i ystyried go iawn ydy'r model un bwrdd iechyd ar gyfer y gogledd yn ffit i bwrpas?
You say that you’re disappointed that people are waiting too long. It’s worth taking a moment just to think what exactly 'too long' means in this context. I wrote to the Betsi Cadwaladr health board and received a response on 8 April. I wrote on behalf of a patient waiting for a new knee. The response said that some 2,200 patients were awaiting orthopaedic treatment and that waiting times for elective surgery was around 100 weeks. That’s two years. Now, a fortnight later, I got a response saying that waiting times for knee operations or hip operations were more than 110 weeks. Now, this at any level isn’t anywhere near what is acceptable to us. Isn’t it time for us now to realise that special measures in themselves are not enough and that we need to move to some sort of crisis measures for Betsi Cadwaladr, or to seriously consider whether the single health board model for north Wales is fit for purpose?
There's no suggestion that changing the organisational structure of Betsi Cadwaladr and having two or three different health boards would actually improve performance in this area. The challenge would still be about how different clinicians on different sites actually work to a unified plan to make better use of the resources that they share across the health board. That will require investment in capital facilities and require a change in practice. I expect to see both those things set out in the orthopaedic plan, when I am actually provided with it, for me to make a decision on whether to invest or not.
I recognise that people are waiting far too long in north Wales in particular. I recognise that we're spending money in a way, in actually providing additional capacity from the independent system or from England, that is not actually a long-term, sustainable way to use that resource. We need a more sustainable way to use that resource here in Wales and to only use capacity outside of the Welsh system when it is absolutely necessary. So, I am under no illusions about the unacceptable position that faces our staff and in particular our patients. I look forward to receiving the plan so I can make a choice on the next steps to be taken in orthopaedic services.
Ni cheir unrhyw awgrym y byddai newid strwythur sefydliadol Betsi Cadwaladr a chael dau neu dri bwrdd iechyd gwahanol yn gwella perfformiad yn y maes hwn. Byddai'r her o hyd yn ymwneud â sut y mae gwahanol glinigwyr ar wahanol safleoedd yn gweithio yn unol â chynllun unedig i wneud gwell defnydd o'r adnoddau y maent yn eu rhannu ar draws y bwrdd iechyd. Bydd hynny'n golygu buddsoddi mewn cyfleusterau cyfalaf yn ogystal â newid o ran ymarfer. Disgwyliaf weld y ddau beth hynny wedi'u nodi yn y cynllun orthopedig, pan fydd yn cael ei ddarparu i mi, fel y gallaf wneud penderfyniad ynglŷn ag a ddylid buddsoddi ai peidio.
Rwy'n cydnabod bod pobl yn aros yn rhy hir o lawer yng ngogledd Cymru yn enwedig. Wrth ddarparu capasiti ychwanegol o'r system annibynnol neu o Loegr, rwy'n cydnabod ein bod yn gwario arian mewn ffordd nad yw mewn gwirionedd yn ffordd gynaliadwy, hirdymor o ddefnyddio'r adnodd hwnnw. Mae arnom angen ffordd fwy cynaliadwy o ddefnyddio'r adnodd yma yng Nghymru ac i ddefnyddio capasiti y tu allan i system Cymru pan fydd hynny'n gwbl angenrheidiol yn unig. Felly, nid wyf yn twyllo fy hun o gwbl o ran y sefyllfa annerbyniol sy'n wynebu ein staff, a'n cleifion yn enwedig. Edrychaf ymlaen at gael y cynllun er mwyn i mi allu penderfynu ar y camau nesaf i'w cymryd yn y gwasanaethau orthopedig.
5. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am berfformiad Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe? OAQ53744
5. Will the Minister make a statement on the performance of Swansea Bay University Health Board? OAQ53744
I'm sure the Member will appreciate I can't get the performance figures for the newly created Swansea Bay University Health Board. However, for the former Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, performance continued to improve across key areas compared to the previous year, with improved performance in A&E waits, referral-to-treatment times, and diagnostic and therapy waits, and the new health board continues to see more patients within the target time for cancer compared to the previous year.
Rwy'n siŵr y bydd yr Aelod yn sylweddoli na allaf gael ffigurau perfformiad ar gyfer Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe, sydd newydd gael ei greu. Fodd bynnag, ar gyfer yr hen fwrdd, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, parhaodd eu perfformiad i wella ar draws meysydd allweddol o gymharu â'r flwyddyn flaenorol, gyda pherfformiad gwell o ran amseroedd aros mewn unedau damweiniau ac achosion brys, amseroedd rhwng atgyfeirio a thriniaeth, ac amseroedd aros ar gyfer diagnosteg a therapi, ac mae'r bwrdd iechyd newydd yn parhau i weld mwy o gleifion o fewn yr amser targed ar gyfer canser o gymharu â'r flwyddyn flaenorol.
Minister, since being escalated to targeted intervention status in September 2016, Swansea bay health board, formerly, obviously, ABMU health board until recently, has made some progress in terms of its performance, as you outlined, and the work of the new leadership team has to be acknowledged. However, pressures do remain. There are challenges in delivering against the cancer pathway target across the health board, and also within planned care. Despite reductions in the number of people waiting over 36 weeks, nearly 11 per cent of patients are still waiting over 26 weeks—six months—with waiting times in some areas, such as trauma and orthopaedics, actually having worsened since September 2016, when it went into targeted intervention. This September, this health board, with its various names, will have been in targeted intervention for three years, so what further actions are you planning to ensure that services reach a level that patients in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot deserve?
Weinidog, ers ei uwchgyfeirio i statws ymyrraeth wedi'i thargedu ym mis Medi 2016, mae bwrdd iechyd bae Abertawe, sef Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Abertawe Bro Morgannwg hyd nes yn ddiweddar wrth gwrs, wedi gwneud rhywfaint o gynnydd o ran ei berfformiad, fel yr amlinellwyd gennych, ac mae'n rhaid cydnabod gwaith y tîm arweinyddiaeth newydd. Fodd bynnag, ceir pwysau o hyd. Ceir heriau o ran cyflawni yn erbyn targed y llwybr canser ar draws y bwrdd iechyd, a hefyd o fewn gofal wedi'i gynllunio. Er gwaethaf gostyngiadau yn nifer y bobl sy'n aros dros 36 wythnos, mae bron i 11 y cant o gleifion yn dal i aros dros 26 wythnos—chwe mis—gydag amseroedd aros mewn rhai meysydd, megis trawma ac orthopedeg, wedi gwaethygu mewn gwirionedd ers mis Medi 2016, pan ddechreuodd y cyfnod o ymyrraeth wedi'i thargedu. Fis Medi, bydd y bwrdd iechyd hwn, gyda'i amrywiol enwau, wedi bod yn destun ymyrraeth wedi'i thargedu ers tair blynedd, felly pa gamau pellach y bwriadwch eu cymryd i sicrhau bod gwasanaethau'n cyrraedd lefel y mae cleifion yn Abertawe a Chastell-nedd Port Talbot yn ei haeddu?
I recognise the points the Member makes and, to be fair, he regularly raises performance issues of the health service in the region that he represents. I have previously said, in both a written statement and in an oral statement, that I expect the new health board to have an approvable three-year plan created within this year, and that must come on the back of not just real improvement made to date, but prospects of further improvement in the future. We've actually done better on performance over the last year, and, in making use of the additional resources we've made available, that has to continue. So you're correct that 89 per cent of people within the new health board can expect to be seen within 26 weeks. I expect to see further improvement. I expect to see the health board come out of targeted intervention and to continue to improve in each of the key areas that you have outlined.
Rwy'n cydnabod y pwyntiau a wnaeth yr Aelod, ac a bod yn deg, mae'n codi materion perfformiad y gwasanaeth iechyd yn y rhanbarth y mae'n ei gynrychioli yn rheolaidd. Rwyf wedi dweud eisoes, mewn datganiad ysgrifenedig ac mewn datganiad llafar, fy mod yn disgwyl i'r bwrdd iechyd newydd gael cynllun tair blynedd y gellir ei gymeradwyo yn ystod y flwyddyn hon, ac mae'n rhaid i hynny fod yn seiliedig ar welliant gwirioneddol hyd yn hyn, ynghyd â rhagolygon o welliant pellach yn y dyfodol. Rydym wedi gwneud yn well o ran perfformiad yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, ac wrth ddefnyddio'r adnoddau ychwanegol a ddarparwyd gennym, mae'n rhaid i hynny barhau. Felly rydych yn iawn y gall 89 y cant o bobl yn y bwrdd iechyd newydd ddisgwyl cael eu gweld o fewn 26 wythnos. Rwy'n disgwyl gweld gwelliant pellach. Rwy'n disgwyl gweld y bwrdd iechyd yn dod allan o statws ymyrraeth wedi'i thargedu ac yn parhau i wella ym mhob un o'r meysydd allweddol rydych wedi'u hamlinellu.
Minister, you may remember, in the 2017-18 accountability report for ABMU, that the board were very jubilant, actually, that they'd shown an improvement inasmuch as the £36 million overspend that they'd predicted was actually only £32 million, and that that figure actually disguised a better saving because the figure included £7.4 million that was a penalty for not achieving referral-to-treatment time targets, which I don't think is anything that they should be proud of. We now have the new Swansea Bay University Health Board, with a reduced footprint. Will you be expecting some more ambition from them in terms of their financial controls, or will you be satisfied if the new board comes in again to say that overspending by fewer millions of pounds than they were expecting is a success, because those fewer millions of pounds could of course be going towards the social services and you would have been able to answer Janet Finch-Saunders's question differently?
Weinidog, yn yr adroddiad atebolrwydd ar gyfer Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Abertawe Bro Morgannwg yn 2017-18, efallai y byddwch yn cofio bod y bwrdd wrth eu boddau, mewn gwirionedd, eu bod wedi dangos gwelliant i'r graddau mai £32 miliwn yn unig o orwariant a gafwyd o gymharu â'r £36 miliwn a ragwelwyd, ac roedd y ffigur hwnnw mewn gwirionedd yn cuddio arbediad gwell gan fod y ffigur yn cynnwys £7.4 miliwn a oedd yn gosb am beidio â chyrraedd targedau amseroedd rhwng atgyfeirio a thriniaeth, ac ni chredaf fod hynny'n rhywbeth y dylent fod yn falch ohono. Erbyn hyn, mae gennym fwrdd iechyd newydd, Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe, gydag ôl troed llai. A fyddwch yn disgwyl mwy o uchelgais ganddynt o ran eu rheolaethau ariannol, neu a fyddwch yn fodlon os bydd y bwrdd newydd yn dweud bod gorwario ychydig o filiynau o bunnoedd yn llai nag oeddent wedi'i ddisgwyl yn llwyddiant, gan y gallai'r miliynau o bunnoedd hynny, wrth gwrs, fod yn mynd tuag at y gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, a byddech wedi gallu rhoi ateb gwahanol i gwestiwn Janet Finch-Saunders?
I would say the health board were far from jubilant about the reduction in their deficit down to £32 million. It was still unacceptable, and that was made absolutely clear to them both by my officials, but also by me, here, in conversations directly with the chair, and in the appraisal I've made it very clear I expect them to continue to improve. They won't have a balanced plan for me to sign off unless they can demonstrate that they are on track to live within their means, and to do so not just in one year, but over the three-year period. That is my expectation of the organisation—to improve its performance, including its financial performance, as well as improving the quality and the timeliness of its care and treatment for the people that you and I represent.
Buaswn yn dweud bod y bwrdd iechyd ymhell o fod yn hapus am y gostyngiad yn eu diffyg i lawr i £32 miliwn. Roedd yn dal i fod yn annerbyniol, a gwnaed hynny'n gwbl glir iddynt gan fy swyddogion, a hefyd gennyf fi, yma, mewn sgyrsiau uniongyrchol gyda'r cadeirydd, ac rwyf wedi dweud yn glir iawn yn y gwerthusiad fy mod yn disgwyl iddynt barhau i wella. Ni fydd ganddynt gynllun cytbwys i mi ei gymeradwyo oni bai eu bod yn gallu dangos eu bod ar y trywydd iawn i fyw o fewn eu gallu, a hynny, nid yn unig am flwyddyn, ond dros y cyfnod o dair blynedd. Dyna rwy'n disgwyl i'r sefydliad ei wneud—gwella'i berfformiad, gan gynnwys ei berfformiad ariannol, yn ogystal â gwella ansawdd a phrydlondeb y gofal a'r driniaeth i'r bobl rydych chi a minnau'n eu cynrychioli.
6. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am ofal iechyd trawsffiniol yng ngogledd Cymru? OAQ53756
6. Will the Minister make a statement on cross-border healthcare in north Wales? OAQ53756
Yes. Patient flow across the England and Wales border happens on a daily basis. Cross-border healthcare provision is arranged through formal agreements between local heath boards and English providers to meet the healthcare needs of the local population and, of course, we see a significant number of English residents coming into Wales for treatment, especially in regard to primary care.
Gwnaf. Mae llif cleifion yn digwydd ar draws y ffin rhwng Cymru a Lloegr bob dydd. Trefnir y ddarpariaeth gofal iechyd drawsffiniol drwy gytundebau ffurfiol rhwng byrddau iechyd lleol a darparwyr yn Lloegr i ddiwallu anghenion gofal iechyd y boblogaeth leol ac wrth gwrs, gwelwn nifer sylweddol o drigolion o Loegr yn dod i Gymru i gael triniaeth, yn enwedig mewn perthynas â gofal sylfaenol.
Diolch. Before recess, the Countess of Chester Hospital announced a unilateral decision to not accept any new elective referrals for Welsh patients. Minister, I thank you for meeting with me earlier today about this, and I know you are aware, following our meeting, that this issue is hurting people in my constituency and, indeed, people right across Flintshire. They are deeply, deeply concerned and angry about what the future will mean, and I have to say I share those feelings with them. And playing politics on an issue like this, in my view, is a disgrace.
My constituents want to know, Llywydd, why we are in this situation, but, most importantly, they want to know what's going to happen in the future. Minister, there needs to be an immediate interim solution to this issue whilst negotiations take place to allow Welsh patients to access cross-border services.
We also need assurances that this situation will never happen again—not just to my constituents, but to any patient who uses cross-border services throughout Wales. So, Minister, can I press you to work with me and colleagues from north-east Wales to ensure that happens, because health conditions know no borders and neither should the health service?
Diolch. Cyn y toriad, cyhoeddodd Ysbyty Iarlles Caer benderfyniad unochrog i beidio â derbyn unrhyw atgyfeiriadau newydd ar gyfer triniaeth ddewisol i gleifion o Gymru. Weinidog, diolch i chi am gyfarfod â mi yn gynharach heddiw i drafod hyn, a gwn eich bod yn ymwybodol, yn dilyn ein cyfarfod, fod y mater hwn yn brifo pobl yn fy etholaeth i, a phobl ar draws sir y Fflint yn wir. Maent yn poeni'n fawr ac yn ddig iawn am yr hyn y bydd y dyfodol yn ei olygu, ac mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud fy mod yn rhannu'r teimladau hynny. Ac mae chwarae gwleidyddiaeth ar fater fel hwn yn warth, yn fy marn i.
Mae fy etholwyr eisiau gwybod, Lywydd, pam ein bod yn y sefyllfa hon, ond yn bwysicaf oll, maent eisiau gwybod beth fydd yn digwydd yn y dyfodol. Weinidog, mae angen ateb dros dro ar unwaith i'r mater hwn tra bo trafodaethau ar y gweill i alluogi cleifion yng Nghymru i gael mynediad at wasanaethau trawsffiniol.
Rydym angen sicrwydd hefyd na fydd y sefyllfa hon byth yn digwydd eto—nid yn unig i fy etholwyr i, ond i unrhyw glaf sy'n defnyddio gwasanaethau trawsffiniol ledled Cymru. Felly, Weinidog, a gaf fi bwyso arnoch i weithio gyda mi a chyd-Aelodau o ogledd-ddwyrain Cymru i sicrhau bod hynny'n digwydd, gan nad yw cyflyrau iechyd yn cydnabod ffiniau ac ni ddylai'r gwasanaeth iechyd eu cydnabod chwaith?
Yes, thank you for the question and the opportunity to discuss this matter in some more detail earlier today with colleagues from north-east Wales. There has been some progress on arrangements with the English system. As you know, not just in the part of Wales that you represent, but in other parts, there's a regular flow for hospital treatment in particular. And the challenge has arisen over the way that tariff payments work within the English system. Now, not everyone here will be familiar with the tariff, but it's a way in which providers of health services in England are paid, and there's a rate that's set. The new rate set for England includes elements that appear to have been covered by consequential payments into the Welsh and English systems. If we simply agree to pay that amount, then we're essentially double-funding parts of the English system, including, for example, with the pay award. Now, that won't mean much to people who simply want certainty about how they're going to be treated, and I certainly want to see progress. I've had several direct conversations with UK Ministers on this, my officials have been directly engaged, there are further meetings taking place this week between the two Governments and, indeed, individual actors within the system in Wales and England.
I too want to see an interim agreement that allows us to carry on with the longer term challenges, not just an agreement with the Countess of Chester, but with every provider of cross-border healthcare, and to make sure we have something that will last in the future years as well. And, on that, there is some progress in having a Welsh voice around the table when English providers are setting new tariff arrangements, but it'll still not be our choice about what those arrangements are. I want something that works here in England and Wales, and, obviously, there are similar considerations for other nations in the UK as well. So, I will continue to update you on the progress that we are making, but this should not have happened. It is in direct contravention of the cross-border protocol that provides that both countries will act in the interest of the patient at all times and there'll be no delay in accessing healthcare services whilst commissioning responsibilities are clarified. I hope that message is heard in the Countess of Chester and that your constituents will not be placed in the position they are today.
Ie, diolch am y cwestiwn a'r cyfle i drafod y mater hwn yn fanylach yn gynharach heddiw gyda chyd-Aelodau o ogledd-ddwyrain Cymru. Gwnaed rhywfaint o gynnydd o ran y trefniadau gyda'r system yn Lloegr. Fel y gwyddoch, nid yn unig yn y rhan o Gymru rydych yn ei chynrychioli, ond mewn rhannau eraill, mae llif rheolaidd ar gyfer triniaethau mewn ysbytai yn arbennig. Ac mae her wedi codi mewn perthynas â'r ffordd y mae taliadau tariff yn gweithio o fewn y system yn Lloegr. Nawr, ni fydd pawb yma yn gyfarwydd â'r tariff, ond dyna'r ffordd y telir darparwyr gwasanaethau iechyd yn Lloegr, ac chaiff cyfradd ei gosod. Mae'r gyfradd newydd a osodwyd ar gyfer Lloegr yn cynnwys elfennau yr ymddengys eu bod wedi eu talu gan daliadau canlyniadol i systemau Cymru a Lloegr. Os ydym yn cytuno'n syml i dalu'r swm hwnnw, yn y bôn byddwn yn talu ddwy waith am rannau o system Lloegr, gan gynnwys y dyfarniad cyflog, er enghraifft. Nawr, ni fydd hynny'n golygu llawer i bobl sydd ond eisiau sicrwydd ynglŷn â sut y cânt eu trin, ac yn sicr rwyf eisiau gweld cynnydd. Rwyf wedi cael sawl sgwrs uniongyrchol gyda Gweinidogion y DU ar hyn, mae fy swyddogion wedi bod yn ymwneud yn uniongyrchol, mae cyfarfodydd pellach yn cael eu cynnal yr wythnos hon rhwng y ddwy Lywodraeth ac yn wir, rhwng unigolion o fewn y system yng Nghymru a Lloegr.
Rwyf finnau hefyd eisiau sicrhau cytundeb dros dro sy'n caniatáu i ni fwrw ymlaen â'r heriau mwy hirdymor, nid yn unig cytundeb gydag Ysbyty Iarlles Caer yn unig, ond gyda phob darparwr gofal iechyd trawsffiniol, a sicrhau bod gennym rywbeth a fydd yn para yn y dyfodol hefyd. Ac ar hynny, mae rhywfaint o gynnydd wedi bod o ran cael llais Cymreig o amgylch y bwrdd pan fo darparwyr yn Lloegr yn gosod trefniadau tariffau newydd, ond nid ein dewis ni fydd y trefniadau hynny ychwaith. Rwyf eisiau rhywbeth sy'n gweithio yma yng Nghymru a Lloegr, ac yn amlwg, ceir ystyriaethau tebyg ar gyfer gwledydd eraill y DU hefyd. Felly, byddaf yn parhau i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i chi ar y cynnydd a wnawn, ond ni ddylai hyn fod wedi digwydd. Mae'n gwbl groes i'r protocol trawsffiniol sy'n darparu y bydd y ddwy wlad yn gweithredu er budd y claf bob amser ac na fydd unrhyw oedi wrth gael mynediad at wasanaethau gofal iechyd tra bo cyfrifoldebau comisiynu yn cael eu gwneud yn gliriach. Gobeithio y bydd y neges honno'n cael ei chlywed gan Ysbyty Iarlles Caer ac na fydd eich etholwyr yn cael eu rhoi yn y sefyllfa y maent ynddi heddiw.
7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am ddarpariaeth gwasanaethau rheoli poen ar gyfer y rhai sy'n dioddef o gyflyrau poen cronig yng nghanolbarth Cymru? OAQ53762
7. Will the Minister make a statement on the provision of pain management services for those who suffer from chronic pain conditions in mid Wales? OAQ53762
Yes. The Welsh Government continues to work with health boards and partners across Wales to improve services for people living with persistent pain. We're working with relevant health boards to ensure that alternative pathways are in place for those patients affected by the closure of the pain management service in the Oswestry hospital.
Gwnaf. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn parhau i weithio gyda byrddau iechyd a phartneriaid ledled Cymru i wella gwasanaethau i bobl sy'n byw gyda phoen parhaus. Rydym yn gweithio gyda'r byrddau iechyd perthnasol i sicrhau bod llwybrau amgen ar gael i'r cleifion yr effeithiwyd arnynt pan gaewyd y gwasanaeth rheoli poen yn yr ysbyty yng Nghroesoswallt.
Thank you, Minister. For patients in Montgomeryshire, I have been and am still receiving reports from constituents who have not been informed of their options for pain management following the closure that you talked about of the Oswestry orthopaedic hospital. There does seem to be very poor communication from Powys Teaching Health Board about their options for future pain management. Can I ask you to commit to working with Powys Teaching Health Board to ensure that patients do receive timely communication about their future healthcare pathways? Further to that, patients in Montgomeryshire with chronic pain conditions do need provision within north Powys. Can I ask you to work with Powys Teaching Health Board to ensure that that is actually the case?
Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. I gleifion yn sir Drefaldwyn, rwyf wedi cael, ac rwy'n dal i gael, adroddiadau gan etholwyr nad ydynt wedi cael gwybod am eu hopsiynau ar gyfer rheoli poen ar ôl cau ysbyty orthopedig Croesoswallt, fel y sonioch yn gynharach. Mae'n ymddangos bod Bwrdd Iechyd Addysgu Powys yn wael iawn am gyfathrebu eu hopsiynau ar gyfer rheoli poen yn y dyfodol. A gaf fi ofyn i chi ymrwymo i weithio gyda Bwrdd Iechyd Addysgu Powys i sicrhau bod cleifion yn cael gohebiaeth amserol am eu llwybrau gofal iechyd yn y dyfodol? At hynny, mae cleifion yn sir Drefaldwyn sydd â chyflyrau poen cronig angen darpariaeth yng ngogledd Powys. A gaf fi ofyn i chi weithio gyda Bwrdd Iechyd Addysgu Powys i sicrhau bod hynny'n digwydd?
Yes, I'm happy to confirm that my understanding is that the health board have written to each patient who has been transferred back from the hospital in Oswestry—
Rwy'n hapus i gadarnhau mai fy nealltwriaeth i yw bod y bwrdd iechyd wedi ysgrifennu at bob claf sydd wedi cael ei drosglwyddo'n ôl o'r ysbyty yng Nghroesoswallt—
They haven't.
Nid ydynt wedi gwneud hynny.
And that they can—that they have now written to every patient, because I understand that had not taken place previously, and the health board issue an apology because of that. Of course, patients can contact the Powys pain management service itself if they do remain concerned, or of course contact local representatives. Some pain clinics are already offered in north Powys and the health board plans to introduce further services. I'll also be issuing a future written statement to confirm new guidance for pain management services in Wales in the very near future.FootnoteLink
Ac y gallant—eu bod bellach wedi ysgrifennu at bob claf, oherwydd deallaf nad oedd hynny wedi digwydd yn flaenorol, ac mae'r bwrdd iechyd yn rhyddhau ymddiheuriad ynglŷn â hynny. Wrth gwrs, gall cleifion gysylltu â gwasanaeth rheoli poen Powys ei hun os ydynt yn parhau i fod yn bryderus, neu gysylltu â chynrychiolwyr lleol wrth gwrs. Mae rhai clinigau poen eisoes ar gael yng ngogledd Powys ac mae'r bwrdd iechyd yn bwriadu cyflwyno rhagor o wasanaethau. Byddaf yn cyhoeddi datganiad ysgrifenedig yn y dyfodol hefyd i gadarnhau canllawiau newydd ar gyfer gwasanaethau rheoli poen yng Nghymru yn y dyfodol agos iawn.FootnoteLink
Ac, yn olaf, cwestiwn 8. Suzy Davies.
And, finally, question 8. Suzy Davies.
8. A wnaiff y Gweinidog gadarnhau nifer yr achlysuron y mae ambiwlansys wedi gorfod aros am fwy na 10 munud mewn ysbytai yng Ngorllewin De Cymru cyn gallu rhyddhau eu cleifion? OAQ53755
8. Will the Minister confirm the number of occasions that ambulances have been kept waiting at hospitals in South Wales West for more than 10 minutes before being able to discharge their patient? OAQ53755
We don't collect data on the basis of a 10-minute wait before discharge. We have measures that start with a 15-minute period of time. But I expect all patients who arrive by ambulance at a hospital facility to be transferred to the care of hospital staff in order of clinical priority and in a timely manner to support positive patient outcomes and experience.
Nid ydym yn casglu data ar sail arhosiad o 10 munud cyn rhyddhau. Mae gennym fesurau sy'n dechrau gyda chyfnod amser o 15 munud. Ond rwy'n disgwyl y bydd pob claf sy'n cyrraedd ysbyty mewn ambiwlans yn cael ei drosglwyddo i ofal staff yr ysbyty yn nhrefn blaenoriaeth glinigol ac mewn modd amserol er mwyn cefnogi canlyniadau a phrofiadau cadarnhaol i gleifion.
Thank you for that answer. Following a freedom of information request to the Welsh ambulance service, I was shocked to find that the average time that an ambulance waits outside Bridgend Princess of Wales Hospital before handover of the patient is one hour and five minutes above the target time that you have just described. This information also showed that the longest waiting times in the last three months—the longest one was a staggering 16 hours and 39 minutes above the target handover time, with the next longest being 14 hours, then 11 hours, and then 10 hours. To compare with that, the average at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital is just nine minutes over the target set for handovers. These hospitals are now in the same local health board area. The ambulance trust has been ring-fencing resources for this work in Cwm Taf since 2015, and you can see the difference. Have you asked the trust why this is not being rolled out everywhere?
Diolch i chi am yr ateb hwnnw. Yn dilyn cais rhyddid gwybodaeth i wasanaeth ambiwlans Cymru, fe'm syfrdanwyd i ganfod bod yr amser cyfartalog y bydd ambiwlans yn aros y tu allan i Ysbyty Tywysoges Cymru ym Mhen-y-bont ar Ogwr, cyn trosglwyddo'r claf awr a phum munud ar ben yr amser targed rydych newydd ei nodi. Roedd y wybodaeth hon hefyd yn dangos yr amseroedd aros hwyaf dros y tri mis diwethaf—roedd yr hwyaf yn 16 awr a 39 munud ar ben yr amser targed ar gyfer trosglwyddo, gyda'r nesaf yn 14 awr, yna 11 awr, wedyn 10 awr. O gymharu â hynny, nid yw'r amser cyfartalog yn Ysbyty Brenhinol Morgannwg ond naw munud yn uwch na'r targed a bennwyd ar gyfer trosglwyddo cleifion. Mae'r ysbytai hyn bellach yn yr un ardal bwrdd iechyd lleol. Mae'r ymddiriedolaeth ambiwlans wedi bod yn clustnodi adnoddau ar gyfer y gwaith hwn yng Nghwm Taf ers 2015, a gellir gweld y gwahaniaeth. A ydych wedi gofyn i'r ymddiriedolaeth pam nad yw hyn yn cael ei wneud ym mhobman?
It will be for the new Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board to ensure they're providing a consistent service across the whole footprint. This is one of the issues about a change in culture, practice and leadership and how it will affect all parts of the whole organisation, including the Bridgend portion that has been brought into the new Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board. So, I do expect to see further improvement. I expect further improvement in handovers and in understanding and listening to patients about their experience of what makes a difference with and for them. Because, plainly, the extremely long waits that you quote in your question are certainly not acceptable.
Mater i fwrdd iechyd newydd Cwm Taf Morgannwg fydd sicrhau ei fod yn darparu gwasanaeth cyson ar draws yr ardal gyfan. Mae hwn yn un o'r materion sy'n codi gyda newid diwylliant, arferion ac arweinyddiaeth a sut y bydd yn effeithio ar bob rhan o'r sefydliad cyfan, gan gynnwys y rhan o Ben-y-bont ar Ogwr sydd wedi cael ei dwyn i mewn i fwrdd iechyd newydd Cwm Taf Morgannwg. Felly, rwy'n disgwyl gweld gwelliant pellach. Rwy'n disgwyl gwelliant pellach o ran trosglwyddo cleifion ac o ran deall a gwrando ar gleifion am eu profiad o'r hyn sy'n gwneud gwahaniaeth gyda hwy ac ar eu cyfer. Oherwydd, yn amlwg, nid yw'r arosiadau eithriadol o hir y soniwch amdanynt yn eich cwestiwn yn dderbyniol o gwbl.
Diolch i'r Gweinidog.
Thank you, Minister.
Ni ddewiswyd unrhyw gwestiynau amserol heddiw.
No topical questions were accepted today.
Felly, y datganiadau 90 eiliad. Mae'r datganiad cyntaf gan Mick Antoniw.
Therefore, we move to the 90-second statements. The first statement is from Mick Antoniw.
Thank you, Llywydd. Today is 1 May, International Workers' Day, and Sunday was international Workers' Memorial Day. On both of these dates, we recognise the contribution and sacrifice of working people across the world to our economy and society and their global struggle for social justice and equality.
In Wales, this commemoration is particularly pertinent as we recall the sacrifice of life and health of our miners, steelworkers, industrial and public sector workers and their trade unions, who are the bedrock of our communities and shaped the values of our society. Every year, more people across the world are killed at work than in wars. Most don't die of mystery ailments or in freak accidents— they die because an employer decided that their safety just wasn't that important, a priority.
Workers' Memorial Day is held annually on 28 April and commemorates these workers and those disabled, injured or otherwise made unwell through work. Trade unions across the world organise events, vigils and other activities to mark the day.
The slogan for Workers' Memorial Day is 'Remember the dead—fight for the living', and it reminds us not only of those who have paid the ultimate price for helping to create a nation's wealth but that such tragedies need not happen and that it is only by campaigning for the development of effective health and safety legislation, enforcement of existing laws and penalties and breaches, that this aspiration can be made a reality, and by putting people before profit.
In Wales, 54 workers' deaths due to accidents at work were recorded over the last five years. However, many hundreds more continue to die each year in Wales from work-related diseases, such as asbestosis, pneumoconiosis and other lung diseases and cancers. International Workers' Day is an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing struggles of working people for decent jobs, decent conditions, equality and social justice. Here in Wales, this Assembly must remain at the forefront of this struggle.
Diolch, Lywydd. Mae'n 1 Mai heddiw, Diwrnod Rhyngwladol y Gweithwyr, a dydd Sul oedd y Diwrnod Rhyngwladol i Gofio Gweithwyr. Ar y ddau ddyddiad, rydym yn cydnabod cyfraniad ac aberth pobl sy'n gweithio ar draws y byd i'n heconomi a'n cymdeithas a'u brwydr fyd-eang dros gyfiawnder cymdeithasol a chydraddoldeb.
Yng Nghymru, mae'r coffâd hwn yn arbennig o berthnasol wrth i ni gofio aberth bywyd ac iechyd ein glowyr, gweithwyr dur, gweithwyr y sector diwydiannol, gweithwyr y sector cyhoeddus a'u hundebau llafur, sy'n gonglfeini ein cymunedau ac a luniodd werthoedd ein cymdeithas. Bob blwyddyn, mae mwy o bobl ar draws y byd yn cael eu lladd yn y gwaith nag mewn rhyfeloedd. Nid yw'r rhan fwyaf yn marw o anhwylderau dirgel neu mewn damweiniau annisgwyl—maent yn marw oherwydd bod cyflogwr wedi penderfynu nad oedd eu diogelwch mor bwysig â hynny, nad oedd yn flaenoriaeth.
Cynhelir y Diwrnod Rhyngwladol i Gofio Gweithwyr bob blwyddyn ar 28 Ebrill ac mae'n coffáu'r gweithwyr hyn a'r rhai sy'n anabl, wedi'u hanafu, neu'n sâl fel arall o ganlyniad i'w gwaith. Mae undebau llafur ar draws y byd yn trefnu digwyddiadau, gwylnosau a gweithgareddau eraill i nodi'r diwrnod.
Mae slogan y Diwrnod Rhyngwladol i Gofio Gweithwyr yn dweud y dylem gofio'r meirw ac ymladd dros y byw, ac mae'n ein hatgoffa, nid yn unig am y rhai sydd wedi talu'r pris eithaf am helpu i greu cyfoeth gwlad, ond hefyd nad oes angen i drasiedïau o'r fath ddigwydd ac nad oes modd gwireddu'r dyhead hwn heblaw drwy ymgyrchu dros ddatblygu deddfwriaeth iechyd a diogelwch effeithiol, drwy orfodi deddfau a chosb tramgwyddau presennol, a thrwy roi pobl o flaen elw.
Yng Nghymru, cofnodwyd 54 o farwolaethau gweithwyr yn sgil damweiniau yn y gwaith dros y pum mlynedd diwethaf. Fodd bynnag, mae cannoedd yn fwy o bobl yn parhau i farw bob blwyddyn yng Nghymru oherwydd clefydau sy'n gysylltiedig â gwaith, megis asbestosis, niwmoconiosis a chlefydau a chanserau eraill ar yr ysgyfaint. Mae Diwrnod Rhyngwladol y Gweithwyr yn gyfle i fyfyrio ar ymdrechion parhaus pobl sy'n gweithio i sicrhau swyddi gweddus, amodau gweddus, cydraddoldeb a chyfiawnder cymdeithasol. Yma yng Nghymru, mae'n rhaid i'r Cynulliad hwn aros ar flaen y gad yn y frwydr hon.
Leanne Wood.
Leanne Wood.
I would like to congratulate the Rhondda-based Cory Band for taking first place at the forty-second European Brass Band Championships in Montreux, Switzerland, over the weekend. This triumph was the sixth time they have won the competition since 2008, with a number of second and third placings during the same time period. The victory has cemented their position as the greatest brass band in the world, a fact recognised by the international ranking system, and I'm proud that we have such musical excellence in the Rhondda.
A little bit of history about the band: they originally bore the name 'Ton Temperance'. In 1895, the name was changed to 'Cory Workingmen's Band' after receiving financial assistance from coal exporter Clifford Cory. This name was later shortened to the Cory Band. In 1923, they played for the BBC, which is believed to be the first time that a brass band was broadcast on the radio. Since then, they've gone from strength to strength and they've been recognised as the best in the world for 13 years.
Being the best in the world and maintaining that position takes a lot of talent, hard work and dedication. The Cory Band are a real inspiration, not just in the Rhondda, but all across Wales and further. They've shown what can be achieved when you set your mind to it. But being the best in the world also requires money. So, if there is anyone out there who would like to help the Cory Band financially, please check out their website or contact me for further information. I'm sure they would be more than delighted to receive your support. Diolch yn fawr.
Hoffwn longyfarch Band y Cory o'r Rhondda am ddod yn gyntaf ym Mhencampwriaethau Band Pres Ewrop ym Montreux, yn y Swistir, dros y penwythnos. Y fuddugoliaeth hon oedd y chweched tro iddynt ennill y gystadleuaeth ers 2008, ac maent wedi dod yn ail ac yn drydydd yn ystod yr un cyfnod o amser. Mae'r fuddugoliaeth wedi cadarnhau eu safle fel y band pres gorau yn y byd, ffaith sy'n cael ei chydnabod gan y system raddio ryngwladol, ac rwy'n falch bod gennym ragoriaeth gerddorol o'r fath yn y Rhondda.
Ychydig o hanes y band: enw gwreiddiol y band oedd 'Ton Temperance'. Yn 1895, newidiwyd yr enw i 'Cory Workingmen's Band' ar ôl cael cymorth ariannol gan yr allforiwr glo Clifford Cory. Cafodd yr enw yma ei dalfyrru yn ddiweddarach i Fand y Cory. Ym 1923, fe wnaethant chwarae i'r BBC, a chredir mai dyna'r tro cyntaf i fand pres gael ei ddarlledu ar y radio. Ers hynny, mae'r band wedi mynd o nerth i nerth ac mae wedi cael ei gydnabod fel band pres gorau'r byd ers 13 o flynyddoedd.
Mae angen llawer o dalent, gwaith caled ac ymroddiad i fod yn fand gorau'r byd a chynnal y safle hwnnw. Mae Band y Cory yn ysbrydoliaeth go iawn, nid yn unig yn y Rhondda, ond ledled Cymru a thu hwnt. Maent wedi dangos beth ellir ei gyflawni gyda digon o benderfyniad. Ond mae bod yn fand gorau'r byd hefyd yn golygu eu bod angen arian. Felly, os oes unrhyw un a fyddai'n hoffi helpu Band y Cory yn ariannol, edrychwch ar eu gwefan neu cysylltwch â mi am ragor o wybodaeth os gwelwch yn dda. Rwy'n siŵr y byddent yn hapus iawn i dderbyn eich cefnogaeth. Diolch yn fawr.
Daeth y Dirprwy Lywydd (Ann Jones) i’r Gadair.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.
Item 5 on the agenda is a debate on the Public Accounts Committee's report on the Welsh Government's relationship with Pinewood, and I call on the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to move the motion. Nick Ramsay.
Eitem 5 ar yr agenda yw dadl ar adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus ar berthynas Llywodraeth Cymru â Pinewood, a galwaf ar Gadeirydd y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus i wneud y cynnig. Nick Ramsay.
Cynnig NDM7039 Nick Ramsay
Cynnig bod Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru:
Yn nodi adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus—'Perthynas Llywodraeth Cymru â Pinewood'—a osodwyd yn y Swyddfa Gyflwyno ar 14 Chwefror 2019
Motion NDM7039 Nick Ramsay
To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:
Notes the Report of the Public Accounts Committee—'The Welsh Government's relationship with Pinewood'—which was laid in the Table Office on 14 February 2019.
Cynigiwyd y cynnig.
Motion moved.
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rightly, the announcement of the arrival of Pinewood in Cardiff in 2014 was met with excitement and anticipation that such a world-renowned brand was coming to Wales and could bring an estimated £90 million to the Welsh economy and boost the Welsh film industry on an international level. Pinewood’s arrival offered opportunity and hope but, just four years later, the Welsh Government decided to terminate the lease and collaboration agreement it had in place with the company. The studio and the running of the media investment fund was brought under direct Welsh Government control. So what happened? What caused this love story to turn into a tragedy?
Well, to be honest, it really was a comedy of errors. The Welsh Government entered into a contract that lacked clarity in terms of operating arrangements and a collaboration agreement that did not explicitly make clear the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Not only was there a lack of clarity on the financial and economic returns expected through these agreements, but also a seeming lack of recognition about the conflict of interest caused by the arrangements. The Welsh Government entered into an agreement with a Pinewood subsidiary to manage the £30 million media investment budget, but officials failed to record or advise their Minister about the potential conflict of interest arising from Pinewood administering this budget and also providing its own London-based services to the industry.
We were told that the media investment panel was set up to mitigate this risk. We concluded that this was insufficient mitigation, not least as the perception of an advantage for Pinewood still existed across the industry and that this was a wider conflict than the individual projects being considered.
Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Yn briodol, yn dilyn y cyhoeddiad yn dweud bod Pinewood wedi cyrraedd Caerdydd yn 2014, roedd cyffro a chynnwrf fod y fath frand byd-enwog yn dod i Gymru ac y gallai ddod ag oddeutu £90 miliwn i mewn i economi Cymru a rhoi hwb i'r diwydiant ffilm yng Nghymru ar lefel ryngwladol. Roedd dyfodiad Pinewood yn cynnig cyfle a gobaith ond bedair blynedd yn ddiweddarach, penderfynodd Llywodraeth Cymru ddod â'r brydles a'r cytundeb cydweithredol a oedd ganddi gyda'r cwmni i ben. Daeth y stiwdio a'r gwaith o weithredu'r gronfa buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau dan reolaeth uniongyrchol Llywodraeth Cymru. Felly beth ddigwyddodd? Beth achosodd i'r stori garu hon droi'n drasiedi?
Wel, a dweud y gwir, roedd yn gomedi o gamgymeriadau. Ymrwymodd Llywodraeth Cymru i gytundeb nad oedd yn ddigon eglur o ran trefniadau gweithredu a chytundeb cydweithredol nad oedd yn egluro rolau a chyfrifoldebau pob partner yn glir. Nid yn unig fod diffyg eglurder ynglŷn â'r enillion ariannol ac economaidd a ddisgwylid drwy'r cytundebau hyn, ond hefyd roedd diffyg cydnabyddiaeth ymddangosiadol o'r gwrthdaro buddiannau a achoswyd gan y trefniadau. Ymrwymodd Llywodraeth Cymru i gytundeb gydag un o is-gwmnïau Pinewood i reoli'r gyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau gwerth £30 miliwn, ond methodd swyddogion roi gwybod i'w Gweinidog ynglŷn â'r gwrthdaro buddiannau posibl a ddeilliai o'r ffaith bod Pinewood yn gweinyddu'r gyllideb hon a hefyd yn darparu ei wasanaethau ei hun yn Llundain i'r diwydiant.
Dywedwyd wrthym fod y panel buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau wedi ei sefydlu i liniaru'r risg. Daethom i'r casgliad nad oedd yn fesur lliniaru digonol, yn enwedig o ystyried bod y canfyddiad o fantais i Pinewood yn dal i fodoli ar draws y diwydiant a bod hwn yn wrthdaro ehangach na'r prosiectau unigol a oedd dan ystyriaeth.
Alongside these poor contractual arrangements, there appears to be a significant lack of due diligence. The Welsh Government chose to purchase a site for the studio that consisted of three very different and unusual assets costing £6 million, and failed to commission a full structural survey beforehand. Most people have a structural survey before buying a house, but this was a £6 million purchase for which the Welsh Government were satisfied with a valuation report and the fact the site was being sold by an institutional investor.
Yet, as we saw, essential repairs to the roof were not identified prior to purchase, which led to significant costs being incurred. To compound all of this, Welsh Government officials were not aware of any requirement to make good the grade II listed property on the site and had no intention to do anything to this unless instructed to, which are not exactly the actions you might expect from those with oversight responsibility for Cadw, who should, surely, be an exemplar owner of listed buildings. Although, interestingly, this building has recently been de-listed by Cadw, all of this seems to suggest, at best, a significant degree of naivety within the Welsh Government.
Further evidence of this naivety is evidenced by the lack of clarity around the value of the works carried out by Pinewood to improve the building. We were surprised and concerned that the Welsh Government were unaware of what had been completed by the company when the Welsh Government took back ownership of the site and even more concerned that there was no detail of the value of works specified in the agreement to lease the site, and that the Welsh Government were unaware that this information, agreed in the heads of terms, had not been transposed into the contract with Pinewood.
The result of all this means that there was a lack of clarity about who was responsible for which improvements and that this, ultimately, had a negative impact on the public purse—where the Public Accounts Committee came in—as there could have been no evaluation of the value for money gained. I return once again to the theme of naivety. This appeared to the committee to be a basic error in the contract negotiations—the original contract negotiations.
We agreed, as a committee, to reserve judgement on whether the deal with Pinewood has represented value for money, as we recognise that commercial investment in the film and television industry is, by its very nature, precarious and that it can take many years to realise the economic benefits. We believe there is a balance to be struck between investing public money to maximise investment in Wales and the risk this incurs, but these risks must be managed and the decision-making and governance arrangements around them need to be robust and rigorously informed.
We welcome the Welsh Government’s response to our report, in which the Welsh Government accepts eight out of nine of our recommendations and sets out the work it has undertaken to ensure lessons are learned from the Pinewood experience and shared, as well as implementing new procedures and guidance, to prevent similar shortcomings occurring again.
However, we note that its response to recommendations 3, 4 and 5, which relate to issues of conflicts of interest, is specific to Pinewood, while the spirit of our recommendations related to the mitigation of conflicts of interest more broadly across all of the Welsh Government’s interactions with private sector business. This a matter we will follow up shortly as part of the committee’s work on the Welsh Government's financial support for business.
We also note that although the Welsh Government has rejected recommendation 8 of our report, it agrees with the general principle of the recommendation and has begun work to develop a best practice guide to acquisitions undertaken in the name of Welsh Ministers. We will keep a watching brief over compliance with this guidance once it has been introduced to ensure it is implemented and works effectively.
Dirprwy Lywydd, in summing up, it is unfortunate that Pinewood, like several other Welsh Government projects before it, including Kancoat and, indeed, the Circuit of Wales, has fallen foul to the Welsh Government’s lack of due diligence in certain respects: poor governance arrangements; as we saw it, ill-informed decision making; and a basic overall lack of transparency and a lack of clarity, particularly when it came to the formulation of those original contracts.
It was just last year that the Public Accounts Committee reported on the Welsh Government’s initial funding of the Circuit of Wales project, highlighting the need for decision-making processes followed by those charged with the expenditure of taxpayers’ money to be both coherent and properly documented. As with the Circuit of Wales, the Welsh Government’s relationship with Pinewood has involved some inexplicable decisions.
I do not know how many more times we'll have to debate the same reoccurring issues within the Welsh Government about a lack of due diligence and poor judgement. While the need to take measured risks is appreciated by all of us here, the need to be responsible with public funds must be paramount. It's essential that, moving forward, the Welsh Government learns from its past experiences and must demonstrate categorically once and for all that lessons have been learnt with regard to its approach to funding private business in Wales.
Ynghyd â'r trefniadau cytundebol gwael hyn, mae'n ymddangos bod diffyg diwydrwydd dyladwy sylweddol. Dewisodd Llywodraeth Cymru brynu safle ar gyfer y stiwdio a oedd yn cynnwys tri ased gwahanol ac anarferol iawn a gostiai £6 miliwn, a methodd gomisiynu arolwg strwythurol llawn ymlaen llaw. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn cael arolwg strwythurol cyn prynu tŷ, ond roedd hwn yn bryniant £6 miliwn ac roedd Llywodraeth Cymru yn fodlon ar adroddiad prisio a'r ffaith bod y safle'n cael ei werthu gan fuddsoddwr sefydliadol.
Eto, fel y gwelsom, ni nodwyd gwaith atgyweirio hanfodol i'r to cyn ei brynu, ac arweiniodd hyn at gostau sylweddol. I wneud pethau'n waeth, nid oedd swyddogion Llywodraeth Cymru yn ymwybodol o unrhyw ofyniad i adfer yr eiddo rhestredig gradd II ar y safle ac nid oeddent yn bwriadu gwneud unrhyw beth i hwn oni bai eu bod yn cael eu cyfarwyddo i wneud hynny, nid y camau gweithredu y byddech yn eu disgwyl gan y rheini sydd â chyfrifoldeb dros Cadw, a ddylai, yn sicr, fod yn esiampl dda o berchennog adeiladau rhestredig. Serch hynny, yn ddiddorol, mae'r adeilad hwn wedi'i ddatgofrestru gan Cadw yn ddiweddar, ac mae hyn i gyd yn awgrymu, ar y gorau, fod cryn dipyn o naïfrwydd yn bodoli o fewn Llywodraeth Cymru.
Ceir tystiolaeth bellach o'r naïfrwydd hwn yn y diffyg eglurder ynghylch gwerth y gwaith a wnaed gan Pinewood i wella'r adeilad. Roeddem yn synnu ac yn pryderu nad oedd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ymwybodol o'r hyn a gwblhawyd gan y cwmni pan ddaeth y safle yn ôl i'w dwylo unwaith eto, ac roeddem hyd yn oed yn fwy pryderus nad oedd unrhyw fanylion am werth y gwaith a nodwyd yn y cytundeb i osod y safle, ac nad oedd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ymwybodol o'r ffaith nad oedd y wybodaeth hon, y cytunwyd arni yn y prif delerau, wedi cael ei throsglwyddo i'r contract gyda Pinewood.
Canlyniad hyn i gyd oedd diffyg eglurder ynglŷn â phwy a oedd yn gyfrifol am ba welliannau a chafodd effaith negyddol yn y pen draw ar bwrs y wlad—a dyna pam fod y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus wedi edrych ar hyn—gan na ellid bod wedi gwerthuso'r gwerth am arian. Unwaith eto, dychwelaf at thema naïfrwydd. I'r pwyllgor, roedd hyn i'w weld yn gamgymeriad sylfaenol yn negodiadau'r contract—negodiadau gwreiddiol y contract.
Cytunasom fel pwyllgor i beidio â mynegi barn ar i ba raddau y mae'r cytundeb gyda Pinewood wedi dangos gwerth am arian, gan ein bod yn cydnabod bod buddsoddi masnachol yn y diwydiant ffilm a theledu, o ran ei natur, yn ansicr ac y gall gymryd blynyddoedd lawer i elwa ar y manteision economaidd. Credwn fod angen taro cydbwysedd rhwng buddsoddi arian cyhoeddus er mwyn sicrhau'r buddsoddiad mwyaf posibl yng Nghymru a'r risg sy'n codi o hyn, ond mae'n rhaid rheoli'r risgiau hyn ac mae'n rhaid i'r trefniadau gwneud penderfyniadau a llywodraethu yn eu cylch fod yn seiliedig ar wybodaeth gadarn a thrylwyr.
Rydym yn croesawu ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i'n hadroddiad, lle mae'n derbyn wyth o'r naw argymhelliad a wnaed gennym ac yn nodi'r gwaith y mae wedi'i wneud i sicrhau bod gwersi'n cael eu dysgu o brofiad Pinewood ac yn cael eu rhannu, yn ogystal â gweithredu gweithdrefnau a chanllawiau newydd, er mwyn atal camgymeriadau tebyg rhag digwydd eto.
Fodd bynnag, nodwn fod ei hymateb i argymhellion 3, 4 a 5, sy'n ymwneud â gwrthdaro buddiannau, yn benodol i Pinewood, tra bod ysbryd ein hargymhellion yn ymwneud â lliniaru gwrthdaro buddiannau yn fwy cyffredinol o ran holl ymwneud Llywodraeth Cymru â busnesau'r sector preifat. Byddwn yn mynd ar drywydd y mater hwn yn fuan fel rhan o waith y pwyllgor ar gymorth ariannol Llywodraeth Cymru i fusnesau.
Hefyd, er bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gwrthod argymhelliad 8 yn ein hadroddiad, nodwn ei bod yn cytuno ag egwyddor gyffredinol yr argymhelliad ac wedi dechrau gweithio i ddatblygu canllawiau arferion gorau ar gyfer caffaeliadau a gyflawnir yn enw Gweinidogion Cymru. Byddwn yn cadw golwg ar gydymffurfiaeth â'r canllawiau hyn ar ôl iddynt gael eu cyflwyno er mwyn sicrhau eu bod yn cael eu gweithredu ac yn gweithio'n effeithiol.
Ddirprwy Lywydd, i grynhoi, mae'n anffodus fod Pinewood, fel sawl prosiect arall gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn y gorffennol, gan gynnwys Kancoat, a Cylchffordd Cymru yn wir, wedi dioddef yn sgil diffyg diwydrwydd dyladwy Llywodraeth Cymru mewn rhai ffyrdd: trefniadau llywodraethu gwael; gwneud penderfyniadau anwybodus yn ein barn ni; a diffyg tryloywder ac eglurder sylfaenol cyffredinol, yn enwedig wrth lunio'r contractau gwreiddiol hynny.
Dim ond y llynedd y cyflwynodd y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus adroddiad ar gyllid cychwynnol Llywodraeth Cymru i brosiect Cylchffordd Cymru, gan dynnu sylw at y ffaith bod angen i'r rheini sy'n gyfrifol am wario arian trethdalwyr sicrhau bod prosesau gwneud penderfyniadau yn gydlynus ac wedi cael eu dogfennu'n gywir. Fel gyda Cylchffordd Cymru, mae perthynas Llywodraeth Cymru â Pinewood wedi arwain at rai penderfyniadau anesboniadwy.
Ni wn faint yn rhagor o weithiau y bydd yn rhaid i ni drafod yr un materion sy'n codi o hyd o fewn Llywodraeth Cymru mewn perthynas â diffyg diwydrwydd dyladwy a diffyg crebwyll. Er ein bod i gyd yma yn derbyn yr angen i gymryd risgiau rhesymol, rhaid i'r angen i fod yn gyfrifol gydag arian cyhoeddus fod yn bwysicach na dim arall. Mae'n hanfodol fod Llywodraeth Cymru, wrth symud ymlaen, yn dysgu o'i phrofiadau yn y gorffennol ac yn dangos unwaith ac am byth fod gwersi wedi'u dysgu mewn perthynas â'i dull o ariannu busnesau preifat yng Nghymru.
It's useful to reflect on this story that we've been debating for the last nine months. It's undoubtedly the case that the former Government economy Minister had very ambitious plans for expanding the film and television industry in Wales, and that in itself was laudable, but there wasn't sufficient thinking through of the potential conflicts of interest, which weren't considered properly when entering into a partnership with a multi-million pound company with global interests. The Welsh Government was a minnow by comparison with Pinewood, and, although it's not possible to conclude that the Welsh Government was taken for a ride, it's certainly the case that the checks and balances were not in place to ensure that that did not happen.
There was no survey of the building done before the purchase. A pig in a poke seems to me an inadequate response to a £6 million investment, and that remains a considerable concern. The advice given to Ministers was also absolutely silent on potential VAT liabilities, which was quite extraordinary under the circumstances. We did get some very robust assurances from civil servants that that was not going to happen again. But nor indeed was there any consideration of the liabilities that the Government was taking on by purchasing an asset that included a listed building. It's really not good enough for the Welsh Government, which has to enforce listed building status, to then be cavalier about the obligations that that requires of them as the owner of such property.
However, it would be curmudgeonly not to recognise the transformation that has occurred over the last five years in terms of Wales's status as a location for filmmaking and broadcasting. Would Bad Wolf studios have located to Wales at all if Pinewood studios had not existed? It's impossible to say, but it's very likely that that would not have occurred to them. We are now in the happy position that Bad Wolf studios has so many orders on its books that it's outgrown its own premises and is having to rely on the entire Pinewood studios over the next 12 months in order to accommodate all the work that they are undertaking. We also have the new BBC building, which is going to be one of the most iconic broadcasting centres across the UK and, indeed, across the world once it opens in Central Square in Cardiff Central. We also have many, many more awards being won by S4C, ITV and the BBC for their drama and documentary productions, and all of this is a huge positive for the Welsh economy.
But we do need to build on that success by ensuring that, in our contracts that we enter into, we are insisting that a proportion of the subcontracting is done with Welsh companies, and that will enable us to build on the fact that Wales is indeed recognised as a place to go for both location filming and as post-production. But we need to ensure that, for example, if we've got talented actors in Wales, which I'm sure we have, they don't need to go to London in order to be auditioning for roles. There's no particular reason why that can't occur here. We don't need Wales to be seen as an outpost of London when it comes to considering film and television. We certainly have the opportunity to do that to ensure that Wales has its own international success in this regard, but we have some more work to do to ensure that we have the full gamut of skills and that that is recognised across the world.
Mae'n werth inni fyfyrio ar y stori hon y buom yn dadlau yn ei chylch dros y naw mis diwethaf. Mae'n sicr yn wir fod gan gyn Weinidog yr economi y Llywodraeth gynlluniau uchelgeisiol iawn ar gyfer ehangu'r diwydiant ffilm a theledu yng Nghymru, ac roedd hynny ynddo'i hun yn ganmoladwy, ond ni roddwyd digon o ystyriaeth i'r gwrthdaro buddiannau posibl, ac ni chawsant eu hystyried yn briodol wrth greu partneriaeth â chwmni sy'n werth miliynau o bunnoedd ac sydd â buddiannau byd-eang. Pysgodyn bach iawn oedd Llywodraeth Cymru o'i chymharu â Pinewood, ac, er nad yw'n bosibl dod i'r casgliad fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cael ei chamarwain, mae'n sicr yn wir nad oedd y mesurau diogelu priodol ar waith i sicrhau na ddigwyddai hynny.
Ni wnaed arolwg o'r adeilad cyn y pryniant. Ymddengys i mi fod mochyn mewn cwd yn ymateb annigonol i fuddsoddiad o £6 miliwn, ac mae hynny'n parhau i fod yn bryder sylweddol. Roedd y cyngor a roddwyd i Weinidogion hefyd yn gwbl fud mewn perthynas â rhwymedigaethau TAW posibl, a oedd yn eithaf syfrdanol o dan yr amgylchiadau. Cawsom sicrwydd cadarn iawn gan weision sifil na fyddai hynny'n digwydd eto. Ond yn wir, ni roddwyd unrhyw ystyriaeth chwaith i'r rhwymedigaethau roedd y Llywodraeth yn eu hysgwyddo drwy brynu ased a oedd yn cynnwys adeilad rhestredig. Nid yw'n ddigon da i Lywodraeth Cymru, sy'n gorfod gorfodi statws adeiladau rhestredig, fod yn ddi-hid am y rhwymedigaethau y mae gofyn iddynt gydymffurfio â hwy fel perchennog eiddo o'r fath.
Fodd bynnag, byddai'n grintachlyd inni beidio â chydnabod y gweddnewidiad sydd wedi digwydd dros y pum mlynedd diwethaf o ran statws Cymru fel lleoliad ar gyfer creu ffilmiau a darlledu. A fyddai stiwdios Bad Wolf wedi'u lleoli yng Nghymru o gwbl pe na bai stiwdios Pinewood yn bodoli? Mae'n amhosibl dweud, ond mae'n debygol iawn na fyddent wedi meddwl gwneud hynny. Rydym bellach yn y sefyllfa hapus fod gan stiwdios Bad Wolf gynifer o archebion ar eu llyfrau fel eu bod wedi tyfu'n rhy fawr i'w safle ei hun ac yn gorfod dibynnu ar stiwdios Pinewood i gyd dros y 12 mis nesaf er mwyn cyflawni'r holl waith y maent yn ei wneud. Mae gennym hefyd adeilad newydd y BBC, a fydd yn un o ganolfannau darlledu mwyaf eiconig y DU ac yn wir, ledled y byd pan fydd yn agor yn y Sgwâr Canolog yng nghanol Caerdydd. Hefyd, mae gennym lawer mwy o wobrau'n cael eu hennill gan S4C, ITV a'r BBC am eu cynyrchiadau drama a rhaglenni dogfen, ac mae hyn i gyd yn newyddion cadarnhaol iawn i economi Cymru.
Ond mae angen i ni adeiladu ar y llwyddiant hwnnw drwy sicrhau ein bod, yn y contractau a luniwn, yn mynnu bod cyfran o'r is-gontractio'n cael ei wneud gyda chwmnïau Cymreig, a bydd hynny'n ein galluogi i adeiladu ar y ffaith bod Cymru'n cael ei chydnabod fel lleoliad ar gyfer ffilmio ac ôl-gynhyrchu. Ond mae angen i ni sicrhau, er enghraifft, os oes gennym actorion talentog yng Nghymru, ac rwy'n siŵr fod hynny'n wir, nad oes angen iddynt fynd i Lundain er mwyn cael clyweliadau ar gyfer rhannau. Nid oes unrhyw reswm penodol pam na all hynny ddigwydd yma. Nid oes angen i Gymru gael ei hystyried fel rhywle ar gyrion pellaf Llundain mewn perthynas â ffilm a theledu. Yn sicr, mae gennym gyfle i wneud hynny er mwyn sicrhau bod Cymru'n cael ei llwyddiant rhyngwladol ei hun yn hyn o beth, ond mae gennym fwy o waith i'w wneud i sicrhau bod gennym yr ystod lawn o sgiliau a bod hynny'n cael ei gydnabod ledled y byd.
The announcement of the arrival of Pinewood in Cardiff five years ago was met with excitement and anticipation. It was hoped that the brand would bring an estimated benefit of £9 million to the Welsh economy. Hopes were raised that the opportunity provided would boost the Welsh film industry on an international level, and yet, only four years later, all hopes were dashed when the Welsh Government decided to terminate the lease and the collaboration agreement it had with the company. Does this sound familiar? It should. Last year, we debated another project that was widely welcomed as it presented an opportunity to regenerate one of the most economically deprived areas of Wales. The Circuit of Wales project failed due to officials making basic errors, omissions and exercising poor judgement. Once again, hopes were raised and then dashed by the Welsh Government's botched handling of an important project.
The Public Accounts Committee report into the Circuit of Wales called for robust and effective governance and internal communication channels to guarantee that such issues do not occur again. However, in relation to Pinewood, the committee was surprised to find the Welsh Government entered into a contract that lacked clarity in terms of operating arrangements. The collaboration arrangements also failed to explicitly make clear the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Most worryingly, the committee was concerned about the inaccurate, incomplete and poor quality of advice provided to Ministers on more than one occasion. In oral evidence, Welsh Government said that an independent evaluation was carried out before the building at Wentloog was acquired, but subsequently it became clear that the reported condition of the building was inconsistent with the need to undertake essential repairs to the roof of the building, which was found to be leaking. I find it incredible that the Welsh Government took a decision not to commission a structural surveyor to survey the building prior to the purchase, which is a common practice in any business or property when you buy. The Welsh Government made an assumption that the building would have been maintained to a reasonable standard because it was being sold by an international or institutional investor. This is totally unacceptable, Deputy Presiding Officer. I note the Welsh Government has rejected the committee's recommendation with regards to acquiring surveys. We can only hope the best practice guide we are told is currently being developed will address this issue.
Another example of a lack of due diligence became clear regarding the issue of VAT on the sponsorship agreement. Under the agreement, the Welsh Government would pay Pinewood £438,000 a year to market and promote the studio. Shortly after the agreement was signed, it was noticed the VAT had been omitted. This increased the annual cost of sponsorship by £87,600 and it became £525,000 in total. This failure to obtain specialist advice on VAT implications demonstrates a lack of capacity within the Welsh Government to ensure that the development of proposals to enter into non-standard commercial agreements with private companies is sufficiently robust.
Presiding Officer, throughout their time in office, the Welsh Government's record has been littered with poor decisions that have lost the taxpayer money in such a wasteful manner: the Circuit of Wales project, land sales by the regeneration investment fund for Wales, Kancoat, Natural Resources Wales. As Nick Ramsay, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee has said in his foreword to this report, it is essential that Welsh Government learns from its past experiences and demonstrates that lessons have been learned with regards to its approach to funding for private businesses. We can only hope it does. Thank you.
Roedd y cyhoeddiad am ddyfodiad Pinewood i Gaerdydd bum mlynedd yn ôl yn llawn cyffro ac edrych ymlaen. Gobeithiwyd y byddai'r brand yn dod â budd amcangyfrifedig o £9 miliwn i economi Cymru. Codwyd gobeithion y byddai'r cyfle a gâi ei ddarparu yn rhoi hwb i'r diwydiant ffilm yng Nghymru ar lefel ryngwladol, ac eto, bedair blynedd yn unig yn ddiweddarach, chwalwyd pob gobaith pan benderfynodd Llywodraeth Cymru derfynu'r brydles a'r cytundeb cydweithredol a oedd ganddi gyda'r cwmni. A yw hyn yn swnio'n gyfarwydd? Fe ddylai. Y llynedd, buom yn trafod prosiect arall a gafodd groeso mawr gan ei fod yn gyfle i adfywio un o'r ardaloedd mwyaf difreintiedig yn economaidd yng Nghymru. Methodd prosiect Cylchffordd Cymru o ganlyniad i swyddogion yn gwneud camgymeriadau sylfaenol, hepgoriadau a diffyg crebwyll. Unwaith eto, codwyd gobeithion a'u chwalu wedyn gan y llanastr a wnaeth Llywodraeth Cymru wrth ymdrin â phrosiect pwysig.
Roedd adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus ar Cylchffordd Cymru yn galw am ddulliau llywodraethu cadarn ac effeithiol a sianeli cyfathrebu mewnol i warantu na fydd materion o'r fath yn codi eto. Fodd bynnag, mewn perthynas â Pinewood, synnodd y pwyllgor fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi ymrwymo i gontract nad oedd yn glir o ran y trefniadau gweithredu. Hefyd, methodd y trefniadau cydweithredu â nodi rolau a chyfrifoldebau pob partner yn glir. Yr hyn a berai'r pryder mwyaf i'r pwyllgor oedd ansawdd anghywir, anghyflawn a gwael y cyngor a roddwyd i Weinidogion ar fwy nag un achlysur. Mewn tystiolaeth lafar, dywedodd Llywodraeth Cymru fod gwerthusiad annibynnol wedi'i gynnal cyn caffael yr adeilad yng Ngwynllŵg, ond wedyn daeth yn amlwg fod cyflwr yr adeilad fel y'i nodwyd yn anghyson â'r angen i gyflawni atgyweiriadau hanfodol i do'r adeilad, y gwelwyd ei fod yn gollwng. Mae'n anhygoel fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi penderfynu peidio â chomisiynu syrfëwr strwythurol i arolygu'r adeilad cyn ei brynu, sy'n arfer cyffredin mewn unrhyw fusnes neu eiddo pan fyddwch yn prynu. Rhagdybiodd Llywodraeth Cymru y byddai'r adeilad wedi'i gynnal a'i gadw i safon resymol am ei fod yn cael ei werthu gan fuddsoddwr rhyngwladol neu sefydliadol. Mae hyn yn gwbl annerbyniol, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Sylwaf fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gwrthod argymhelliad y pwyllgor mewn perthynas â chaffael arolygon. Ni allwn ond gobeithio y bydd y canllawiau arferion gorau y dywedir eu bod yn cael eu datblygu ar hyn o bryd yn mynd i'r afael â'r mater hwn.
Daeth enghraifft arall o ddiffyg diwydrwydd dyladwy yn glir mewn perthynas â mater TAW ar y cytundeb noddwr. O dan y cytundeb, byddai Llywodraeth Cymru yn talu £438,000 y flwyddyn i Pinewood i farchnata a hyrwyddo'r stiwdio. Yn fuan ar ôl llofnodi'r cytundeb, sylwyd bod y TAW wedi'i hepgor. Golygodd hyn fod cost flynyddol y nawdd yn codi £87,600 i £525,000 i gyd. Mae'r methiant hwn i gael cyngor arbenigol ar oblygiadau TAW yn dangos diffyg gallu o fewn Llywodraeth Cymru i sicrhau bod datblygiad cynigion i ymrwymo i gytundebau masnachol ansafonol gyda chwmnïau preifat yn ddigon cadarn.
Lywydd, drwy gydol eu cyfnod mewn grym, mae record Llywodraeth Cymru wedi bod yn frith o benderfyniadau gwael sydd wedi colli arian i'r trethdalwr mewn modd mor wastraffus: prosiect Cylchffordd Cymru, gwerthu tir drwy gronfa buddsoddi Cymru mewn adfywio, Kancoat, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru. Fel y dywedodd Nick Ramsay, Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus yn ei ragair i'r adroddiad hwn, mae'n hanfodol fod Llywodraeth Cymru yn dysgu o'i phrofiadau yn y gorffennol ac yn dangos bod gwersi wedi'u dysgu o ran ei dull o ariannu busnesau preifat. Ni allwn ond gobeithio y bydd yn gwneud hynny. Diolch.
I wanted to thank the Public Accounts Committee for conducting this report. I wanted to participate in this debate in my role as Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee.
We first looked into this issue as part of our inquiry into film and major television production in Wales last year, before we passed this issue to the Public Accounts Committee for further scrutiny. We held two sessions with the Deputy Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport and the Minister for Economy and Transport. It was clear that there were specific problems with this project from the beginning. Throughout, the aim was admirable, but the execution was pretty poor. Obviously, we want Wales to host a world-class studio facility, as has already been said, and we are fully supportive of efforts to raise Wales's profile internationally in the film industry. However, the advice provided to the Government was based on a model that was never suited to this country. As has been said, the purchase of the site was done without a full structural survey; this, we were told, limited its use to television, not film production. As the report from the Public Accounts Committee says, the contract with Pinewood
'lacked clarity in terms of operating arrangements,'
and the collaboration agreement
'did not...make clear the roles and responsibilities of each partner.'
Almost every aspect of the project, from the location to the management agreement to the estimated annual returns, has since been shown to be deficient.
Aside from the problems with the building and the contract, which were of great concern to the committee, I want to mention the lack of transparency from the Deputy Minister. The Welsh Government refused to disclose details of its relationship with Pinewood, citing commercial sensitivity. However, the Wales Audit Office report, published in July of last year, only omitted one monetary figure—the value of the management fee. The committee was disappointed that it appeared that commercial sensitivity was being used to avoid hard questions about value for money. The whole nature of our discourse with the Deputy Minister was unsatisfactory. For instance, we questioned whether there were plans to renovate the Grade II listed farmhouse building on the site purchased by the Government, and the response from the Deputy Minister was, only if forced to by a planning inspector or Cadw. Surely, we can expect more from the Cabinet member in charge of safeguarding our heritage.
In January 2018, the Deputy Minister told my colleague Adam Price that, and I quote:
'It is not accurate to say that we as a Government are paying Pinewood'.
However, as the Wales Audit Office report makes clear, in November 2017 the Welsh Government entered into an agreement with Pinewood whereby the costs of running the facility, together with payment of a Pinewood management fee, would now be met in full by the Welsh Government. We remain concerned that, despite requests for information from various Assembly Members, had it not been for this report by the Wales Audit Office, this information would still not be in the public domain, and Assembly Members and the Welsh public would still be in the dark.
We need to know that the Welsh Government is committed to making their investment in film and major television productions a success. So far, their dealings with Pinewood have been riddled with amateur mistakes, which we are told are the subject of a lessons learnt report, distributed to the rest of Welsh Government, but which are so basic they shouldn't have been made in the first place.
During our inquiry, we found that the media investment budget was seriously under-performing. We never received a clear answer to our question about whether the estimated annual revenues from the agreement with Pinewood had been revised to reflect the actual performance of the collaboration agreement. In March, I asked the Deputy Minister for an update on the media investment budget, and was told that one would be provided in December, as part of a response to the PAC recommendations. This means that there has been no up-to-date information on the media investment budget since June of last year. Our stakeholders in the industry deserve to know the rate of return on investments made with public money sooner than that.
We are pleased to hear that the studio space is now being rented to Bad Wolf, but I would like the Deputy Minister to tell us the latest figures for spending and return on investment from the media investment budget, what is the rental income being received from Bad Wolf, and how does this compare with any ongoing costs incurred by the Welsh Government. And can the Deputy Minister state clearly whether the Wentloog site is now operating at a profit to the Welsh Government or not? This information is important to understand the value of money from our financial commitment to this one project. But the overall lack of transparency we experienced in our dealings with the Welsh Government are continuing to frustrate our inquiries into how best the Government can support and maintain this vibrant industry. We hope that, from now on, the Welsh Government will be far more transparent about its relationship with Bad Wolf, and it doesn't require an audit office report to bring to light important details of public spending decisions.
Roeddwn eisiau diolch i'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus am gynnal yr adroddiad hwn. Roeddwn eisiau cymryd rhan yn y ddadl hon yn fy rôl fel Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu.
Edrychasom yn gyntaf ar y mater hwn fel rhan o'n hymchwiliad i gynhyrchu ffilmiau a rhaglenni teledu mawr yng Nghymru y llynedd, cyn i ni drosglwyddo'r mater i'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus i graffu arno ymhellach. Cynhaliwyd dwy sesiwn gyda'r Dirprwy Weinidog Diwylliant, Twristiaeth a Chwaraeon a Gweinidog yr Economi a Thrafnidiaeth. Roedd yn amlwg fod problemau penodol gyda'r prosiect hwn o'r cychwyn cyntaf. Drwyddi draw, roedd y nod yn glodwiw, ond roedd y modd y'i gweithredwyd yn wael. Yn amlwg, rydym eisiau gweld Cymru'n cynnal cyfleuster stiwdio o'r radd flaenaf, fel y dywedwyd eisoes, ac rydym yn gwbl gefnogol i ymdrechion i godi proffil Cymru'n rhyngwladol yn y diwydiant ffilm. Fodd bynnag, roedd y cyngor a roddwyd i'r Llywodraeth yn seiliedig ar fodel nad oedd erioed yn addas i'r wlad hon. Fel y dywedwyd, cafodd y safle ei brynu heb arolwg strwythurol llawn; dywedwyd wrthym fod hyn yn cyfyngu ei ddefnydd i'r maes teledu yn unig, ac nid cynhyrchu ffilmiau. Fel y dywed adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus, nid yw'r cytundeb gyda Pinewood
'yn eglur o ran trefniadau gweithredu,'
ac nid oedd y cytundeb cydweithredol
'yn egluro rolau a chyfrifoldebau pob partner yn eglur.'
Mae bron pob agwedd ar y prosiect, o'r lleoliad i'r cytundeb rheoli i'r datganiadau blynyddol amcangyfrifedig, wedi cael eu profi'n ddiffygiol ers hynny.
Ar wahân i'r problemau gyda'r adeilad a'r cytundeb, a oedd yn destun pryder mawr i'r pwyllgor, rwyf eisiau sôn am ddiffyg tryloywder y Dirprwy Weinidog. Gwrthododd Llywodraeth Cymru ddatgelu manylion ei pherthynas â Pinewood, gan gyfeirio at sensitifrwydd masnachol. Fodd bynnag, nid oedd adroddiad Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru, a gyhoeddwyd ym mis Gorffennaf y llynedd, ond yn hepgor un ffigur ariannol—sef gwerth y ffi reoli. Roedd y pwyllgor yn siomedig ei bod yn ymddangos bod sensitifrwydd masnachol yn cael ei ddefnyddio i osgoi cwestiynau anodd ynglŷn â gwerth am arian. Roedd holl natur ein trafodaeth gyda'r Dirprwy Weinidog yn anfoddhaol. Er enghraifft, gofynnwyd a oedd cynlluniau i adnewyddu'r ffermdy rhestredig Gradd II ar y safle a brynwyd gan y Llywodraeth, ac atebodd y Dirprwy Weinidog na fyddent ond yn gwneud hynny pe baent yn cael eu gorfodi i wneud hynny gan arolygydd cynllunio neu Cadw. Does bosibl na allwn ddisgwyl mwy gan yr aelod o'r Cabinet sy'n gyfrifol am ddiogelu ein treftadaeth.
Ym mis Ionawr 2018, dywedodd y Dirprwy Weinidog wrth fy nghyd-Aelod Adam Price, a dyfynnaf:
'Nid yw'n gywir i ddweud ein bod ni fel Llywodraeth yn talu i Pinewood'.
Fodd bynnag, fel y nodir yn glir yn adroddiad Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru, ym mis Tachwedd 2017 ymrwymodd Llywodraeth Cymru i gytundeb â Pinewood, lle byddai costau gweithredu'r cyfleuster, ynghyd â thalu ffi reoli Pinewood, bellach yn cael eu talu'n llawn gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Rydym yn parhau i fod yn bryderus, er gwaethaf ceisiadau am wybodaeth gan amryw o Aelodau Cynulliad, na fyddai'r wybodaeth hon yn gyhoeddus o hyd oni bai am yr adroddiad hwn gan Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru, a byddai Aelodau'r Cynulliad a'r cyhoedd yng Nghymru yn dal i fod yn y tywyllwch.
Mae angen i ni wybod bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi ymrwymo i sicrhau bod eu buddsoddiad mewn cynyrchiadau ffilm a theledu mawr yn llwyddiant. Hyd yn hyn, mae eu hymwneud â Pinewood wedi bod yn frith o gamgymeriadau amatur, y dywedir wrthym eu bod yn destun adroddiad ar y gwersi a ddysgwyd, a ddosberthir i weddill Llywodraeth Cymru, ond maent yn gamgymeriadau mor sylfaenol fel na ddylid bod wedi eu gwneud yn y lle cyntaf.
Yn ystod ein hymchwiliad, gwelsom fod y gyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau yn tangyflawni'n ddifrifol. Ni chawsom unrhyw ateb clir i'n cwestiwn ynglŷn ag a oedd y refeniw blynyddol a amcangyfrifwyd o'r cytundeb â Pinewood wedi'i ddiwygio i adlewyrchu perfformiad gwirioneddol y cytundeb cydweithredol. Ym mis Mawrth, gofynnais i'r Dirprwy Weinidog am ddiweddariad ar y gyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau, a dywedwyd wrthyf y byddai un yn cael ei ddarparu ym mis Rhagfyr, fel rhan o ymateb i argymhellion y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus. Mae hyn yn golygu na chafwyd unrhyw wybodaeth gyfredol ar y gyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau ers mis Mehefin y llynedd. Mae ein rhanddeiliaid yn y diwydiant yn haeddu gwybod beth yw'r gyfradd enillion ar fuddsoddiadau a wneir gydag arian cyhoeddus yn gynt na hynny.
Rydym yn falch o glywed bod y gofod stiwdio bellach yn cael ei rentu i Bad Wolf, ond hoffwn i'r Dirprwy Weinidog ddweud wrthym beth yw'r ffigurau diweddaraf ar gyfer gwariant ac elw ar fuddsoddiad o'r gyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau, beth yw'r incwm rhent a dderbynnir gan Bad Wolf, a sut y mae hyn yn cymharu ag unrhyw gostau parhaus sydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Ac a all y Dirprwy Weinidog ddatgan yn glir a yw safle Gwynllŵg bellach yn cynhyrchu elw i Lywodraeth Cymru ai peidio? Mae'r wybodaeth hon yn bwysig er mwyn deall y gwerth am arian o'n hymrwymiad ariannol i'r un prosiect hwn. Ond mae'r diffyg tryloywder cyffredinol a brofwyd gennym wrth ymwneud â Llywodraeth Cymru yn parhau i lesteirio ein hymchwiliadau i'r ffordd orau y gall y Llywodraeth gefnogi a chynnal y diwydiant bywiog hwn. Rydym yn gobeithio y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru o hyn ymlaen yn llawer mwy tryloyw ynglŷn â'i pherthynas â Bad Wolf, ac na fydd galw am adroddiad gan y swyddfa archwilio cyn i fanylion pwysig am benderfyniadau gwariant cyhoeddus ddod i'r amlwg.
Can I just start by offering my heartfelt thanks to the Public Accounts Committee for accepting the invitation from the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee to pursue further inquiries into Welsh Government's relationship with Pinewood? It's an excellent report. I don't even know where I want to start on it, but I think I'll start with the point that you were talking about, Bethan, which is about transparency, because I think that's pertinent to Government as a whole.
After, like everybody else, welcoming the Government's initial announcement about the new arrangement with Pinewood, and after about a year or so, I asked some fairly anodyne questions about progress and key performance indicators, by way of routine scrutiny really. Edwina Hart's responses were short and as uninformative as we'd come to expect at that point, but even then commercial confidentiality was making an appearance. We were hearing nothing about these arrangements for bringing £90 million into the economy. By March 2017, which is some years later, the then leader of the house, in response to my requests, said that a statement would be forthcoming. Nothing happened.
I'm not going to rehearse all this, but I then went on to ask a range of questions, not even clear at this stage about the difference between the media investment budget and the Screen Wales budget—so little information was there available on the various websites—and what I got were incomplete or very delayed responses, again peppered with references to commercial confidentiality. And by now, I was sharing my disquiet with other Members. I’d even contacted the Information Commissioner when freedom of information requests were refused. Long story short, the Chair—Bethan—of the culture committee was in agreement that this needed further investigation, and I'm very grateful to you for taking that opportunity.
Because it now emerges that by 2016, when I'd started to ask these questions, a huge amount of worrying and expensive change had been taking place in that relationship. The smouldering conflict of interest had ignited and the financial forecasts were way off and nobody knew about it. Despite further questions from myself and Adam Price, it was only, as we know, when the auditor general became involved last year that this was exposed in any way at all.
I want the Welsh Government to know that we do understand and respect commercial confidentiality. But Ministers need to respect their duty to be candid when scrutinised by this Assembly, and they may also want to remember that some of us might be familiar with the concept of commercial confidentiality from our previous lives. I know exactly what it means. The Welsh Government is not Harry Potter. It does not have an invisibility cloak and it must stop treating commercial confidentiality as if it is one.
At no point, until committee scrutiny, did a Minister or Deputy Minister offer the explanation that Pinewood had vetoed answers to questions, because if they had, I and others could have considered redacted answers, for example. And while there is no recommendation on commercial confidentiality in this report, I look forward to the committee's findings after its forthcoming inquiry into Government support for business.
Talking of previous lives, I was very pleased that the committee looked further at the lack of a building survey of the studio building and the lack of a schedule of works covering tenants' improvements. Where is the Government's evidence that spending £1 million on this roof would have added equivalent value to this holding? How did it not hear alarm bells that having the cottage on site was a liability when the seller insisted on it being part of the sales package? I am pretty sure that had I advised clients in this way, when I was in private practice, with an acquisition of this nature, with what we know of the contract, there would have been a claim against my firm by the buyer, possibly the lender, and I'm pretty sure that I would have been sacked. And I am curious to know who was carrying the can in this instance.
Because what confidence can we now have, on hearing that Welsh Government has just bought a warehouse to store medication in case we have a 'no deal' Brexit? How can we be sure that they've even made sure the place is watertight? And, again, why can we not be told the terms on which Welsh Government has acquired that warehouse? I think I can feel Ministers reaching for that invisibility cloak again.
As it happens, I agree with the Government’s rejection of recommendation 8. A building survey needs to be sought on buildings of values lower than £1 million, even if they are due to be demolished, because that’s how you identify issues that will be material to estimating the costs of demolition. So, I'm hoping perhaps the Welsh Government would accept that recommendation.
I think what we've all learned from this sorry tale is that it's not just Jeremy Corbyn that presents donkeys and unicorns as thoroughbreds. When you present your next money-making race winner, Ministers, you'd better prove its pedigree upfront. And when you engage in bespoke arrangements—and let's remember that the Bad Wolf deal is a bespoke arrangement—please make sure that you have procured the necessary negotiating expertise. A director of Bad Wolf, herself a former Government insider, said that capacity was lacking in that department. And Jenny, you're quite right, if you're dealing with Darth Vader, you don't send Bambi in to negotiate the deal.
So, finally, you have been held firmly to account here, Welsh Government. I want to hear today that you will accept responsibility for this, and then demonstrate your accountability. Thank you.
A gaf fi ddechrau drwy ddiolch yn ddidwyll i'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus am dderbyn y gwahoddiad gan y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu i fynd ar drywydd ymchwiliadau pellach i berthynas Llywodraeth Cymru â Pinewood? Mae'n adroddiad ardderchog. Nid wyf hyd yn oed yn gwybod lle rwyf am ddechrau arno, ond rwy'n meddwl y dechreuaf gyda'r pwynt yr oeddech chi'n sôn amdano, Bethan, sy'n ymwneud â thryloywder, oherwydd fy mod yn credu bod hynny'n berthnasol i'r Llywodraeth yn ei chyfanrwydd.
Fel pawb arall, ar ôl croesawu cyhoeddiad cychwynnol y Llywodraeth am y trefniant newydd gyda Pinewood, ac ar ôl tua blwyddyn, gofynnais gwestiynau gweddol ddiddrwg-ddidda am gynnydd a dangosyddion perfformiad allweddol, yn sgil craffu rheolaidd mewn gwirionedd. Roedd ymatebion Edwina Hart yn fyr a heb fawr o wybodaeth fel roeddem wedi dod i'w ddisgwyl ar y pwynt hwnnw, ond hyd yn oed bryd hynny roedd cyfrinachedd masnachol yn dod i'r amlwg. Nid oeddem yn clywed dim am y trefniadau i ddod â £90 miliwn i mewn i'r economi. Erbyn mis Mawrth 2017, rai blynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach, dywedodd arweinydd y tŷ ar y pryd, mewn ymateb i fy ngheisiadau, fod datganiad ar y ffordd. Ni ddigwyddodd dim byd.
Nid wyf am fynd drwy hyn i gyd, ond euthum ymlaen wedyn i ofyn amryw o gwestiynau, ac nid oedd yn glir ar y pryd beth oedd y gwahaniaeth rhwng cyllideb buddsoddi yn y cyfryngau a chyllideb Sgrîn Cymru—gan nad oedd fawr o wybodaeth ar gael ar y gwefannau amrywiol—ac roedd yr hyn a gefais yn anghyflawn neu roedd oedi mawr cyn cael ymateb, eto'n frith o gyfeiriadau at gyfrinachedd masnachol. Ac erbyn hyn, roeddwn yn rhannu fy anesmwythyd gydag Aelodau eraill. Roeddwn hyd yn oed wedi cysylltu â'r Comisiynydd Gwybodaeth pan wrthodwyd ceisiadau rhyddid gwybodaeth. I dorri stori hir yn fyr, roedd Cadeirydd y pwyllgor diwylliant—Bethan—yn cytuno bod angen archwilio hyn ymhellach, ac rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn i chi am fanteisio ar y cyfle hwnnw.
Oherwydd daw'n amlwg bellach erbyn 2016, pan ddechreuais i ofyn y cwestiynau hyn, fod llawer iawn o newidiadau costus wedi digwydd yn y berthynas honno. Roedd y gwrthdaro buddiannau a oedd yn mudlosgi wedi tanio ac roedd y rhagolygon ariannol ymhell i ffwrdd ac nid oedd neb yn gwybod amdano. Er gwaethaf cwestiynau pellach gennyf fi ac Adam Price, ni chafodd hyn ei amlygu mewn unrhyw ffordd o gwbl tan i'r Archwilydd Cyffredinol, fel y gwyddom, ymwneud â'r mater y llynedd.
Rwyf am i Lywodraeth Cymru wybod ein bod yn deall ac yn parchu cyfrinachedd masnachol. Ond mae angen i Weinidogion barchu eu dyletswydd i fod yn agored pan fydd y Cynulliad hwn yn craffu arnynt, ac efallai y dylent gofio hefyd y gallai rhai ohonom fod yn gyfarwydd â'r cysyniad o gyfri