Y Cyfarfod Llawn - Y Bumed Senedd

Plenary - Fifth Senedd

21/10/2020

Yn y fersiwn ddwyieithog, mae’r golofn chwith yn cynnwys yr iaith a lefarwyd yn y cyfarfod. Mae’r golofn dde yn cynnwys cyfieithiad o’r areithiau hynny.

In the bilingual version, the left-hand column includes the language used during the meeting. The right-hand column includes a translation of those speeches.

Cyfarfu'r Senedd yn y Siambr a thrwy gynhadledd fideo am 13:30 gyda’r Llywydd (Elin Jones) yn y Gadair. 

The Senedd met in the Chamber and by video-conference at 13:30 with the Llywydd (Elin Jones) in the Chair.

Datganiad gan y Llywydd
Statement by the Llywydd

Croeso, bawb, i'r Cyfarfod Llawn. Cyn i ni ddechrau, dwi eisiau nodi ychydig bwyntiau. Cynhelir y cyfarfod hwn ar ffurf hybrid, gyda rhai Aelodau yn y Siambr ac eraill ar gyswllt fideo. Mae Cyfarfod Llawn a gynhelir drwy gynhadledd fideo, yn unol â Rheolau Sefydlog Senedd Cymru, yn gyfystyr â thrafodion y Senedd at ddibenion Deddf Llywodraeth Cymru 2006. Bydd rhai o ddarpariaethau Rheol Sefydlog 34 yn gymwys ar gyfer y Cyfarfod Llawn heddiw, ac mae'r rhain wedi'u nodi ar eich agenda chi. A dwi eisiau atgoffa'r Aelodau fod y Rheolau Sefydlog sy'n ymwneud â threfn yn y Cyfarfod Llawn yn berthnasol i'r cyfarfod yma, ac yr un mor berthnasol i'r Aelodau sydd yn y Siambr ag i'r rhai sydd yn ymuno drwy gyswllt fideo.

A warm welcome to this Plenary session. Before we begin, I want to set out a few points. This meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with some Members in the Chamber and others joining by video-conference. A Plenary meeting held using video-conference, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Welsh Parliament, constitute Senedd proceedings for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Some of the provisions of Standing Order 34 will apply for today's Plenary meeting, and these are noted on your agenda. And I would remind Members that Standing Orders relating to order in Plenary meetings apply to this meeting, and apply equally to Members in the Chamber as to those joining virtually.

1. Cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Cyllid a'r Trefnydd
1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd

Yr eitem gyntaf ar ein hagenda ni'r prynhawn yma yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog cyllid, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Janet Finch-Saunders.

The first item on our agenda this afternoon is questions to the Minister for finance, and the first question is from Janet Finch-Saunders.

Cyllideb yr Economi
The Economy Budget

1. Pa drafodaethau y mae'r Gweinidog wedi'u cael gyda Gweinidog yr Economi, Trafnidiaeth a Gogledd Cymru ynghylch y posibilrwydd o gynyddu'r gyllideb sydd ar gael yn 2020-21 i'w gwario ar yr economi yng Nghymru? OQ55724

1. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales about the possibility of increasing the budget available in 2020-21 for spend on the economy in Wales? OQ55724

I have regular discussions with the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales about the fiscal challenges facing the economy as a result of the pandemic. We have so far provided additional funding amounting to more than £1.7 billion to help support our economy across Wales in 2020-21.

Rwy'n cael trafodaethau rheolaidd gyda Gweinidog yr Economi, Trafnidiaeth a Gogledd Cymru am yr heriau ariannol sy'n wynebu'r economi o ganlyniad i'r pandemig. Hyd yma, rydym wedi darparu dros £1.7 biliwn o gyllid ychwanegol i helpu i gynnal ein heconomi ledled Cymru yn 2020-21.

Thank you, Minister. If the ever-changing details available from Business Wales on the website are anything to go by, it now appears that businesses in Aberconwy will potentially be awarded the same support as new businesses going into lockdown on Friday—new areas going into lockdown—as other regions, despite Aberconwy having been in local lockdown since 1 October. And I can tell you, many of my businesses are facing hundreds of thousands of pounds of loss. Now, the decision to make a further £1,000 discretionary to those areas who were affected by lockdown measures prior to this firebreak announcement is simply unacceptable. So, will you liaise with the Minister for economy to ensure that he does have the necessary budget allocation to provide additional financial support to businesses in local authority areas that were already in local lockdown and, by the end of it, will have nearly been in lockdown for approximately six weeks? And will you urge him to review the decision to enact a rateable value cap of £51,000 so that my local hospitality businesses get the support they actually need to support their business and, indeed, to support their employees? Thank you.

Diolch, Weinidog. O edrych ar y manylion sy'n newid yn barhaus gan Busnes Cymru ar y wefan, mae'n ymddangos yn awr y bydd busnesau yn Aberconwy o bosibl yn cael yr un cymorth â busnesau newydd wrth wynebu'r cyfyngiadau symud ddydd Gwener—ardaloedd newydd sy'n wynebu cyfyngiadau symud—fel rhanbarthau eraill, er bod Aberconwy wedi bod dan gyfyngiadau lleol ers 1 Hydref. A gallaf ddweud wrthych, mae llawer o fy musnesau'n wynebu cannoedd o filoedd o bunnoedd o golled. Nawr, mae'r penderfyniad i roi £1,000 arall yn ôl disgresiwn yn yr ardaloedd yr effeithiwyd arnynt gan gyfyngiadau symud cyn y cyhoeddiad am y cyfnod atal byr yn annerbyniol. Felly, a wnewch chi gysylltu â Gweinidog yr economi i sicrhau bod ganddo'r dyraniad cyllideb angenrheidiol i ddarparu cymorth ariannol ychwanegol i fusnesau mewn ardaloedd awdurdodau lleol a oedd eisoes dan gyfyngiadau lleol ac a fydd erbyn ei ddiwedd wedi bod dan gyfyngiadau am oddeutu chwe wythnos? Ac a wnewch chi ei annog i adolygu'r penderfyniad i weithredu cap gwerth ardrethol o £51,000 fel bod fy musnesau lletygarwch lleol yn cael y cymorth sydd ei angen arnynt mewn gwirionedd i gynnal eu busnesau ac yn wir, i gynnal eu gweithwyr? Diolch.

Both the Minister for economy and I do recognise what an incredibly difficult time this has been for businesses across Wales, but probably nowhere more so, I imagine, than in the tourism and hospitality sector. And that's why a total of 1,206 microbusinesses and small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism and hospitality sector in north Wales have already been awarded funding through the economic resilience fund, and that totals £25.9 million. And in addition to that funding, in north Wales our regional tourism engagement fund and tourism product innovation fund revenue grants are supporting both public and private sector organisations to deliver nine projects, to a value of nearly £1 million. And in the north Wales tourism and hospitality sector, the Development Bank of Wales's COVID-19 Wales business loan scheme has provided over £5.7 million of support to 105 businesses. So, we and the Development Bank of Wales are doing our best to support businesses across Wales.

I do take the point that the Member has raised, but we've tried to reflect the additional challenges facing those businesses that have already experienced local lockdown, across the majority of local authority areas in Wales, by ensuring that there is additional funding available through the latest package. And it is worth recognising and never losing sight of the fact that businesses across Wales have, by far, the largest access to the greatest amount of support, compared to any other part of the United Kingdom. And I think that that's a testament to the priority that we're putting on supporting business. But, that said, I completely don't take away from the challenges that businesses are facing in this difficult period, and especially in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Mae Gweinidog yr economi a minnau'n cydnabod pa mor anodd yw'r cyfnod hwn wedi bod i fusnesau ledled Cymru, ond yn fwy felly, rwy'n dychmygu, yn y sector twristiaeth a lletygarwch, mae'n debyg. A dyna pam y mae cyfanswm o 1,206 o ficrofusnesau a busnesau bach a chanolig eu maint yn y sector twristiaeth a lletygarwch yng ngogledd Cymru eisoes wedi cael cyllid drwy'r gronfa cadernid economaidd, sef cyfanswm o £25.9 miliwn. Ac yn ogystal â'r cyllid hwnnw, yng ngogledd Cymru mae ein cronfa ymgysylltu twristiaeth ranbarthol a grantiau refeniw'r gronfa arloesi cynnyrch twristiaeth yn cefnogi sefydliadau'r sector cyhoeddus a'r sector preifat i gyflawni naw prosiect, sy'n werth bron i £1 filiwn. Ac yn sector twristiaeth a lletygarwch gogledd Cymru, mae'r cynllun benthyciadau i fusnesau yng Nghymru yn sgil COVID-19 Banc Datblygu Cymru wedi darparu dros £5.7 miliwn o gymorth i 105 o fusnesau. Felly, rydym ni a Banc Datblygu Cymru yn gwneud ein gorau i gefnogi busnesau ledled Cymru.

Rwy'n derbyn y pwynt y mae'r Aelod wedi'i wneud, ond rydym wedi ceisio adlewyrchu'r heriau ychwanegol sy'n wynebu'r busnesau sydd eisoes wedi wynebu cyfyngiadau lleol ar draws y rhan fwyaf o ardaloedd awdurdodau lleol yng Nghymru drwy sicrhau bod arian ychwanegol ar gael drwy'r pecyn diweddaraf. Ac mae'n werth cydnabod a pheidio â cholli golwg ar y ffaith mai busnesau ledled Cymru sydd â'r mynediad mwyaf o bell ffordd at fwyaf o gymorth, o'i gymharu ag unrhyw ran arall o'r Deyrnas Unedig. A chredaf fod hynny'n dyst i'r flaenoriaeth rydym yn ei rhoi i gefnogi busnesau. Ond wedi dweud hynny, nid wyf yn bychanu'r heriau y mae busnesau'n eu hwynebu yn y cyfnod anodd hwn, ac yn enwedig yn y sector twristiaeth a lletygarwch.

Let me begin just by welcoming the additional support that's come in yesterday. It's not going to help everyone, but it'll go a long, long way, I have to say, particularly the discretionary fund, to fill some of those gaps for people who've fallen between the stools so far. And I'm certainly speaking to local authority leaders in my area so that they can process the applications quickly and explain to people how they work as well. But could I ask, in your discussions with the economy Minister and with the First Minister, can you also make the representations to the UK Government, as well, for additional funding, both for jobs in particular—for job support—as well as business support, because our coffers are limited in Wales? And, whilst I agree with the previous Conservative speaker, who asked for more support to be forthcoming, that support needs to be forthcoming from the UK Government, not just the limited coffers we have available. So, will she make those representations, please? 

Gadewch imi ddechrau drwy groesawu'r gefnogaeth ychwanegol a gyflwynwyd ddoe. Nid yw'n mynd i helpu pawb, ond bydd yn mynd yn bell iawn, rhaid dweud, yn enwedig y gronfa cymorth dewisol, i lenwi rhai o'r bylchau ar gyfer pobl sydd wedi disgyn rhwng dwy stôl hyd yma. Ac rwy'n sicr yn siarad ag arweinwyr awdurdodau lleol yn fy ardal i fel y gallant brosesu'r ceisiadau'n gyflym ac egluro i bobl sut y maent yn gweithio hefyd. Ond a gaf fi ofyn, yn eich trafodaethau gyda Gweinidog yr economi a chyda'r Prif Weinidog, a allwch hefyd gyflwyno'r sylwadau i Lywodraeth y DU am gyllid ychwanegol, ar gyfer swyddi'n benodol—cymorth swyddi—yn ogystal â chymorth busnes, oherwydd mae ein coffrau'n gyfyngedig yng Nghymru? Ac er fy mod yn cytuno â siaradwr blaenorol y Ceidwadwyr, a ofynnodd am gael mwy o gefnogaeth, mae angen i Lywodraeth y DU roi cymorth, nid y coffrau cyfyngedig sydd ar gael gennym ni yn unig. Felly, a wnaiff hi gyflwyno'r sylwadau hynny, os gwelwch yn dda?

13:35

I absolutely will make those representations. In fact, I have a finance quadrilateral meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury just later on this afternoon, where I'll be making exactly that point about the switch over from the job retention scheme to the job support scheme. It unnecessarily creates difficulties for businesses in Wales, where they'll need to apply to two different schemes over a period of two weeks in order to provide their staff with the support they need. And there's obviously that real problem with the quantum of support now that's available for each of those jobs and the way in which the UK Government has decided what kind of jobs are viable jobs. There are whole sectors that are missing out as a result of that. The arts sector is one of them. But I can give my colleague Huw Irranca-Davies the assurance that I will be raising exactly this issue later on this afternoon. 

Byddaf yn bendant yn cyflwyno'r sylwadau hynny. Yn wir, mae gennyf gyfarfod cyllid pedairochrog gyda Phrif Ysgrifennydd y Trysorlys yn ddiweddarach y prynhawn yma, lle byddaf yn gwneud yr union bwynt hwnnw am y newid o'r cynllun cadw swyddi i'r cynllun cefnogi swyddi. Mae'n creu anawsterau diangen i fusnesau yng Nghymru, lle bydd angen iddynt wneud cais i ddau gynllun gwahanol dros gyfnod o bythefnos er mwyn darparu'r cymorth y mae eu staff ei angen. Ac mae'n amlwg fod yna broblem wirioneddol gyda maint y cymorth sydd bellach ar gael ar gyfer pob un o'r swyddi hynny a'r ffordd y mae Llywodraeth y DU wedi penderfynu pa fath o swyddi sy'n swyddi hyfyw. Mae sectorau cyfan ar eu colled o ganlyniad i hynny. Mae sector y celfyddydau yn un ohonynt. Ond a gaf fi roi sicrwydd i fy nghyd-Aelod Huw Irranca-Davies y byddaf yn codi'r union fater hwn yn ddiweddarach y prynhawn yma.

Cymorth i Fusnesau
Support for Businesses

2. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am gymorth i fusnesau y mae rheoliadau Llywodraeth Cymru yn effeithio arnynt? OQ55763

2. Will the Minister make a statement on support for businesses affected by Welsh Government regulations? OQ55763

In response to the imminent national firebreak, and in line with our commitment to provide further support, we have created an enhanced phase 3 of the Wales-only economic resilience fund, comprising of almost £300 million to support businesses affected by the firebreak and previous local lockdown measures.  

Mewn ymateb i'r cyfnod atal byr sydd ar fin digwydd, ac yn unol â'n hymrwymiad i ddarparu cymorth pellach, rydym wedi creu cam 3 estynedig o'r gronfa cadernid economaidd i Gymru'n unig, gyda bron i £300 miliwn i gefnogi busnesau y mae'r cyfnod atal byr yn effeithio arnynt a chyfyngiadau lleol blaenorol.

Minister, people across Wales, and certainly in my constituency in Blaenau Gwent, are very grateful for the work that the Welsh Government has done to support businesses throughout this time. I know there have been many hundreds of businesses in my own constituency that have been helped and supported by the Welsh Government, and I think the largest package of business support anywhere in the UK is something that's safeguarded many jobs already. But, as has already been pointed out by our colleague Huw Irranca-Davies, some of the smallest businesses particularly do fall through some of the gaps that we have available to us. I'm thinking of taxi drivers, for example, and I'm thinking of people who are working as tradesmen and tradeswomen in order to support them and their families who don't work in a formal corporate structure, if you like. Minister, is it possible to ensure that we do have the funds available to support these people who are the lifeblood of a local economy? 

Weinidog, mae pobl ledled Cymru, ac yn sicr yn fy etholaeth ym Mlaenau Gwent, yn ddiolchgar iawn am y gwaith y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i wneud i gefnogi busnesau drwy gydol y cyfnod hwn. Rwy'n gwybod bod cannoedd o fusnesau yn fy etholaeth i wedi cael cymorth a chefnogaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru, a chredaf fod y pecyn mwyaf o gymorth busnes yn unman yn y DU yn rhywbeth sydd eisoes wedi diogelu llawer o swyddi. Ond fel y nodwyd eisoes gan ein cyd-Aelod Huw Irranca-Davies, mae rhai o'r busnesau lleiaf yn enwedig yn syrthio drwy rai o'r bylchau sydd ar gael. Rwy'n meddwl am yrwyr tacsi, er enghraifft, ac rwy'n meddwl am bobl sy'n gweithio fel masnachwyr er mwyn eu cefnogi hwy a'u teuluoedd nad ydynt yn gweithio o fewn strwythur corfforaethol ffurfiol, os mynnwch. Weinidog, a yw'n bosibl sicrhau bod yr arian gennym i gefnogi'r bobl hyn sy'n anadl einioes i economi leol?

As part of our £300 million support package, just announced this week, we are ensuring that there is a discretionary element there for local authorities to disseminate to businesses in their area, and, to do so, we're particularly thinking of those businesses that, as Alun Davies says, don't have a premises, so they're not subject to non-domestic rates, for example, and so they miss out on that automatic grant funding that all businesses receiving small business rate relief will receive, but nonetheless they play an important part in our local economies and they're jobs that are often particularly vulnerable. So, I'm really pleased that, with this particular scheme, we've been able to provide that discretionary element of funding, and we're currently working through the final guidance and the mechanism by which we will provide that funding to local authorities, but progress is very fast on that, so we should be able to say more very shortly. 

Fel rhan o'n pecyn cymorth gwerth £300 miliwn, a gyhoeddwyd yr wythnos hon, rydym yn sicrhau bod elfen ddewisol yno i awdurdodau lleol ei rhannu i fusnesau yn eu hardal, ac er mwyn gwneud hynny, rydym yn meddwl yn arbennig am y busnesau nad oes ganddynt safle, fel y mae Alun Davies yn dweud, felly nid ydynt yn ddarostyngedig i ardrethi annomestig, er enghraifft, ac felly maent yn colli'r cyllid grant awtomatig y bydd pob busnes sy'n cael rhyddhad ardrethi i fusnesau bach yn ei gael, ond serch hynny maent yn chwarae rhan bwysig yn ein heconomïau lleol ac maent yn swyddi sy'n aml yn arbennig o agored i niwed. Felly, rwy'n falch iawn ein bod wedi gallu darparu'r elfen ddewisol honno o gyllid gyda'r cynllun hwn, ac rydym wrthi'n gweithio drwy'r canllawiau terfynol a'r mecanwaith y byddwn yn ei ddefnyddio i ddarparu'r cyllid hwnnw i awdurdodau lleol, ond mae cynnydd yn gyflym iawn ar hynny, felly dylem allu dweud rhagor yn fuan iawn.

Minister, businesses in Conwy and Denbighshire are literally on their knees, and there are many jobs that rely on those businesses that are now hanging by a thread. It's been almost three weeks since you put Conwy and Denbighshire, along with other parts of north-east Wales, into local lockdown. That means that they already have a wound that is three weeks deeper economically than the wound that is going to be inflicted on these parts of Wales as a result of the Wales-wide lockdown that will commence on Friday, and yet, as has already been pointed out, there are businesses there that have not received any additional support to reflect that local lockdown period. I've heard you griping about the resources available to the Welsh Government. You've had £4.4 billion's worth of firepower at your disposal, thanks to the support of the UK Government. Why can't you focus some more support on those places that have not yet been eligible for additional resources in north-east Wales, as part of the package that you have unveiled along with the economy Minister this week? And can you assure businesses in Conwy and Denbighshire that they, because of the three weeks additional pain that they've endured, will be at the front of the queue for support?

Weinidog, mae busnesau yng Nghonwy a Sir Ddinbych ar eu gliniau'n llythrennol, ac mae llawer o swyddi sy'n dibynnu ar y busnesau hynny bellach yn ei chael hi'n anodd dal eu pennau uwchben y dŵr. Mae bron i dair wythnos wedi mynd heibio ers i chi roi Conwy a Sir Ddinbych, ynghyd â rhannau eraill o ogledd-ddwyrain Cymru, dan gyfyngiadau lleol. Mae hynny'n golygu eu bod eisoes wedi dioddef yn economaidd am dair wythnos yn hwy na'r hyn a achosir yn y rhannau hyn o Gymru o ganlyniad i'r cyfyngiadau ledled Cymru a fydd yn dechrau ddydd Gwener, ac eto, fel y nodwyd eisoes, ceir busnesau nad ydynt wedi cael unrhyw gymorth ychwanegol i adlewyrchu'r cyfnod hwnnw o gyfyngiadau lleol. Rwyf wedi eich clywed yn cwyno am yr adnoddau sydd ar gael i Lywodraeth Cymru. Rydych wedi cael gwerth £4.4 biliwn o adnoddau at eich defnydd, diolch i gefnogaeth Llywodraeth y DU. Pam na allwch ganolbwyntio mwy o gymorth ar gyfer y lleoedd nad ydynt eto wedi bod yn gymwys i gael adnoddau ychwanegol yng ngogledd-ddwyrain Cymru, fel rhan o'r pecyn rydych wedi'i gyflwyno gyda Gweinidog yr economi yr wythnos hon? Ac a allwch sicrhau busnesau yng Nghonwy a Sir Ddinbych y byddant hwy ar flaen y ciw am gymorth oherwydd y tair wythnos o boen ychwanegol y maent wedi'i ddioddef?

13:40

Well, as Alun Davies has just recognised in his contribution, businesses across Wales have access to the most generous package of business support anywhere in the UK. And I think that that is a reflection of the priority that we've put on supporting businesses through the adjustments that we've made to Welsh Government budgets, alongside the additional consequential funding we've received from the UK Government. And, as a result of the decisions that we've taken, in Conwy alone, 461 micro and SME businesses have been awarded funding, totalling £8 million, and 83 start-up grants have been awarded to businesses in Conwy as well, totalling £207,500. And through the COVID-19 non-domestic business rates grant, a total of 3,311 awards have been processed to Conwy businesses, totalling nearly £40 million. A great deal of this funding wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the prioritisation exercise that we undertook across Government, which released £0.5 billion of additional support in order for us to fund our economic resilience fund. So, Welsh Government is going above and beyond what you're seeing from the UK Government in relation to our support for businesses. 

Wel, fel y mae Alun Davies newydd gydnabod yn ei gyfraniad, mae gan fusnesau ledled Cymru fynediad at y pecyn mwyaf hael o gymorth busnes yn unrhyw le yn y DU. A chredaf fod hynny'n adlewyrchiad o'r flaenoriaeth rydym wedi'i rhoi i gefnogi busnesau drwy'r addasiadau a wnaethom i gyllidebau Llywodraeth Cymru, ochr yn ochr â'r cyllid canlyniadol ychwanegol a gawsom gan Lywodraeth y DU. Ac o ganlyniad i'r penderfyniadau a wnaethom, yng Nghonwy yn unig dyfarnwyd cyfanswm o £8 miliwn o gyllid i 461 o ficrofusnesau a busnesau bach a chanolig, ac mae 83 o grantiau dechrau busnes wedi'u dyfarnu i fusnesau yng Nghonwy hefyd, sef cyfanswm o £207,500. A thrwy grant ardrethi busnes annomestig COVID-19, cafodd cyfanswm o 3,311 o ddyfarniadau eu prosesu i fusnesau Conwy, sef cyfanswm o bron i £40 miliwn. Ni fyddai llawer iawn o'r arian hwn wedi bod yn bosibl oni bai am yr ymarfer blaenoriaethu a wnaethom ar draws y Llywodraeth, a ryddhaodd £0.5 biliwn o gymorth ychwanegol er mwyn i ni ariannu ein cronfa cadernid economaidd. Felly, mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn mynd y tu hwnt i'r hyn rydych yn ei weld gan Lywodraeth y DU mewn perthynas â'n cymorth i fusnesau.

During the UK-wide lockdown earlier in the year it became clear that certain people were not protected by the furlough scheme. One example is Aled from Ystrad Mynach in my region. He set up a business a year ago, which meant he didn't qualify for the self-employment income support scheme, which demanded tax returns for two financial years to access it, and his business also didn't qualify for the Welsh Government's start-up grant scheme. The loss of earnings for his business amount to over £1,000. Now that we're entering a firebreak on Friday, Minister, what assurances can you give me that self-employed people in Aled's situation won't fall through the cracks again? Could I also ask you, Minister, if you'd consider the call from the Wales freelance taskforce, who are representing the interests of freelancers working in the performance industry, to increase the funding available? They say the current scheme is oversubscribed, with many unable to access any support. So, I'd be interested to hear if the Welsh Government intends to help them further. 

Yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud ledled y DU yn gynharach yn y flwyddyn daeth yn amlwg nad oedd rhai pobl yn cael eu diogelu gan y cynllun ffyrlo. Un enghraifft yw Aled o Ystrad Mynach yn fy rhanbarth. Sefydlodd fusnes flwyddyn yn ôl, a olygai nad oedd yn gymwys ar gyfer y cynllun cymorth incwm i'r hunangyflogedig a oedd yn mynnu bod ffurflenni treth dwy flynedd ariannol ar gael er mwyn gallu ei dderbyn, ac nid oedd ei fusnes yn gymwys ychwaith ar gyfer cynllun grantiau cychwyn Llywodraeth Cymru. Mae ei fusnes wedi colli dros £1,000 o enillion. Gan ein bod yn dechrau ar gyfnod atal byr ddydd Gwener, Weinidog, pa sicrwydd y gallwch ei roi i mi na fydd pobl hunangyflogedig yn sefyllfa Aled yn syrthio drwy'r craciau eto? A gaf fi ofyn i chi hefyd, Weinidog, a fyddech yn ystyried yr alwad gan dasglu llawrydd Cymru, sy'n cynrychioli buddiannau gweithwyr llawrydd sy'n gweithio yn y diwydiant perfformio, i gynyddu'r cyllid sydd ar gael? Maent yn dweud bod gormod o geisiadau am y cynllun presennol, gyda llawer yn methu cael unrhyw gymorth. Felly, hoffwn glywed a yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn bwriadu eu helpu ymhellach.

Thank you very much for that question, and also for setting out the particular circumstances that Aled finds himself in. Clearly, I don't know the full circumstances behind his situation, but, as I said in response to a previous question, it's really important that, this time, we have added that discretionary element for local authorities, which hasn't been there before. And that's in recognition of the cases that have been brought to us, such as Aled who you've talked about, who've fallen between all of those different offers of support from both Welsh Government and the UK Government. So, we're trying to ensure that there is an additional mechanism now for local authorities to be able to provide support for businesses locally. And, as I say, we're just working through the final detail on that, with a view to providing local authorities with some guidance.

Diolch yn fawr am y cwestiwn hwnnw, a hefyd am nodi'r amgylchiadau penodol y mae Aled yn eu hwynebu. Yn amlwg, nid wyf yn gwybod beth yw'r amgylchiadau llawn sy'n gefndir i'w sefyllfa, ond fel y dywedais mewn ymateb i gwestiwn blaenorol, mae'n bwysig iawn ein bod, y tro hwn, wedi ychwanegu'r elfen ddewisol i awdurdodau lleol, nad yw wedi bod yno o'r blaen. A hynny i gydnabod yr achosion a gyflwynwyd i ni, fel achos Aled rydych wedi sôn amdano, sydd wedi syrthio rhwng yr holl gynigion gwahanol o gefnogaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru a Llywodraeth y DU. Felly, rydym yn ceisio sicrhau bod mecanwaith ychwanegol ar waith yn awr i awdurdodau lleol allu darparu cymorth i fusnesau'n lleol. Ac fel y dywedais, rydym yn gweithio drwy'r manylion terfynol ar hynny, gyda'r bwriad o roi rhywfaint o arweiniad i awdurdodau lleol.

Minister, sadly far too many businesses are falling through the cracks in the support offered, and what support there is certainly doesn't make up for the long-term impacts that various lockdowns have had. Businesses don't know if they'll be open or closed from one week to the next, and many microbusinesses get no support at all because they don't have multiple years of accounts. One example: my constituent contacted me concerning her beauty salon's future because she's not eligible for support. She doesn't have full accounts due to maternity leave. Minister, what steps will you take to ensure all businesses in Wales impacted by COVID protection measures do receive financial support, such as my constituent through her maternity leave? Diolch. 

Weinidog, yn anffodus mae gormod o lawer o fusnesau'n syrthio drwy'r craciau yn y cymorth a gynigir, ac yn sicr nid yw'r gefnogaeth sydd ar gael yn gwneud iawn am yr effeithiau hirdymor y mae gwahanol gyfyngiadau wedi'u cael. Nid yw busnesau'n gwybod a fyddant ar agor neu ar gau o un wythnos i'r llall, ac nid yw llawer o ficrofusnesau'n cael unrhyw gymorth o gwbl am nad oes ganddynt gyfrifon am fwy nag un flwyddyn. Un enghraifft: cysylltodd fy etholwr â mi ynghylch dyfodol ei salon harddwch am nad yw'n gymwys i gael cymorth. Nid oes ganddi gyfrifon llawn oherwydd absenoldeb mamolaeth. Weinidog, pa gamau a gymerwch i sicrhau bod pob busnes yng Nghymru y mae mesurau diogelwch COVID yn effeithio arnynt yn cael cymorth ariannol, fel fy etholwr drwy ei chyfnod mamolaeth? Diolch.

Thank you for providing another example of a business that hasn't been able to access funding thus far. Clearly, I don't want to give the impression that the Welsh Government is going to be able to support every single business in Wales, because the funding we have simply doesn't extend to that. So, I do want to be realistic, but, at the same time, I do want to reflect that we have taken on board and considered well those issues that have been brought forward by yourself and others in terms of those individuals who run businesses that have fallen through the gaps in support thus far. And that's why this discretionary element is so important, and why it's important that we get the advice and guidance for local authorities right in order to enable them to support those locally often very important businesses.

Diolch am ddarparu enghraifft arall o fusnes nad yw wedi gallu cael cyllid hyd yma. Yn amlwg, nid wyf am roi'r argraff y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn gallu cefnogi pob busnes yng Nghymru, oherwydd nid yw'r cyllid sydd gennym yn ddigon ar gyfer hynny. Felly, rwyf am fod yn realistig, ond ar yr un pryd, rwyf am adlewyrchu'r ffaith ein bod wedi rhoi ystyriaeth drylwyr i'r materion a gyflwynwyd gennych chi ac eraill mewn perthynas ag unigolion sy'n rhedeg busnesau sydd wedi syrthio drwy'r bylchau yn y cymorth hyd yma. A dyna pam y mae'r elfen ddewisol hon mor bwysig, a pham ei bod yn bwysig ein bod yn cael y cyngor a'r arweiniad i awdurdodau lleol yn iawn er mwyn eu galluogi i gefnogi'r busnesau sy'n aml yn bwysig iawn yn lleol.

13:45
Cwestiynau Heb Rybudd gan Lefarwyr y Pleidiau
Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Questions now from the party spokespeople. Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd, a gaf i ddiolch i'r Gweinidog am y gyllideb atodol a gafodd ei chyhoeddi neithiwr? Dwi'n edrych ymlaen at ddilyn cyfnod sgrwtini y Pwyllgor Cyllid yn yr wythnosau nesaf. Mae yna symiau sylweddol wedi cael eu symud o fewn y flwyddyn ariannol yma, fel y buaswn yn ei ddisgwyl, oherwydd yr amgylchiadau eithriadol, ac mae hynny'n cynnwys i lywodraeth leol. Ond mae yna ansicrwydd mawr yn parhau wrth gwrs am gyllidebau'r flwyddyn nesaf. Heb fynd i fanylion mawr, mae fy nghyngor i yn Ynys Môn, er enghraifft, wedi gallu siarad efo fi am y rhai miliynau o bunnoedd o ddiffyg y maen nhw'n gallu eu hadnabod yn barod ar gyfer y flwyddyn nesaf yn uniongyrchol oherwydd y pandemig yma, pwysau ar y sector gofal. Rydych chi'n edrych ar bethau fel pwysau ychwanegol ar y cynllun lleihau'r dreth gyngor, oherwydd bod mwy o bobl yn ddibynnol arno fo ac yn y blaen.

Ydy'r Gweinidog yn gallu rhoi amlinelliad diweddaraf inni o beth fyddai'r egwyddorion y bydd y Llywodraeth yn eu dilyn o ran sicrhau bod cynghorau yn gallu cydbwyso eu llyfrau y flwyddyn ariannol nesaf? Ac a wnaiff hi edrych eto, yn sgil yr hyn sy'n cael ei amlygu rŵan, ar y syniad o gyllidebu dros gyfnod hirach—tair blynedd, dywedwn ni—er mwyn rhoi rhagor o sicrwydd ar gyfer y dyfodol?

Thank you very much, Llywydd, and may I thank the Minister for the supplementary budget published last night? I look forward to the scrutiny in the Finance Committee over the next few weeks. There are substantial sums that have been vired within this financial year, as we would expect, because of the exceptional circumstances, and that includes to local government. But there is great uncertainty about next year's budgets. Without going into too much detail, my council on Ynys Môn has spoken to me about the millions of pounds of deficit that they can identify already for the next year directly because of this pandemic, pressures on the care sector. You look at things such as additional pressure on the council tax reduction scheme, because more people are reliant on it and so forth.

So, can the Minister give us an update on what principles the Government will follow in terms of ensuring that councils can balance their books in the next financial year? And will she look again, in light of what's being highlighted now, at the concept of budgeting over a longer period—let's say three years—in order to give more assurance for the future?

Thank you to Rhun ap Iorwerth for raising the importance of certainty for local authorities, but also for Welsh Government, in terms of managing its budget over a period of years. I'm sure that he will share my disappointment at the news today that there will not be a longer term comprehensive spending review and instead we'll have a one-year spending round—a one-year spending review. 

The UK Government has said it will look to give greater certainty to health in England, to schools in England and also to large infrastructure projects. But that is of no use to the Welsh Government at all, because we need to know the total quantum of our funding to understand where, if anywhere, the additional funding, should there be some for hospitals in England, for example, is coming from. So, it's a really disappointing result, I think, for Welsh Government and also then for local authorities, because we simply can't pass on that certainty if we don't have it ourselves. 

We're working very hard at the moment in preparing our budget for next year. I've already had a series of bilaterals with my colleagues and just recently one with my colleague, the Minister for Local Government and Housing, who was very keen to press the case for support for local authorities. And in terms of the overall Government's strategic approach, we've agreed again this year, obviously, that health will remain a priority, our priority, unsurprisingly, given the situation we're in, but also, again, we will want to give local authorities the best possible settlement for the next financial year.

Diolch i Rhun ap Iorwerth am nodi pwysigrwydd sicrwydd i awdurdodau lleol, ond hefyd i Lywodraeth Cymru, mewn perthynas â rheoli ei chyllideb dros gyfnod o flynyddoedd. Rwy'n siŵr y bydd yn rhannu fy siom ynglŷn â'r newyddion heddiw na cheir adolygiad cynhwysfawr o wariant mwy hirdymor ac yn hytrach, y bydd gennym gylch gwariant blwyddyn—adolygiad o wariant un flwyddyn.

Mae Llywodraeth y DU wedi dweud y bydd yn ceisio rhoi mwy o sicrwydd i iechyd yn Lloegr, i ysgolion yn Lloegr a hefyd i brosiectau seilwaith mawr. Ond nid yw hynny o unrhyw ddefnydd i Lywodraeth Cymru o gwbl, oherwydd mae angen i ni wybod faint fydd cyfanswm ein cyllid er mwyn deall o ble y daw'r cyllid ychwanegol, os o unman, os oes peth ar gael ar gyfer ysbytai yn Lloegr, er enghraifft. Felly, rwy'n credu ei fod yn ganlyniad siomedig iawn i Lywodraeth Cymru a hefyd wedyn i awdurdodau lleol, oherwydd ni allwn drosglwyddo'r sicrwydd hwnnw os na fyddwn wedi'i gael ein hunain.

Rydym yn gweithio'n galed iawn ar hyn o bryd yn paratoi ein cyllideb ar gyfer y flwyddyn nesaf. Rwyf eisoes wedi cael cyfres o gyfarfodydd dwyochrog gyda fy nghyd-Aelodau ac yn ddiweddar un gyda fy nghyd-Weinidog, y Gweinidog Llywodraeth Leol a Thai, a oedd yn awyddus iawn i bwysleisio'r achos dros gymorth i awdurdodau lleol. Ac o ran dull strategol y Llywodraeth yn gyffredinol, nid yw'n syndod o ystyried ein sefyllfa ein bod wedi cytuno eto eleni, yn amlwg, y bydd iechyd yn parhau i fod yn flaenoriaeth, yn flaenoriaeth i ni, ond hefyd, unwaith eto, byddwn am roi'r setliad gorau posibl i awdurdodau lleol ar gyfer y flwyddyn ariannol nesaf.

Diolch am yr ateb yna, ac, wrth gwrs, dwi'n cyd-fynd efo'r Gweinidog o ran y penderfyniad i beidio â bwrw ymlaen efo adolygiad gwariant cynhwysfawr ar lefel y Deyrnas Unedig. Mae'n brawf unwaith eto, i mi, nad ydy San Steffan a Whitehall yn gweithio i Gymru—maen nhw'n gweithio i San Steffan ac i Whitehall.

Yn parhau efo llywodraeth leol, un elfen sydd wedi taro llywodraeth leol, wrth gwrs, ydy colled incwm. Mae'n taro gwahanol awdurdodau lleol mewn gwahanol ffyrdd, yn dibynnu ar y math o elfennau sydd ganddyn nhw o fewn eu portffolios sydd yn dod ag incwm i mewn. Ond, wrth gwrs, mae colled incwm ar lefel llywodraeth leol yn cael effaith uniongyrchol ar bawb trwy'r dreth gyngor yn y pen draw, o bosib, ond yn sicr o ran cynaliadwyedd y gwasanaethau y mae pawb yn dibynnu arnyn nhw. Felly, ydy'r Llywodraeth yn gallu rhoi sicrwydd y bydd digolledu yn digwydd o ran y golled incwm i lywodraeth lleol—a nid yn unig rŵan, wrth gwrs, ond mi fydd yna incwm a fydd yn cael ei golli am fisoedd lawer eto oherwydd natur y pandemig rydym ni'n byw drwyddo fo?

Thank you for that response and, of course, I agree with the Minister in terms of the decision not to proceed with a comprehensive spending review at the UK level. It is proof yet again, for me, that Westminster and Whitehall aren't working for Wales—they work for Westminster and Whitehall.

Now, staying with local government, one element that's hit local authorities is loss of income. It hits various local authorities in various ways, depending on the elements that they have within their portfolio that generate income. But, of course, the loss of income at local government level has a direct impact on everyone through council tax ultimately, perhaps, but certainly in terms of the sustainability of the services that everyone is reliant upon. So, can the Government give an assurance that there will be compensation in terms of that loss of income for local authorities—not just now, but there is also income that will be lost for many months to come, because of the nature of the pandemic that we're currently facing?

Well, support for local authorities has taken two forms: first of all, there's been the hardship fund, and that's a fund of £310 million, which includes additional funding to tackle homelessness—to get rough-sleepers off the street, for example—the funding for free school meals, adult social care, school cleaning and so on, and some general funding to help local authorities to address the issues that they're facing. But, alongside that, we've put in place a fund of £198 million to take local authorities to the end of this financial year in order for them to address the loss of income that they have been experiencing. That funding is drawn down on a monthly basis. So, I can say that, to date, we've paid over £127 million in additional costs through that hardship fund, and £59 million for lost income thus far. The lost income, I should say, is claimed on a quarterly basis, whereas the hardship fund's on the monthly basis. So, I think the funding that we have put aside for local authorities through both of those funds, amounting to £0.5 billion, is sufficient, as best my understanding is in terms of discussions that I've been having with local authorities, to meet both of those aspects of the challenge that they're facing. Certainly, for this financial year, there'll be further discussions to be had as we move forward with the budget process.

Wel, mae dwy ffurf ar gymorth i awdurdodau lleol: yn gyntaf oll, cafwyd y gronfa galedi, sef cronfa o £310 miliwn, sy'n cynnwys cyllid ychwanegol i fynd i'r afael â digartrefedd—i gael pobl sy'n cysgu allan oddi ar y stryd, er enghraifft—y cyllid ar gyfer prydau ysgol am ddim, gofal cymdeithasol i oedolion, glanhau ysgolion ac yn y blaen, a rhywfaint o gyllid cyffredinol i helpu awdurdodau lleol i fynd i'r afael â'r problemau y maent yn eu hwynebu. Ond ochr yn ochr â hynny, rydym wedi sefydlu cronfa o £198 miliwn i fynd ag awdurdodau lleol i ddiwedd y flwyddyn ariannol hon er mwyn iddynt allu mynd i'r afael â'r holl incwm y maent wedi bod yn ei golli. Caiff y cyllid hwnnw ei dynnu i lawr bob mis. Felly, gallaf ddweud ein bod hyd yma wedi talu dros £127 miliwn mewn costau ychwanegol drwy'r gronfa galedi honno, a £59 miliwn ar gyfer incwm a gollwyd hyd yma. Dylwn ddweud bod yr incwm a gollwyd yn cael ei hawlio bob chwarter, a'r gronfa galedi'n fisol. Felly, rwy'n credu bod y cyllid a neilltuwyd gennym ar gyfer awdurdodau lleol drwy'r ddwy gronfa, sef cyfanswm o £0.5 biliwn, yn ddigonol, yn ôl fy nealltwriaeth i o ran y trafodaethau a gefais gydag awdurdodau lleol, i ateb y ddwy agwedd ar yr her y maent yn ei hwynebu. Yn sicr, ar gyfer y flwyddyn ariannol hon, bydd trafodaethau pellach yn digwydd wrth inni symud ymlaen gyda phroses y gyllideb.

13:50

A dyna'r pwynt dwi'n ei wneud yn fan hyn: dydy hwn ddim yn rhywbeth sydd yn mynd i fod drosodd yn fuan. Mae eisiau edrych ar hyn fel rhan o'r cynlluniau ar gyfer y flwyddyn nesaf hefyd.

Un cwestiwn olaf, eto ynglŷn â llywodraeth leol, ac eto ynglŷn â'r hirdymor. Dwi'n croesawu cronfeydd sydd wedi cael eu sefydlu i helpu busnesau yn uniongyrchol. Dwi'n dal yn gwthio am ragor o gymorth, yn arbennig i rai sectorau sy'n cael eu hitio yn arbennig o galed, a'r rhai sy'n dal yn llithro drwy'r rhwyd, wrth gwrs. Ond pan ddaw hi at y gwaith o adeiladu yr economi, ydy, mae help i'r busnesau unigol yn bwysig, ond hefyd mae'r cynllunio a'r datblygu economaidd fydd yn digwydd ar lawr gwlad yn mynd i fod yn bwysig, ac mae llywodraeth leol yn mynd i fod yn allweddol ac yn mynd i fod angen adnoddau er mwyn gallu gwneud y math yna o ddelifro datblygu economaidd yn lleol. A gawn ni amlinelliad o'r lefel o gefnogaeth datblygu economaidd y gall cynghorau ei disgwyl? Achos mae'r cynghorau'n nabod yr ardaloedd maen nhw'n eu gwasanaethu a'r cyfleon fydd yn codi wrth ailadeiladu.

That's the point I'm making here: this isn't something that's going to be over soon. We need to look at this as part of proposals for next year too.

One final question, again on local government, but also looking to the longer term. I welcome the funds that have been put in place to assist businesses directly. I'm still pushing for greater support, particularly to some sectors that have been hit particularly hard and those that are still slipping through the net. But when it comes to the work of rebuilding the economy, yes, helping individual businesses is important, but also economic planning and development on the ground is going to be hugely important too, and local government is going to to be crucial and will need resources in order to do that kind of delivery in terms of economic development at a local level. Can we have an outline of the level of economic development support that councils can expect? Because the councils know the areas that they serve and the opportunities that will arise as we rebuild.

Well, you will certainly have had a flavour already of the kind of areas in which we'll be investing through local government with the work that Jeremy Miles has been leading on the reconstruction package, and you will have heard the announcement of £340 million to support some of that work. And some of that funding will be going through local authorities, with a particular focus on house building, for example—the modern methods of construction, those homes that are built to very good environmental standards. My colleagues will be making further announcements in the coming weeks about schemes that are included in that £340 million, so I won't say too much more in terms of the particular schemes that will be announced, but local authorities will have an important part to play in a number of those schemes.

Looking forward, we're having some very good discussions with local authorities at the moment to explore whether or not we have a role in supporting borrowing for local authorities to undertake some capital work that is in line with our own strategic priorities, which you'll find within the Welsh infrastructure investment plan, and those discussions are ongoing at the moment. But, again, the areas of particular interest to us are housing and healthcare.

Wel, byddwch yn sicr wedi cael blas eisoes o'r math o feysydd y byddwn yn buddsoddi ynddynt drwy lywodraeth leol gyda'r gwaith y mae Jeremy Miles wedi bod yn ei arwain ar y pecyn ailadeiladu, a byddwch wedi clywed y cyhoeddiad am £340 miliwn i gefnogi rhywfaint o'r gwaith hwnnw. A bydd rhywfaint o'r cyllid hwnnw'n mynd drwy awdurdodau lleol, gan ganolbwyntio'n benodol ar adeiladu tai, er enghraifft—y dulliau adeiladu modern, y cartrefi sy'n cael eu hadeiladu i safonau amgylcheddol da iawn. Bydd fy nghyd-Aelodau'n gwneud cyhoeddiadau pellach yn ystod yr wythnosau nesaf am gynlluniau sydd wedi'u cynnwys yn y £340 miliwn hwnnw, felly ni ddywedaf ormod yn rhagor am y cynlluniau penodol a gyhoeddir, ond bydd gan awdurdodau lleol ran bwysig i'w chwarae yn nifer o'r cynlluniau hynny.

Wrth edrych tua'r dyfodol, rydym yn cael trafodaethau da iawn gydag awdurdodau lleol ar hyn o bryd i ystyried a oes gennym rôl yn cefnogi benthyca i awdurdodau lleol ymgymryd â pheth gwaith cyfalaf sy'n cyd-fynd â'n blaenoriaethau strategol ein hunain, blaenoriaethau a welwch yng nghynllun buddsoddi yn seilwaith Cymru, ac mae'r trafodaethau hynny'n mynd rhagddynt ar hyn o bryd. Ond unwaith eto, y meysydd sydd o ddiddordeb arbennig i ni yw tai a gofal iechyd.

Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Nick Ramsay.

Conservative spokesperson, Nick Ramsay.

Diolch, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Minister. Minister, these are worrying times for Welsh businesses and for workers across Wales with the ongoing pandemic. What assessment of the financial costs associated with the impending firebreak have you made, and have you considered the cost of any future potential lockdowns as well—rolling lockdowns?

Diolch, Lywydd. Prynhawn da, Weinidog. Weinidog, mae'r rhain yn amseroedd pryderus i fusnesau Cymru ac i weithwyr ledled Cymru gyda'r pandemig sy'n mynd rhagddo. Pa asesiad a wnaethoch o'r costau ariannol sy'n gysylltiedig â'r cyfnod atal byr sydd ar fin digwydd, ac a ydych wedi ystyried cost unrhyw gyfyngiadau symud posibl yn y dyfodol hefyd—cyfyngiadau ar sail dreigl?

So, clearly, the impact of any lockdown on businesses is particularly harsh, there's no denying that, and that's why we've put in place this £300 million support package for business, with a view to doing absolutely everything we can to support businesses across Wales, and to make the application process—where there is an application needed and it's not automatic—as swift as possible to get that money to businesses as quickly as possible. Because we know that many businesses are facing such difficult times that they can't be waiting for that funding to come through to them as well.

We're also making those representations to the UK Government. So, whilst Welsh Government has a really strong and important role in providing a level of business support, when it comes to wage subsidies, that is absolutely the responsibility of the UK Government and it's something that Welsh Government doesn't receive funding for. We just simply don't have the level of resources to be able to step into that area and take that on without funding from the UK Government. So, any support that the spokesperson is able to offer in that regard in terms of making representation to his colleagues in Westminster would be much appreciated.

Yn amlwg, mae effaith unrhyw gyfyngiadau ar fusnesau yn arbennig o galed, nid oes modd gwadu hynny, a dyna pam rydym wedi rhoi'r pecyn cymorth hwn o £300 miliwn ar waith ar gyfer busnesau, gyda golwg ar wneud popeth yn ein gallu i gefnogi busnesau ledled Cymru, a gwneud y broses ymgeisio—lle mae angen gwneud cais ac nid yw'n awtomatig—cyn gyflymed ag sy'n bosibl i gael yr arian hwnnw i fusnesau cyn gynted â phosibl. Oherwydd gwyddom fod llawer o fusnesau'n wynebu cyfnod mor anodd fel na allant aros i'r cyllid hwnnw ddod drwodd iddynt hwythau hefyd.

Rydym hefyd yn cyflwyno'r achos i Lywodraeth y DU. Felly, er bod gan Lywodraeth Cymru rôl gref a phwysig iawn yn darparu lefel o gymorth busnes, o ran cymorthdaliadau cyflog, cyfrifoldeb Llywodraeth y DU yw hynny'n llwyr ac mae'n rhywbeth nad yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn cael cyllid ar ei gyfer. Nid oes gennym lefel o adnoddau i allu camu i'r maes hwnnw ac ysgwyddo hynny heb gyllid gan Lywodraeth y DU. Felly, byddai unrhyw gymorth y gall y llefarydd ei gynnig yn hynny o beth o ran cyflwyno'r achos i'w gymheiriaid yn San Steffan yn cael croeso mawr.

13:55

I'll do what I can, Minister, in that regard. The impending firebreak is clearly going to have a significant financial impact on businesses and employers across Wales. You've spoken about the need for co-operation with the UK Government. It now appears that Welsh Government officials knew that a firebreak was coming on Wednesday of last week, yet the Welsh Government only wrote to the Chancellor on Friday. By that time, it was already clear that the job support scheme could not be brought forward in Wales earlier than was planned. How are you now ensuring that adequate finance is in place to plug any gaps so that Welsh businesses don't end up having to plug the wage gap themselves, or, in the worst-case scenario, end up making workers redundant?

Fe wnaf yr hyn a allaf yn hynny o beth, Weinidog. Mae'n amlwg y bydd y cyfnod atal byr yn cael effaith ariannol sylweddol ar fusnesau a chyflogwyr ledled Cymru. Rydych wedi sôn am yr angen i gydweithredu â Llywodraeth y DU. Ymddengys bellach fod swyddogion Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwybod bod cyfnod atal byr yn dod ddydd Mercher diwethaf, ac eto ni ysgrifennodd Llywodraeth Cymru at y Canghellor tan ddydd Gwener. Erbyn hynny, roedd eisoes yn glir na ellid cyflwyno'r cynllun cefnogi swyddi yng Nghymru yn gynharach nag a gynlluniwyd. Sut y sicrhewch yn awr fod cyllid digonol ar gael i lenwi unrhyw fylchau fel nad yw busnesau Cymru'n gorfod llenwi'r bwlch cyflog eu hunain yn y pen draw, neu yn y senario waethaf, yn diswyddo gweithwyr?

It's a great shame that the UK Government didn't respond positively to our request to bring forward the job support scheme by just one week. We even offered to provide the funding that would fill the gap from Welsh Government resources in order for them to do that. So, that is a great shame that the UK Government hasn't taken its responsibility to workers in Wales seriously, as I would have liked them to have done. I'll have the opportunity, as I mentioned earlier, to raise this again with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in a meeting later on this afternoon. But, clearly, it's not a satisfactory situation, and particularly for businesses that now have to apply to two different schemes in order to support their staff, and we are very concerned, obviously, about the impact that that will have on the workforce and on people's jobs.

Mae'n drueni mawr na wnaeth Llywodraeth y DU ymateb yn gadarnhaol i'n cais i gyflwyno'r cynllun cefnogi swyddi wythnos yn gynt. Gwnaethom hyd yn oed gynnig darparu'r cyllid a fyddai'n llenwi'r bwlch o adnoddau Llywodraeth Cymru er mwyn iddynt wneud hynny. Felly, mae'n drueni mawr nad yw Llywodraeth y DU wedi bod o ddifrif ynglŷn â'i chyfrifoldeb tuag at weithwyr yng Nghymru, fel y byddwn wedi hoffi iddynt fod. Byddaf yn cael cyfle, fel y soniais yn gynharach, i godi hyn eto gyda Phrif Ysgrifennydd y Trysorlys mewn cyfarfod yn ddiweddarach y prynhawn yma. Ond yn amlwg, nid yw'n sefyllfa foddhaol, ac yn enwedig i fusnesau sydd bellach yn gorfod gwneud cais i ddau gynllun gwahanol er mwyn cynnal eu staff, ac rydym yn pryderu'n fawr, yn amlwg, am yr effaith a gaiff hynny ar y gweithlu ac ar swyddi pobl.

Thank you. I agree with you on that last point, Minister; it's certainly not a satisfactory situation. Ian Price, the director of the Confederation of British Industry has said that it appears that some people may well be falling through the cracks between the job retention scheme and the job support scheme, whilst Ben Cottam of Federation of Small Businesses Wales has said that

'the amount of confusion surrounding this...illustrates just how complex'

all of this can be to a small employer in Wales.

Looking to the future now, businesses have been promised access to funding of up to £5,000 each in some cases through the current package of support that's on offer. What discussions have you had with the Minister for economy to ensure this money is made available to businesses as swiftly as possible?

Diolch. Rwy'n cytuno gyda chi ar y pwynt olaf hwnnw, Weinidog; yn sicr nid yw'n sefyllfa foddhaol. Mae Ian Price, cyfarwyddwr Cydffederasiwn Diwydiant Prydain wedi dweud ei bod yn ymddangos yn bosibl iawn fod rhai pobl yn syrthio drwy'r craciau rhwng y cynllun cadw swyddi a'r cynllun cefnogi swyddi, ac mae Ben Cottam o Ffederasiwn Busnesau Bach Cymru wedi dweud

mae faint o ddryswch sy'n gysylltiedig â hyn...yn dangos pa mor gymhleth

y gall hyn i gyd fod i gyflogwr bach yng Nghymru.

Gan edrych tua'r dyfodol nawr, addawyd mynediad i fusnesau at hyd at £5,000 yr un o gyllid mewn rhai achosion drwy'r pecyn cymorth presennol sydd ar gael. Pa drafodaethau a gawsoch gyda Gweinidog yr economi i sicrhau bod yr arian hwn ar gael i fusnesau cyn gynted ag sy'n bosibl?

I have regular discussions with the Minister for economy and transport on support for businesses in Wales, and we've sought to create a scheme here that provides local authorities with the ability to move these grants on to businesses as soon as possible. Some of them, obviously, will be automatic, in terms of supporting those businesses that are subject to small business rate relief. What I would do is encourage businesses to ensure that the local authorities have their up-to-date details. I know that that held up a few payments previously, so that would be something that I would encourage businesses to do. But we're working very closely with local authorities, and I can't express enough my thanks to the workers in local authorities who last time got the grants out to businesses so quickly and efficiently, and I know that they will do the same again—many of them going above and beyond, working long hours to do that. So, I'd like to put on record my real thanks for that.

Rwy'n cael trafodaethau rheolaidd gyda Gweinidog yr economi a thrafnidiaeth ar gymorth i fusnesau yng Nghymru, ac rydym wedi ceisio creu cynllun yma sy'n rhoi gallu i awdurdodau lleol symud y grantiau hyn ymlaen i fusnesau cyn gynted â phosibl. Bydd rhai ohonynt, yn amlwg, yn awtomatig, o ran cefnogi'r busnesau sy'n cael rhyddhad ardrethi i fusnesau bach. Yr hyn y byddwn yn ei wneud yw annog busnesau i sicrhau bod gan yr awdurdodau lleol eu manylion diweddaraf. Gwn fod hynny wedi dal ychydig o daliadau yn ôl o'r blaen, felly byddai hynny'n rhywbeth y byddwn yn annog busnesau i'w wneud. Ond rydym yn gweithio'n agos iawn gydag awdurdodau lleol, a hoffwn fynegi fy niolch mawr i'r gweithwyr mewn awdurdodau lleol a gafodd y grantiau allan i fusnesau mor gyflym ac effeithlon y tro diwethaf, a gwn y byddant yn gwneud yr un peth eto—a llawer ohonynt yn mynd y tu hwnt i'r galw, gan weithio oriau hir i wneud hynny. Felly, hoffwn gofnodi fy niolch gwirioneddol am hynny.

Cynghorau Sir
County Councils

3. I ba raddau gall y Gweinidog sicrhau fod modd addasu cyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru dros y misoedd nesaf i gynorthwyo cynghorau sir yng Nghymru? OQ55761

3. To what extent will the Minister ensure that the Welsh Government's budget can be adapted over the coming months to support county councils in Wales? OQ55761

We continue to work closely with the Welsh Local Government Association and local government to assess and respond to the financial pressures currently placed on them by the pandemic. We are providing up to £0.5 billion of funding to support councils and to help them respond to the impacts of the pandemic. 

Rydym yn parhau i weithio'n agos gyda Chymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru a llywodraeth leol i asesu ac ymateb i'r pwysau ariannol a roddir arnynt ar hyn o bryd gan y pandemig. Rydym yn darparu hyd at £0.5 biliwn o gyllid i gefnogi cynghorau ac i'w helpu i ymateb i effeithiau'r pandemig.

Os ydy'n wir, fel oeddech chi wedi dweud gynnau mewn ymateb i Rhun ap Iorwerth, fod y cyllid sydd eisoes yno o ran y gronfa caledi yn ddigonol tan ddiwedd y flwyddyn, pam mae cyngor sir Caerffili wedi dweud heddiw fod yna

'ansicrwydd mawr am arian ychwanegol'

yn ystod gweddill y flwyddyn ariannol cyfredol a Chyngor Sir Ceredigion yn dweud nad yw hi'n

'gwbl glir beth yw gwerth cyllid Covid-19 Llywodraeth Cymru, pa feysydd a ariennir, sy'n golygu bod hi'n anodd gwneud rhagolygon ariannol'?

Oni ddylai chi wneud beth mae Llywodraeth yr Alban wedi ei wneud wythnos diwethaf, sef cynnig pecyn o gyllid ychwanegol sydd yn werth £750 miliwn yn ychwanegol i gynghorau lleol yn yr Alban?

If it is true, as you said earlier in response to Rhun ap Iorwerth, that the funding that is already there in terms of the hardship fund is sufficient for the rest of the year, why has Caerphilly council said today that there is

'considerable uncertainty in respect of additional funding'

during the remainder of this current financial year, and do Ceredigion say that

it isn't entirely clear what the sum of the COVID-19 funding from the Welsh Government will be, which areas are funded, which means that it's 'difficult to make financial forecasts'?

Shouldn't you do what the Scottish Government did last week, namely provide a package of additional funding worth £750 million in addition to local councils in Scotland?

Well, with respect, that's exactly what we have done. We provided a package of funding worth almost £0.5 billion to local authorities, and that funding is drawn down by local authorities on a monthly and quarterly basis on the basis of need, and the funding that they've already expended. So there shouldn't be confusion amongst local authorities in terms of what funding is available for them, because it's very clear that there is £310 million for the additional costs incurred by local authorities as a result of the pandemic, and within that we've set out what local authorities are able to claim for: work to support people off the streets, free school meals work, adult social care, temporary mortuaries, cleaning, and then a general fund that covers all sorts of other costs, such as IT staff, overtime, absences, PPE and cleaning costs. And we've also extended the support to adult social care from October to the end of the year as well, so that funding shouldn't be a mystery to local authorities. I know that the discussions I've certainly had with local authority leaders have proved very useful, and they're very welcoming of the funding and they understand it very well.

Alongside that, we worked very closely with local authorities to understand the level of the lost income that they're facing, and agreed a sum of £198 million as being sufficient to meet those costs. As I say, it's all completely under review at all times because we're working very closely and having those monthly and quarterly updates, and should I deem that that funding is insufficient, then clearly I would look at it again, but we haven't had an indication that it's not sufficient and there's been no suggestion to me that the system isn't clear.

Wel, gyda pharch, dyna'n union rydym wedi'i wneud. Darparwyd pecyn cyllid gwerth bron i £0.5 biliwn gennym i awdurdodau lleol, ac mae awdurdodau lleol yn tynnu'r cyllid hwnnw i lawr bob mis ac yn chwarterol ar sail angen a'r cyllid y maent eisoes wedi'i wario. Felly ni ddylai fod dryswch i awdurdodau lleol ynglŷn â pha gyllid sydd ar gael iddynt, oherwydd mae'n amlwg iawn fod £310 miliwn ar gyfer y costau ychwanegol a ysgwyddir gan awdurdodau lleol o ganlyniad i'r pandemig, ac o fewn hwnnw rydym wedi nodi'r hyn y gall awdurdodau lleol wneud cais amdano: gwaith i gynorthwyo pobl i ddod oddi ar y strydoedd, gwaith ar brydau ysgol am ddim, gofal cymdeithasol i oedolion, corffdai dros dro, glanhau, a chronfa gyffredinol ar gyfer pob math o gostau eraill, megis staff TG, goramser, absenoldebau, cyfarpar diogelu personol a chostau glanhau. Ac rydym hefyd wedi ymestyn y cymorth i ofal cymdeithasol i oedolion o fis Hydref hyd ddiwedd y flwyddyn hefyd, fel na ddylai cyllid fod yn ddirgelwch i awdurdodau lleol. Rwy'n gwybod bod y trafodaethau a gefais gydag arweinwyr awdurdodau lleol wedi bod yn ddefnyddiol iawn yn sicr, ac maent yn croesawu'r cyllid yn fawr ac yn ei ddeall yn dda iawn.

Ochr yn ochr â hynny, buom yn gweithio'n agos iawn gydag awdurdodau lleol i ddeall lefel yr incwm y maent yn wynebu ei golli, a chytunwyd ar swm o £198 miliwn fel swm digonol i dalu'r costau hynny. Fel y dywedais, mae'r cyfan dan adolygiad drwy'r amser oherwydd ein bod yn gweithio'n agos iawn ac yn cael y diweddariadau misol a chwarterol hynny, ac os barnaf fod y cyllid hwnnw'n annigonol, mae'n amlwg y byddwn yn edrych arno eto, ond nid ydym wedi cael arwydd nad yw'n ddigonol ac ni fu unrhyw awgrym nad yw'r system yn glir.

14:00

It took months for the quarter 1 funding to come through, and in July, the Welsh Local Government Association's finance sub-group report on COVID-19 income and expenditure survey for quarter 2 and future budget pressures said that the Welsh Government has had funding of at least £280 million in consequentials, and may receive more, because that was for the first and second quarters. However, there is the potential for future budget shortfalls depending on several complex and interlinked factors, a downside scenario quotes this at £475 million. Addressing deficits this large in the current financial year will require discussions across levels of Government.

The WLGA chief executive said today that the current situation made it very difficult for councils to plan financially, so I'm surprised you haven't heard that. Flintshire said managing the budget in a changing and fast-moving climate is proving very challenging, while Gwynedd described its financial situation as again being very challenging. How do you therefore respond to calls from north Wales, but representing the whole of Wales, for assurances that decisions by Welsh Government resulting in income loss and additional expenditure due to COVID continue to be met by Welsh Government, and that council tax collection losses are supported, and for clarity on what options for local authority borrowing may be permissible to meet funding pressures? That was put to me today.

Cymerodd fisoedd i gyllid chwarter 1 ddod drwodd, ac ym mis Gorffennaf, dywedodd adroddiad is-grŵp cyllid Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru ar arolwg incwm a gwariant COVID-19 ar gyfer chwarter 2 a phwysau cyllidebol yn y dyfodol fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cael cyllid o £280 miliwn fan lleiaf mewn symiau canlyniadol, ac y gallai gael mwy, oherwydd ar gyfer y chwarter cyntaf a'r ail chwarter oedd hwnnw. Fodd bynnag, ceir perygl o ddiffygion yn y gyllideb yn y dyfodol yn dibynnu ar nifer o ffactorau cymhleth a rhyng-gysylltiedig, ac mae senario waethaf yn nodi mai £475 miliwn fydd hyn. Bydd mynd i'r afael â diffygion mor fawr â hyn yn y flwyddyn ariannol gyfredol yn galw am drafodaethau ar draws lefelau'r Llywodraeth.

Dywedodd prif weithredwr CLlLC heddiw fod y sefyllfa bresennol yn ei gwneud yn anodd iawn i gynghorau gynllunio'n ariannol, felly rwy'n synnu nad ydych wedi clywed hynny. Dywedodd Sir y Fflint fod rheoli'r gyllideb mewn hinsawdd sy'n newid ac yn symud yn gyflym yn heriol iawn, a dywedodd Gwynedd unwaith eto fod ei sefyllfa ariannol yn heriol iawn. Sut rydych chi'n ymateb felly i alwadau o ogledd Cymru, ond yn cynrychioli Cymru gyfan, am sicrwydd fod penderfyniadau gan Lywodraeth Cymru sy'n arwain at golli incwm a gwariant ychwanegol oherwydd COVID yn parhau i gael eu talu gan Lywodraeth Cymru, a bod colledion casgliadau'r dreth gyngor yn cael eu cynnal, ac am eglurder ynghylch pa opsiynau ar gyfer benthyca gan awdurdodau lleol y gellir eu caniatáu er mwyn ateb pwysau ariannol? Cafodd hynny ei grybwyll wrthyf heddiw.

As I say, we have put that certainty in place for local authorities in terms of the additional funding, and as I said in response to an earlier question, to date we've paid out over £127 million for additional costs, which is claimed on a monthly basis, and £59 million for lost income so far, and that's claimed on a quarterly basis. So, as you'll see, there is a significant amount of funding in that pot yet to claimed.

I don't disagree with local authorities that this is an extremely challenging situation, and budgeting is extremely challenging, but I think that this pot of money, which we worked with local authorities to develop, I have to say, does give that certainty that the funding is there. I appreciate there are other areas where local authorities are experiencing pressures, and we're still working with local authorities on that. One would be the loss of income, for example, on council tax payments, and in recognition of that I've provided an additional £2.9 million to local authorities in order for them to address some of that lost income. We're working very closely with them to understand the loss of income from council tax over the rest of the financial year, but also doing an important and in-depth piece of work with them on the implications of potential loss of income in terms of non-domestic rates as well, so that's an ongoing piece of work.

There's no doubt that this is a challenging situation for local authorities, but we do have to recognise that this funding is in place, and a mechanism is in place that has been established in partnership with local authorities, and which actually stands local authorities in good stead to respond to the local lockdowns, because we didn't have to suddenly invent a new system: we had a system in place that was working and which local authorities could bid into, or rather claim from, for additional funding.

Fel y dywedais, rydym wedi rhoi'r sicrwydd hwnnw i awdurdodau lleol o ran y cyllid ychwanegol, ac fel y dywedais mewn ymateb i gwestiwn cynharach, hyd yma rydym wedi talu dros £127 miliwn ar gyfer costau ychwanegol, sy'n cael ei hawlio bob mis, a £59 miliwn ar gyfer colledion incwm hyd yma, a chaiff hwnnw ei hawlio bob chwarter. Felly, fel y gwelwch, ceir swm sylweddol o gyllid yn y pot sydd eto i'w hawlio.

Nid wyf yn anghytuno ag awdurdodau lleol fod hon yn sefyllfa heriol iawn, ac mae cyllidebu'n eithriadol o heriol, ond credaf fod y gronfa hon o arian, y buom yn gweithio gydag awdurdodau lleol i'w datblygu, rhaid imi ddweud, yn rhoi sicrwydd fod y cyllid yno. Rwy'n derbyn bod awdurdodau lleol yn profi pwysau mewn meysydd eraill, ac rydym yn dal i weithio gydag awdurdodau lleol ar hynny. Un fyddai colledion incwm, er enghraifft, ar daliadau'r dreth gyngor, ac i gydnabod hynny rwyf wedi darparu £2.9 miliwn ychwanegol i awdurdodau lleol er mwyn iddynt fynd i'r afael â rhywfaint o'r colledion incwm. Rydym yn gweithio'n agos iawn gyda hwy i ddeall colledion incwm o'r dreth gyngor dros weddill y flwyddyn ariannol, ond hefyd yn gwneud gwaith pwysig a manwl gyda hwy ar oblygiadau colledion incwm posibl o ardrethi annomestig hefyd, felly mae hwnnw'n waith sy'n mynd rhagddo.

Nid oes amheuaeth fod hon yn sefyllfa heriol i awdurdodau lleol, ond mae'n rhaid i ni gydnabod bod y cyllid hwn yn ei le, ac mae mecanwaith ar waith sydd wedi'i sefydlu mewn partneriaeth ag awdurdodau lleol, ac sydd mewn gwirionedd yn rhoi awdurdodau lleol mewn sefyllfa dda i ymateb i'r cyfyngiadau lleol, oherwydd nid oedd yn rhaid inni ddyfeisio system newydd yn sydyn: roedd gennym system ar waith a oedd yn gweithio ac y gallai awdurdodau lleol wneud cais iddi, neu hawlio arian ychwanegol ganddi.

14:05

Minister, on 17 August this year, the Welsh Labour Government announced a funding boost of more than £216 million for local councils in Wales to provide them with that certainty they do need to plan for the remainder of the year, and it is disappointing in regard to the comprehensive spending review. That additional investment from the Welsh Government in August takes the total amount of Welsh Labour Government COVID-19 support for local authorities to almost £0.5 billion. Minister, what message does this send to my Islwyn constituents about the commitment that this Welsh Labour Government places in local authorities, such as Caerphilly county borough authority, where Labour leaders like Philippa Marsden are leading their community's responses to this unprecedented global pandemic?

Weinidog, ar 17 Awst eleni, cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru hwb ariannol o fwy na £216 miliwn i gynghorau lleol yng Nghymru i roi iddynt y sicrwydd y maent ei angen i gynllunio ar gyfer gweddill y flwyddyn, ac mae'n siomedig o ran yr adolygiad cynhwysfawr o wariant. Mae'r buddsoddiad ychwanegol hwnnw gan Lywodraeth Cymru ym mis Awst yn golygu bod cyfanswm cymorth COVID-19 Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru i awdurdodau lleol bron yn £0.5 biliwn. Weinidog, pa neges y mae hyn yn ei hanfon at fy etholwyr yn Islwyn am yr ymrwymiad y mae'r Llywodraeth Lafur yng Nghymru yn ei roi i awdurdodau lleol, megis awdurdod bwrdeistref sirol Caerffili, lle mae arweinwyr Llafur fel Philippa Marsden yn arwain ymatebion eu cymuned i'r pandemig byd-eang digynsail hwn?

I thank Rhianon Passmore for that and for also giving me this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the leaders of local authorities, who have been doing incredible work supporting their communities and ensuring that their teams are able to respond to the needs of people on the ground. They have done incredible work over the whole course of the pandemic and have been wonderful partners to work with in addressing the pandemic, too.

In terms of what this says, I hope that it says that this Welsh Labour Government puts a really high premium on local authorities and the services they provide. If you look across the border, you can see exactly what the UK Government thinks of local authorities, both in terms of the way in which they have chipped away at funding for local authorities over many years, and now in the way in which they are failing to engage properly with leaders, such as Andy Burnham in Manchester, for example. So, I hope that this shows that the Welsh Government values local authorities and is very keen to work as closely as possible with local authorities, respecting them as the important partners they are in addressing this pandemic.

Diolch i Rhianon Passmore am hynny ac am roi'r cyfle hwn imi gofnodi fy niolch i arweinwyr awdurdodau lleol, sydd wedi bod yn gwneud gwaith anhygoel yn cefnogi eu cymunedau ac yn sicrhau bod eu timau'n gallu ymateb i anghenion pobl ar lawr gwlad. Maent wedi gwneud gwaith anhygoel drwy gydol y pandemig ac wedi bod yn bartneriaid gwych i weithio gyda hwy i fynd i'r afael â'r pandemig hefyd.

O ran beth y mae hyn yn ei ddweud, rwy'n gobeithio ei fod yn dweud bod y Llywodraeth Lafur hon yng Nghymru yn rhoi premiwm uchel iawn ar awdurdodau lleol a'r gwasanaethau y maent yn eu darparu. Os edrychwch dros y ffin, gallwch weld yn union beth yw barn Llywodraeth y DU am awdurdodau lleol, o ran y ffordd y maent wedi lleihau cyllid i awdurdodau lleol dros flynyddoedd lawer, a nawr yn y ffordd y maent yn methu ymgysylltu'n briodol ag arweinwyr, megis Andy Burnham ym Manceinion, er enghraifft. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio bod hyn yn dangos bod Llywodraeth Cymru'n gwerthfawrogi awdurdodau lleol ac yn awyddus iawn i weithio mor agos ag sy'n bosibl gydag awdurdodau lleol, gan eu parchu fel partneriaid pwysig wrth fynd i'r afael â'r pandemig hwn.

Fferm Cosmeston
Cosmeston Farm

4. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am ddatblygiad preswyl arfaethedig Llywodraeth Cymru ar Fferm Cosmeston ym Mhenarth? OQ55747

4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's proposed residential development at Cosmeston Farm in Penarth? OQ55747

A planning application for residential development of land at Cosmeston has been submitted. The site is allocated for housing in the adopted Vale of Glamorgan local development plan. If permission is granted, the site will be an exemplar for affordable, sustainable homes using modern methods of construction and energy efficiency.

Cyflwynwyd cais cynllunio ar gyfer datblygiad preswyl ar dir yn Cosmeston. Neilltuwyd y safle ar gyfer tai yng nghynllun datblygu lleol mabwysiedig Bro Morgannwg. Os rhoddir caniatâd, bydd y safle'n esiampl ar gyfer cartrefi fforddiadwy a chynaliadwy gan ddefnyddio dulliau modern o adeiladu ac effeithlonrwydd ynni.

Thank you, Minister, for that answer. This is a substantial development on the outskirts of Penarth. It's 60 acres of land owned by the Welsh Government and, obviously, this is a Welsh Government application to the local authority, which is the Vale of Glamorgan Council. And I declare an interest as a member of that authority. Do you think it is appropriate that such a major scheme should be brought forward and promoted by the Welsh Government with the current restrictions stopping public engagement on such major schemes? And would the Welsh Government reconsider this application, withdrawing it and waiting for better times, so that the public can have a fair crack on engagement and consultation over these major proposals for a residential development?

Diolch am yr ateb hwnnw, Weinidog. Mae hwn yn ddatblygiad sylweddol ar gyrion Penarth. Mae'n 60 erw o dir sy'n eiddo i Lywodraeth Cymru ac yn amlwg, cais gan Lywodraeth Cymru i'r awdurdod lleol yw hwn, sef Cyngor Bro Morgannwg. Ac rwy'n datgan buddiant fel aelod o'r awdurdod hwnnw. A ydych yn credu ei bod yn briodol i gynllun mor fawr gael ei gyflwyno a'i hyrwyddo gan Lywodraeth Cymru gyda'r cyfyngiadau presennol yn atal ymgysylltiad â'r cyhoedd ar gynlluniau mor fawr? Ac a fyddai Llywodraeth Cymru yn ailystyried y cais hwn, gan ei dynnu'n ôl ac aros am adeg well, fel y gall y cyhoedd gael cyfle teg i ymgysylltu ac ymgynghori ynghylch y cynigion pwysig hyn ar gyfer datblygiad preswyl?

Well, I think it's important to recognise that the land is already allocated for development in the Vale of Glamorgan's local development plan, and that has been, obviously, already adopted and it was subject itself to consultation, scrutiny and examination throughout its preparation. As I said, the land at Cosmeston would provide a significant contribution to the Vale of Glamorgan's identified housing need. And, of course, if this proposal doesn't go ahead, it's likely that an alternative site will need to be allocated. But, importantly, representations do need to be made to the council in respect of the application, and I would expect that the local authority would find ways to engage with the public and allow them to make their representations with regard to this particular scheme, regardless of the current situation. 

Wel, rwy'n credu ei bod yn bwysig cydnabod bod y tir eisoes wedi'i neilltuo i'w ddatblygu yng nghynllun datblygu lleol Bro Morgannwg, ac mae hwnnw eisoes wedi'i fabwysiadu wrth gwrs ac roedd yn destun ymgynghori, craffu ac archwilio drwy gydol y broses o'i baratoi. Fel y dywedais, byddai'r tir yn Cosmeston yn cyfrannu'n sylweddol at yr angen am dai a nodwyd ym Mro Morgannwg. Ac wrth gwrs, os nad yw'r cynnig hwn yn mynd rhagddo, mae'n debygol y bydd angen neilltuo safle arall. Ond yn bwysig, mae angen cyflwyno sylwadau i'r cyngor mewn perthynas â'r cais, a byddwn yn disgwyl i'r awdurdod lleol ddod o hyd i ffyrdd o ymgysylltu â'r cyhoedd a chaniatáu iddynt gyflwyno eu sylwadau ynglŷn â'r cynllun penodol hwn, ni waeth beth fo'r sefyllfa bresennol.

Tai Cyfradd Uwch
Higher Rate Houses

5. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am niferoedd y tai cyfradd uwch sy'n ymddangos yn ffigurau diweddaraf y dreth trafodiadau tir? OQ55756

5. Will the Minister make a statement on the number of higher rate houses appearing in the latest land transaction tax figures? OQ55756

Yes. The latest LTT data was published by the Welsh Revenue Authority on 25 September. It showed that, from 1 April to 31 August, there were 3,300 higher rate transactions.

Gwnaf. Cyhoeddwyd y data diweddaraf ar y dreth trafodiadau tir gan Awdurdod Cyllid Cymru ar 25 Medi. Dangosai fod 3,300 o drafodiadau cyfradd uwch wedi digwydd rhwng 1 Ebrill a 31 Awst.

Diolch ichi am yr ateb. Mae'r tai, wrth gwrs, sydd o fewn y gyfradd uwch yn cynnwys nifer o wahanol fathau o dai, megis gwerthiant ail dai, eiddo prynu i osod, tai sy'n cael eu gwerthu i gymdeithasau tai, ac yn y blaen. Felly mae yna ystod o wahanol fathau o fewn yr un gyfradd yna. 

Nawr, rŷn ni'n ddiweddar yn fan hyn yn y Senedd, wrth gwrs, wedi trafod yr argyfwng tai a chynigion penodol i fynd i'r afael â hynny, ond mae wedi profi'n amhosibl cael yr ystadegau angenrheidiol i ddeall faint o'r gyfradd uwch yna sydd yn ail dai, sydd yn dai prynu i'w gosod ac yn y blaen, ac mae hynny, wrth gwrs, yn ei gwneud hi'n anoddach wrth edrych i lunio polisi. Felly, gaf i ofyn a wnewch chi sicrhau bod y ffigurau treth tafodiadau tir yn gwahaniaethu'n glir rhwng y mathau yna o dai a brynwyd oddi mewn i'r gyfradd uwch er mwyn i ni gael darlun cliriach o union natur ffynhonnell yr incwm sy'n dod o'r gwahanol fathau o dai yna?

Thank you for that response. The houses within that higher rate include a number of different kinds of houses, such as second homes, buy-to-let properties and properties sold to housing associations, and so on. So there's a range within that same rate. 

Now, recently in the Senedd we have discussed the housing crisis and particular proposals to tackle that, but it's proved impossible to get the necessary statistics to understand how many of those higher rate houses are second homes or buy-to-let houses and so on and so forth, and that makes it more difficult in drawing up policy. So, can I ask you whether you will ensure that LTT figures clearly differentiate between those kinds of houses bought within the higher rate, so that we can get a clearer picture of the exact nature of the income coming from the various kinds of houses?

14:10

I'm grateful to Llyr Gruffydd for raising this particular issue, and I know that we have a meeting coming up shortly as well in which we can have the opportunity to talk about land transaction tax, but also the wider issue of second homes, because I know it's an issue of serious concern to many people.

Llyr is absolutely right in the sense that you cannot read or that there is huge difficulty in interpreting the data as we have it, in terms of land transaction tax and that higher rate, because it does include people who are bridging from one home to another—so, selling their main home to move into another main home, but there's a period in between moving into the second and selling the first, if you like—and as was also mentioned, it includes those properties that are bought by residential landlords, which I'm sure would be something that many of us would be very supportive of. And, equally, the data doesn't show the land that churns the other way, so those properties that were previously buy-to-lets, which are now being bought as main properties as well. But when we have that meeting, I think it would be an opportunity for us to discuss, in more depth, to what extent we can get better data, really, in order for us to understand what's happening behind those figures. But I look forward to that conversation.

Rwy'n ddiolchgar i Llyr Gruffydd am godi'r mater penodol hwn, a gwn fod gennym gyfarfod yn fuan hefyd lle gallwn gael cyfle i siarad am dreth trafodiadau tir, ond hefyd mater ehangach ail gartrefi, oherwydd gwn ei fod yn fater sy'n peri pryder difrifol i lawer o bobl.

Mae Llyr yn llygad ei le yn yr ystyr na allwch ddarllen neu fod anhawster mawr i ddehongli'r data fel y mae gennym, o ran y dreth trafodiadau tir a'r gyfradd uwch honno, oherwydd mae'n cynnwys pobl sy'n pontio o un cartref i'r llall—felly, pobl sy'n gwerthu eu prif gartref i symud i brif gartref arall, ond ceir cyfnod rhwng symud i'r ail a gwerthu'r cyntaf, os mynnwch—ac fel y crybwyllwyd hefyd, mae'n cynnwys eiddo a brynir gan landlordiaid preswyl, a byddai hynny'n rhywbeth rwy'n siŵr y byddai llawer ohonom yn gefnogol iawn iddo. Ac yn yr un modd, nid yw'r data'n dangos y tir sy'n mynd y ffordd arall, felly eiddo a oedd gynt yn eiddo prynu i osod sydd bellach yn cael ei brynu fel prif eiddo. Ond pan gawn y cyfarfod hwnnw, credaf y byddai'n gyfle i ni drafod yn fanylach i ba raddau y gallwn gael gwell data, mewn gwirionedd, er mwyn inni ddeall beth sy'n digwydd y tu ôl i'r ffigurau hynny. Ond edrychaf ymlaen at y sgwrs honno.

Caffael Lleol
Local Procurement

6. Pa asesiad y mae'r Gweinidog wedi'i wneud o lefel caffael lleol gan gyrff cyhoeddus yng Ngorllewin De Cymru? OQ55752

6. What assessment has the Minister made of the level of local procurement by public bodies in South Wales West? OQ55752

South Wales West procurement spend, at local authority level, in 2018-19 was £588 million with 61 per cent spent in Wales. We are working, with colleagues, to deliver national procurement frameworks regionally and to generate greater economic and well-being outcomes. The foundational economy programme is also working to identify opportunities for localising procurement expenditure. 

Gwariant caffael Gorllewin De Cymru, ar lefel awdurdod lleol, yn 2018-19 oedd £588 miliwn gyda 61 y cant yn cael ei wario yng Nghymru. Rydym yn gweithio gyda chydweithwyr i ddarparu fframweithiau caffael cenedlaethol yn rhanbarthol ac i sicrhau mwy o ganlyniadau economaidd a lles. Mae rhaglen yr economi sylfaenol hefyd yn gweithio i nodi cyfleoedd ar gyfer lleoleiddio gwariant caffael.

Thank you for that, Minister. Now, data held for the latest full financial year of 2018-19 show that Wales-based suppliers won only 55 per cent of total local authority and NHS contracts in Wales. In other words, 45 per cent of contract spend was lost outside of Wales. We know that Scotland retains around 70 per of its contracts within its borders. We also know that supporting local companies by encouraging them to tender and by awarding them public sector contracts can have a significant impact on the local economy and create jobs. Do you, therefore, accept that the Welsh Government needs to do more by working with bodies such as Swansea council and Swansea bay health board to ensure that more public contracts are awarded to local companies?

Diolch ichi am hynny, Weinidog. Nawr, mae data a gedwir ar gyfer y flwyddyn ariannol lawn ddiweddaraf, 2018-19, yn dangos mai dim ond 55 y cant o gyfanswm contractau awdurdodau lleol a'r GIG yng Nghymru a enillwyd gan gyflenwyr yng Nghymru. Mewn geiriau eraill, collwyd 45 y cant o wariant contractau i'r tu allan i Gymru. Gwyddom fod yr Alban yn cadw tua 70 y cant o'i chontractau o fewn ei ffiniau. Gwyddom hefyd y gall cefnogi cwmnïau lleol drwy eu hannog i dendro a thrwy ddyfarnu contractau sector cyhoeddus iddynt effeithio'n sylweddol ar yr economi leol a chreu swyddi. A ydych chi'n derbyn felly fod angen i Lywodraeth Cymru wneud mwy drwy weithio gyda chyrff megis cyngor Abertawe a bwrdd iechyd bae Abertawe i sicrhau bod mwy o gontractau cyhoeddus yn cael eu dyfarnu i gwmnïau lleol?

I'm absolutely keen to work with Swansea council and with the health board to see what more we can do in order to ensure that local companies win those contracts. The data that I referred to in my response, of course, only referred to local authorities, because other public sector organisations, such as health boards and others, don't necessarily reside in a single area, so we haven't been able to include them in the analysis. So, it's worth just bearing that in mind as a bit of a health warning for that data.

But I absolutely agree that there is more that we can do, and we can do that through our approach on the foundational economy programme. We've engaged the Centre for Local Economic Strategies to work with clusters of public services boards across Wales to identify opportunities for localising procurement expenditure. That's really important and exciting work, which I think has the opportunity to be quite a game changer there.

We also, of course, have the foundational economy challenge fund, and Swansea council is delivering one of those projects, which aims to increase the proportion of construction contracts that are won by local contractors here in the area. So, again, that's an important piece of work, and the learning that we have from that we can spread across Wales as well. And I think that the pandemic has provided us with huge opportunities to support and engage with local businesses in a way that we haven't been able to support them before and engage with them before. There are some excellent examples of how local engineering firms and others are changing the way that they produce things in order to help with the effort by moving into production of PPE and so on. That's been fantastic in terms of supporting local business but also giving that certainty to other public services in terms of that supply chain of important goods during the pandemic. 

Rwy'n awyddus iawn i weithio gyda chyngor Abertawe a chyda'r bwrdd iechyd i weld beth arall y gallwn ei wneud er mwyn sicrhau bod cwmnïau lleol yn ennill y contractau hynny. Nid oedd y data y cyfeiriais ato yn fy ymateb, wrth gwrs, ond yn cyfeirio at awdurdodau lleol, oherwydd nid yw sefydliadau eraill yn y sector cyhoeddus, megis byrddau iechyd ac eraill, o reidrwydd wedi'u lleoli mewn un ardal, felly nid ydym wedi gallu eu cynnwys yn y dadansoddiad. Felly, mae'n werth cofio hynny fel rhyw fath o rhybudd iechyd ar gyfer y data hwnnw.

Ond rwy'n cytuno'n llwyr fod mwy y gallwn ei wneud, a gallwn wneud hynny drwy ein dull o weithredu rhaglen yr economi sylfaenol. Rydym wedi gofyn i'r Ganolfan Strategaethau Economaidd Lleol weithio gyda chlystyrau o fyrddau gwasanaethau cyhoeddus ledled Cymru i nodi cyfleoedd ar gyfer lleoleiddio gwariant caffael. Mae hwnnw'n waith gwirioneddol bwysig a chyffrous y credaf ei fod yn cynnig cyfle i newid pethau'n llwyr.

Mae gennym gronfa her yr economi sylfaenol hefyd wrth gwrs, ac mae cyngor Abertawe yn cyflawni un o'r prosiectau hynny sy'n anelu at gynyddu'r gyfran o gontractau adeiladu a enillir gan gontractwyr lleol yma yn yr ardal. Felly, unwaith eto, mae hwnnw'n waith pwysig, a gallwn rannu'r gwersi a ddysgir o hynny ledled Cymru hefyd. A chredaf fod y pandemig wedi rhoi cyfleoedd enfawr i ni gefnogi ac ymgysylltu â busnesau lleol mewn ffordd nad ydym wedi gallu ei wneud o'r blaen. Ceir rhai enghreifftiau rhagorol o sut y mae cwmnïau peirianneg lleol ac eraill yn newid y ffordd y maent yn cynhyrchu pethau er mwyn helpu gyda'r ymdrech drwy symud i gynhyrchu cyfarpar diogelu personol ac yn y blaen. Mae hynny wedi bod yn wych i gefnogi busnesau lleol ond hefyd i roi sicrwydd i wasanaethau cyhoeddus eraill o ran y gadwyn gyflenwi o nwyddau pwysig yn ystod y pandemig.

14:15
Cymorth Ariannol yn sgil Cyfyngiadau Coronafeirws
Financial Support as a result of Coronavirus Restrictions

7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am y cymorth ariannol sydd ar gael i'r rheini y mae cyfyngiadau coronafeirws lleol yn effeithio arnynt? OQ55719

7. Will the Minister make a statement on the financial support available for those affected by local coronavirus restrictions? OQ55719

The Welsh Government has introduced a range of measures to support communities across Wales, including almost £300 million that has now been made available to support businesses during the firebreak. We are particularly focused on supporting businesses and working with local authorities to address the needs of people in Wales. 

Mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cyflwyno ystod o fesurau i gefnogi cymunedau ledled Cymru, gan gynnwys bron i £300 miliwn sydd bellach ar gael i gefnogi busnesau yn ystod y cyfnod atal byr. Rydym yn canolbwyntio'n benodol ar gefnogi busnesau a gweithio gydag awdurdodau lleol i fynd i'r afael ag anghenion pobl yng Nghymru.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. It's not just businesses that have borne the brunt of the restrictions that have been imposed across Wales in recent months. We know that the national health service has seen waiting times absolutely balloon in recent months, and of course, in north Wales in particular, we already had the worst waiting times in the country. Can I ask you what specific support you're going to make available from the Welsh Government's budget to support the NHS to deal with this huge backlog of patients waiting for appointments and treatments? And specifically, will you support the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board with any strategy that it brings forward in order to eradicate those waiting lists and get back on top of them?

Diolch ichi am yr ateb hwnnw, Weinidog. Nid busnesau'n unig sydd wedi ysgwyddo baich y cyfyngiadau a osodwyd ledled Cymru yn ystod y misoedd diwethaf. Gwyddom fod y gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol wedi gweld amseroedd aros yn cynyddu'n eithafol yn y misoedd diwethaf, ac wrth gwrs, yng ngogledd Cymru'n enwedig, roedd gennym yr amseroedd aros gwaethaf yn y wlad yn barod. A gaf fi ofyn i chi pa gymorth penodol y bwriadwch ei ddarparu o gyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru i gynorthwyo'r GIG i ymdrin â'r ôl-groniad enfawr o gleifion sy'n aros am apwyntiadau a thriniaethau? Ac yn benodol, a wnewch chi gefnogi Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr gydag unrhyw strategaeth y mae'n ei chyflwyno er mwyn dileu'r rhestrau aros hynny a llwyddo i'w cael dan reolaeth unwaith eto?

Thank you for raising this important issue. As Darren Millar will know, the Welsh Government has recently announced a stabilisation package for the NHS here in Wales, and that's an £800 million package of support that should allow health boards and others across Wales to be able to get to that point at the end of the financial year where they've been able to meet all of those additional pressures put on them by COVID, but also stabilise the other parts of the NHS, which, of course, are so important as well. So, that funding is there. I provided a block of funding rather than having to have a situation where the health Minister had to keep coming to individual meetings to discuss different parts of the health service. I felt that a significant injection of funding to the health department was the best way to go in terms of giving him the ability then to pass on that funding and certainty more quickly. Because I think one of the things that we always try to do during this pandemic is provide funding as quickly as we can, and I felt that that was the appropriate way to go forward. I have been having some discussions in my regular bilateral meetings with the Minister for health in terms of support for Betsi Cadwaladr and those discussions are currently ongoing. 

Diolch i chi am godi'r mater pwysig hwn. Fel y gŵyr Darren Millar, yn ddiweddar cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru becyn sefydlogi ar gyfer y GIG yma yng Nghymru, ac mae'n becyn cymorth gwerth £800 miliwn a ddylai ganiatáu i fyrddau iechyd ac eraill ledled Cymru allu cyrraedd y pwynt ar ddiwedd y flwyddyn ariannol lle maent wedi gallu goresgyn yr holl bwysau ychwanegol a osodwyd arnynt gan COVID, a sefydlogi rhannau eraill o'r GIG yn ogystal, sydd mor bwysig hefyd wrth gwrs. Felly, mae'r cyllid hwnnw yno. Darparais floc o gyllid yn hytrach na gorfod cael sefyllfa lle byddai'n rhaid i'r Gweinidog iechyd barhau i ddod i gyfarfodydd unigol i drafod gwahanol rannau o'r gwasanaeth iechyd. Teimlwn mai chwistrelliad sylweddol o gyllid i'r adran iechyd oedd y ffordd orau o roi'r gallu iddo drosglwyddo'r cyllid a'r sicrwydd hwnnw'n gyflymach wedyn. Oherwydd rwy'n credu mai un o'r pethau rydym bob amser yn ceisio'i wneud yn ystod y pandemig hwn yw darparu cyllid cyn gynted ag y gallwn, a theimlwn mai dyna'r ffordd briodol o symud ymlaen. Rwyf wedi bod yn cael trafodaethau yn fy nghyfarfodydd dwyochrog rheolaidd gyda'r Gweinidog iechyd ynglŷn â chymorth i Betsi Cadwaladr ac mae'r trafodaethau hynny'n mynd rhagddynt ar hyn o bryd.

Ariannu Gwaith Adfer yn Dilyn Llifogydd
Funding Flood Recovery

8. Pa ystyriaeth y mae'r Gweinidog wedi'i rhoi i ariannu gwaith adfer yn dilyn llifogydd yng Nghymru wrth ddyrannu cyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru? OQ55745

8. What consideration has the Minister given to funding flood recovery in Wales when allocating the Welsh Government's budget? OQ55745

Preventing and addressing flooding is a priority for this Government. Alongside the funding provided following the devastating February flooding, by the end of this Senedd term, we will have invested £390 million in flood and coastal erosion risk management, helping to protect over 47,000 properties in Wales.

Mae atal a goresgyn llifogydd yn flaenoriaeth i'r Llywodraeth hon. Ochr yn ochr â'r cyllid a ddarparwyd yn dilyn llifogydd dinistriol mis Chwefror, erbyn diwedd tymor y Senedd hon, byddwn wedi buddsoddi £390 miliwn i reoli perygl llifogydd ac erydu arfordirol, gan helpu i ddiogelu dros 47,000 eiddo yng Nghymru.

Minister, the Welsh Government funding has been very welcome, in particular the 100 per cent funding of preparatory work for the flood damage from the February flooding. Two weeks ago, I asked about the promise that was made by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales that money would be passported through to the Welsh Government for the flood damage that occurred. The Rhondda Cynon Taf assessment is around £70 million, and of course there is the issue of the funding of the work that needs to be done in terms of stabilisation and work on coal tips. Minister, have you had any indication yet from the UK Government that that money that was promised will be coming to enable Rhondda Cynon Taf to carry out the infrastructure repairs that are so desperately needed? 

Weinidog, mae cyllid Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i groesawu'n fawr, yn enwedig y cyllid 100 y cant ar gyfer gwaith paratoi yn sgil difrod llifogydd mis Chwefror. Bythefnos yn ôl, gofynnais am yr addewid a wnaeth y Prif Weinidog ac Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru y byddai arian yn cael ei roi i Lywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer y difrod llifogydd a ddigwyddodd. Mae asesiad Rhondda Cynon Taf oddeutu £70 miliwn, ac wrth gwrs mae mater yn codi ynghylch ariannu'r gwaith sydd angen ei wneud i sefydlogi a gweithio ar domenni glo. Weinidog, a ydych wedi cael unrhyw arwydd eto gan Lywodraeth y DU y bydd yr arian a addawyd yn dod er mwyn galluogi Rhondda Cynon Taf i wneud y gwaith atgyweirio seilwaith y mae cymaint o'i angen?

Thank you to Mick Antoniw for that question and also for the useful meetings that we've had in order to hear very much from the ground in terms of the support that the local authority needs and that communities need in order to recover properly and move forward after the devastating floods. We have provided some early funding and early certainty to local authorities to allow them to get on with the work, because we know that there are safety issues involved. But in terms of the way in which the UK Government's been able to play its part, it's been quite lamentable thus far, given the fact that the Prime Minister made such a strong promise that funding would be passported to Wales as a result of the flooding and the need to address it. We haven't yet seen a penny of it. We've seen a commitment for a small amount of funding, but as Mick Antoniw says, the overall funding both in terms of addressing the local damage but also the work that needs to be undertaken over a long period on coal tips in Wales runs into the hundreds of millions of pounds. I have had a recent letter from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury suggesting a further conversation on that, and I look forward to it, but I think that the scale of the issue here is one where the UK Government really does need to fulfil its promise, which the Prime Minister made, and also recognise that in terms of the coal tips, much of this predates devolution as well. The Coal Authority has a particular and specific role to play, I think, in addressing these issues. 

Diolch i Mick Antoniw am y cwestiwn hwnnw a hefyd am y cyfarfodydd defnyddiol a gawsom er mwyn clywed o lawr gwlad ynglŷn â'r cymorth sydd ei angen ar yr awdurdod lleol a chymunedau er mwyn ymadfer yn iawn a symud ymlaen ar ôl y llifogydd dinistriol. Rydym wedi darparu cyllid cynnar a sicrwydd cynnar i awdurdodau lleol i ganiatáu iddynt fwrw ymlaen â'r gwaith, oherwydd gwyddom fod problemau diogelwch ynghlwm wrth hyn. Ond o ran y ffordd y mae Llywodraeth y DU wedi gallu chwarae ei rhan, mae wedi bod yn eithaf truenus hyd yma, o ystyried bod y Prif Weinidog wedi gwneud addewid mor gryf y byddai cyllid yn cael ei roi i Gymru o ganlyniad i'r llifogydd a'r angen i fynd i'r afael â hynny. Nid ydym wedi gweld ceiniog ohono eto. Rydym wedi gweld ymrwymiad i ychydig o gyllid, ond fel y dywed Mick Antoniw, mae'r cyllid cyffredinol ar gyfer mynd i'r afael â'r difrod lleol ond hefyd y gwaith sydd angen ei wneud dros gyfnod hir ar domenni glo yng Nghymru yn gannoedd o filiynau o bunnoedd. Cefais lythyr yn ddiweddar gan Brif Ysgrifennydd y Trysorlys yn awgrymu sgwrs bellach am hynny, ac edrychaf ymlaen at honno, ond credaf fod maint y broblem yma yn un lle mae gwir angen i Lywodraeth y DU gyflawni ei haddewid, a wnaed gan y Prif Weinidog, a chydnabod hefyd, mewn perthynas â'r tomenni glo, fod llawer o hyn yn rhagflaenu datganoli hefyd. Credaf fod gan yr Awdurdod Glo rôl arbennig a phenodol i'w chwarae i fynd i'r afael â'r materion hyn.

14:20

Ac yn olaf, cwestiwn 9, Suzy Davies.

And finally, question 9, Suzy Davies.

Datganiadau Ariannol Biliau
Bill Financial Statements

9. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am sut y mae datganiadau ariannol sy'n cyd-fynd â Biliau newydd yn cymharu â'r costau gwirioneddol a geir? OQ55760

9. Will the Minister make a statement on how financial statements accompanying new Bills compare to the actual realised costs? OQ55760

The Welsh Government publishes a table showing the implementation costs of enacted legislation alongside the draft budget. The table includes an explanation if costs have changed significantly from the regulatory impact assessment estimates. Guidance states that, where feasible, the actual cost of legislation should be considered as part of the post-implementation review.

Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cyhoeddi tabl sy'n dangos costau gweithredu deddfwriaeth a ddaw i rym ochr yn ochr â'r gyllideb ddrafft. Mae'r tabl yn cynnwys esboniad os yw costau wedi newid yn sylweddol o amcangyfrifon yr asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol. Mae canllawiau'n nodi, lle bo'n ymarferol, y dylid ystyried gwir gost deddfwriaeth fel rhan o'r adolygiad ôl-weithredu.

Thank you very much for that information, because we don't get a huge amount of time for post-legislative scrutiny here in this Senedd, and tracking the ongoing costs attributable to a piece of legislation can be very difficult, particularly at the moment when we get no chance for pre-legislative scrutiny of the cost of regulations. Can you confirm for how long consequent costs attract after various parts of the statutes and regulations come into force? And when do you plan to publish a comprehensive statement on the costs of the coronavirus Act and the COVID regulations brought in beneath it?

Diolch yn fawr am y wybodaeth honno, oherwydd nid ydym yn cael llawer iawn o amser ar gyfer craffu ar ôl deddfu yma yn y Senedd hon, a gall olrhain y costau parhaus y gellir eu priodoli i ddeddfwriaeth fod yn anodd iawn, yn enwedig ar hyn o bryd pan na chawn gyfle i graffu cyn deddfu ar gost rheoliadau. A allwch gadarnhau am ba hyd y mae costau canlyniadau yn denu ar ôl i wahanol rannau o'r statudau a'r rheoliadau ddod i rym? A phryd y bwriadwch gyhoeddi datganiad cynhwysfawr ar gostau'r Ddeddf coronafeirws a'r rheoliadau COVID a gyflwynwyd oddi tani?

Thank you for raising that particular question. In terms of when we publish that detail, we publish detail alongside the draft budget every year in terms of legislation that is being enacted. We would normally stop providing that information once the Act has been implemented, because then the costs of that and delivering that just become business-as-usual costs and are absorbed either by the departments or have some additional particular funding attached to them. So, that's the normal way in which we would provide the detail of that. I'm always keen to explore what more we can do in terms of transparency and providing the information that people need, both before Bills are voted on, but then also afterwards as well. So, yes, I'd be more than happy to have that discussion with Suzy if there are some particular ideas that she has or some particular concerns that she'd like to discuss in further detail, because as I say, transparency is really important in helping people to understand what the cost has been of the Bills that we've enacted.

Diolch i chi am ofyn y cwestiwn hwnnw. O ran pa bryd y byddwn yn cyhoeddi'r manylion hynny, rydym yn cyhoeddi manylion ochr yn ochr â'r gyllideb ddrafft bob blwyddyn mewn perthynas â deddfwriaeth sy'n dod i rym. Fel arfer, byddem yn rhoi'r gorau i ddarparu'r wybodaeth honno pan fydd y Ddeddf wedi dod yn weithredol, oherwydd daw costau hynny a chyflawni hynny yn gostau busnes fel arfer a chânt eu hamsugno naill ai gan yr adrannau neu gael arian penodol ychwanegol wedi'i gysylltu â hwy. Felly, dyna'r ffordd arferol y byddem yn darparu manylion am hynny. Rwyf bob amser yn awyddus i archwilio beth arall y gallwn ei wneud o ran tryloywder a darparu'r wybodaeth y mae pobl ei hangen, cyn pleidleisio ar Filiau, ond wedyn hefyd. Felly, byddwn yn fwy na pharod i gael y drafodaeth honno gyda Suzy os oes syniadau penodol ganddi neu bryderon penodol yr hoffai eu trafod yn fanylach, oherwydd fel y dywedais, mae tryloywder yn bwysig iawn i helpu pobl i ddeall beth oedd cost y Biliau a roddwyd mewn grym gennym.

Diolch i'r Gweinidog Cyllid. 

Thank you, finance Minister. 

2. Cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Addysg
2. Questions to the Minister for Education

Yr eitem nesaf, felly, yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Addysg. Mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Hefin David.

The next item is questions to the Minister for Education and the first question is from Hefin David.

COVID-19 ac Ysgolion
COVID-19 and Schools

1. A wnaiff y Gweinidog roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am y camau y disgwylir i ysgolion eu cymryd i gyfyngu ar y risg o ledaenu heintiau COVID-19? OQ55750

1. Will the Minister provide an update on the actions expected of schools to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19 infections? OQ55750

The operational guidance clearly sets out the actions that need to be taken by schools and settings in order to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19. It is crucial that staff and pupils who are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 do not attend school and book a test.

Mae'r canllawiau gweithredol yn nodi'n glir y camau y mae angen i ysgolion a lleoliadau eu cymryd er mwyn cyfyngu ar y risg o ledaenu COVID-19. Mae'n hanfodol nad yw staff a disgyblion sy'n dangos unrhyw symptomau o COVID-19 yn mynychu'r ysgol a'u bod yn trefnu prawf.

Two things related to that. First of all, I've had questions from parents asking for justification for the fact that year 9 onwards won't be in school during the lockdown the week after half term. Can you just reiterate the reasons for that and why that's taking place? And associated with it, the advice to schools is to keep classrooms ventilated. A number of parents—and in fact, teachers—have come to me and said that ventilated classrooms are very, very cold. It's a concern that's been raised in Caerphilly, but I've also seen it elsewhere. I've written to Caerphilly council and they say they're providing advice to schools, but is it possible that the Welsh Government also provides advice that ventilation doesn't necessarily also mean freezing classrooms, which is quite important?

Mae dau beth yn gysylltiedig â hynny. Yn gyntaf oll, cefais gwestiynau gan rieni'n gofyn inni gyfiawnhau'r ffaith na fydd blwyddyn 9 ymlaen yn yr ysgol yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud yr wythnos ar ôl hanner tymor. A allwch ailadrodd y rhesymau am hynny a pham y mae hynny'n digwydd? Ac yn gysylltiedig â hynny, y cyngor i ysgolion yw cadw ystafelloedd dosbarth wedi'u hawyru. Mae nifer o rieni—ac athrawon mewn gwirionedd—wedi dod ataf i ddweud bod ystafelloedd dosbarth wedi'u hawyru yn oer iawn. Mae'n bryder sydd wedi'i godi yng Nghaerffili, ond rwyf wedi'i weld mewn mannau eraill hefyd. Rwyf wedi ysgrifennu at gyngor Caerffili ac maent yn dweud eu bod yn rhoi cyngor i ysgolion, ond a yw'n bosibl i Lywodraeth Cymru hefyd roi cyngor nad yw awyru o reidrwydd yn golygu ystafelloedd dosbarth rhewllyd, sy'n eithaf pwysig?

14:25

Schools and settings should ensure that there is an adequate level of ventilation, and Welsh Government has given operational guidance to schools in that regard. In terms of the implications of the firebreak for education, I have been very clear since this summer that the best way in which we can minimise disruption to our children's education is to keep community levels of transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible. As a Government, we recognise a firebreak is essential if we are to reduce levels of transmission and reduce the R rate. I appreciate that for those parents and learners in year 9 and above, this is an extremely difficult time, but these year groups have the ability to undertake self-directed learning more easily than other parts of the cohort, and they will be supported in doing so for the week by their teachers, who will be in the classroom.

Dylai ysgolion a lleoliadau sicrhau bod lefel ddigonol o awyru'n digwydd, ac mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi rhoi canllawiau gweithredol i ysgolion ynglŷn â hynny. O ran goblygiadau'r cyfnod atal byr i addysg, rwyf wedi bod yn glir iawn ers yr haf hwn mai'r ffordd orau o darfu cyn lleied â phosibl ar addysg ein plant yw cadw lefelau trosglwyddo COVID-19 yn y gymuned mor isel â phosibl. Fel Llywodraeth, rydym yn cydnabod bod cyfnod atal byr yn hanfodol os ydym am ostwng lefelau trosglwyddo a lleihau'r gyfradd R. Rwy'n sylweddoli bod hwn yn gyfnod anodd iawn i rieni a dysgwyr ym mlwyddyn 9 ac uwch, ond gall y grwpiau blwyddyn hyn ymroi i ddysgu hunangyfeiriedig yn haws na rhannau eraill o'r garfan, a byddant yn cael cymorth i wneud hynny am yr wythnos gan eu hathrawon, a fydd yn yr ystafell ddosbarth.

Laura Anne Jones. Yes, there you go.

Laura Anne Jones. Ie, dyna chi.

Diolch, Llywydd. The unmuting took a while, sorry. Minister, our schools, as you know, are doing an excellent job, and work very hard to ensure that the schools are COVID safe for pupils and teachers alike. However, there does seem to be a chink in the armour to me, at drop-off and pick-up. Although there are great one-way systems, phased collections, all those great things happening, parents and guardians are still not, on the whole, social distancing and wearing masks. Do you think there's a bit more that you and the Welsh Government can do in tackling this? It looks to have the potential to undo all the good work being done by the school, particularly as we're looking to stop gatherings in this firebreak. Thank you. 

Diolch, Lywydd. Cymerodd dipyn o amser i droi'r sain ymlaen, mae'n ddrwg gennyf. Weinidog, mae ein hysgolion, fel y gwyddoch, yn gwneud gwaith rhagorol, ac yn gweithio'n galed iawn i sicrhau bod yr ysgolion yn ddiogel rhag COVID i ddisgyblion ac athrawon fel ei gilydd. Fodd bynnag, mae'n ymddangos bod un man gwan, wrth ollwng a chasglu plant. Er bod yna systemau un ffordd gwych, trefniadau i gasglu plant ar wahanol amseroedd, yr holl bethau gwych hynny'n digwydd, nid yw rhieni a gwarcheidwaid, ar y cyfan, yn cadw pellter cymdeithasol a gwisgo masgiau. A ydych chi'n meddwl bod ychydig mwy y gallwch chi a Llywodraeth Cymru ei wneud i fynd i'r afael â hyn? Mae'n ymddangos bod perygl i hyn ddadwneud yr holl waith da a wneir gan yr ysgol, yn enwedig gan ein bod yn ceisio atal pobl rhag ymgynnull yn ystod y cyfnod atal byr. Diolch.

First of all, can I thank you, Laura, for your recognition of the hard work, on behalf of school leaders and teachers, to make our schools and our colleges as COVID secure as they possibly can be? But, you are absolutely right; parents can greatly enhance those efforts by ensuring that they follow all relevant advice when they are bringing their children to and from school, and when they are organising other activities for their children. You are correct; we have had concerns expressed to us about families gathering at the school gate and not doing so in a socially distanced way, or perhaps families overseeing children's activities, and, again, families forgetting to do that in a socially distanced way from other mums, dads, carers and grandparents. The Welsh Government will use this time to review all of our communications, to get those strong messages out to parents and carers that they too have a crucial role to play in ensuring that we can minimise disruption to their children's education, and that one of the easy ways they can do that is remembering to remain socially distanced from other parents at the beginning and at the end of school days. 

Yn gyntaf oll, a gaf fi ddiolch i chi, Laura, am gydnabod y gwaith caled, ar ran arweinwyr ysgol ac athrawon, i wneud ein hysgolion a'n colegau mor ddiogel ag y gallant fod? Ond rydych chi'n llygad eich lle; gall rhieni wella'r ymdrechion hynny'n sylweddol drwy sicrhau eu bod yn dilyn yr holl gyngor perthnasol pan fyddant yn dod â'u plant i'r ysgol ac yn eu casglu, a phan fyddant yn trefnu gweithgareddau eraill ar gyfer eu plant. Rydych yn gywir; mynegwyd pryderon wrthym am deuluoedd yn ymgynnull wrth gât yr ysgol ac nad ydynt yn gwneud hynny mewn ffordd sy'n cadw pellter cymdeithasol, neu deuluoedd efallai sy'n goruchwylio gweithgareddau plant, ac unwaith eto, teuluoedd yn anghofio gwneud hynny mewn ffordd sy'n cadw pellter cymdeithasol oddi wrth famau, tadau, gofalwyr a neiniau a theidiau eraill. Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn defnyddio'r amser hwn i adolygu ein holl gyfathrebiadau, er mwyn cyfleu negeseuon cryf i rieni a gofalwyr fod ganddynt hwythau rôl hollbwysig i'w chwarae hefyd yn sicrhau cyn lleied â phosibl o darfu ar addysg eu plant, ac mai un o'r ffyrdd hawdd y gallant wneud hynny yw cofio parhau i gadw pellter cymdeithasol oddi wrth rieni eraill ar ddechrau ac ar ddiwedd diwrnodau ysgol.

Canolfannau Addysg Awyr Agored
Outdoor Education Centres

2. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am agor canolfannau addysg awyr agored yn ystod pandemig COVID-19? OQ55739

2. Will the Minister make a statement on the opening of outdoor education centres during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ55739

Thank you, Russell. I am sympathetic to the challenge faced by outdoor education centres due to the pandemic. Our current guidance advises against domestic residential school trips, but it does allow for domestic non-residential day trips. This guidance is kept under review and updates will be informed by the latest medical and scientific advice.

Diolch, Russell. Rwy'n cydymdeimlo â'r her a wynebir gan ganolfannau addysg awyr agored oherwydd y pandemig. Mae ein canllawiau presennol yn cynghori yn erbyn teithiau ysgol preswyl domestig, ond mae'n caniatáu teithiau dydd amhreswyl domestig. Caiff y canllawiau hyn eu hadolygu'n barhaus a bydd y cyngor meddygol a gwyddonol diweddaraf yn llywio'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf.

Thank you, Minister, for your answer, and I'm grateful that you are sympathetic, as you've outlined. Two outdoor centres, as it happens, have been in touch with me, based in Powys in my own constituency; I know, Minister, you'll have similar outdoor centres in your own constituency in Powys as well. They are keen that Welsh Government do provide guidance that will allow them to reopen on the same basis as schools, to prevent them from facing imminent ruin. I'd suggest that outdoor educational centres provide huge benefits in terms of personal development, education and physical and mental health. I'm aware that Tim Farron MP is campaigning for a change in the UK Government current guidance, which prevents overnight educational visits at outdoor educational centres, and I'm very much campaigning for the same here in Wales. So, can I ask you, Minister, whether you will be able to discuss with colleagues and take some action to allow them to reopen, with appropriate guidance to follow, following, of course, the current lockdown period, which ends at the beginning of November?

Diolch am eich ateb, Weinidog, ac rwy'n ddiolchgar eich bod yn cydymdeimlo, fel y nodwyd gennych. Mae dwy ganolfan awyr agored, fel mae'n digwydd, wedi bod mewn cysylltiad â mi, canolfannau sydd wedi'u lleoli ym Mhowys yn fy etholaeth; rwy'n gwybod, Weinidog, y bydd gennych ganolfannau awyr agored tebyg yn eich etholaeth eich hun ym Mhowys hefyd. Maent yn awyddus i Lywodraeth Cymru ddarparu canllawiau a fydd yn caniatáu iddynt ailagor ar yr un sail ag ysgolion, i'w hatal rhag mynd rhwng y cŵn a'r brain. Byddwn yn awgrymu bod canolfannau addysgol awyr agored yn cynnig manteision enfawr o ran datblygiad personol, addysg ac iechyd corfforol a meddyliol. Rwy'n ymwybodol fod Tim Farron AS yn ymgyrchu dros newid yng nghanllawiau cyfredol Llywodraeth y DU, sy'n atal ymweliadau addysgol dros nos mewn canolfannau addysgol awyr agored, ac rwy'n ymgyrchu'n gryf dros yr un peth yma yng Nghymru. Felly, a gaf fi ofyn i chi, Weinidog, a fyddwch yn gallu trafod gyda'ch cyd-Aelodau a chymryd camau i ganiatáu iddynt ailagor, gyda chanllawiau priodol i ddilyn, ar ôl y cyfnod presennol o gyfyngiadau symud a ddaw i ben ddechrau mis Tachwedd?

14:30

Russell, you're correct—outdoor education can bring huge benefits to children and young people, and, as you said, in a range of developing skills and knowledge. At this time, day trips to such residential centres can indeed go ahead, and as long as schools do that in a risk-assessed way, there is no reason why all of those activities have to stop. But at this stage, scientific advice is very clear that residential trips are not appropriate. But as I said in my initial answer to you, we will continue to keep that under review, and we do not want to limit those residential trips for a moment longer than they need to be, given the benefits to children that you have outlined.

Russell, rydych yn gywir—gall addysg awyr agored roi manteision enfawr i blant a phobl ifanc, ac fel y dywedoch chi, mewn amrywiaeth o sgiliau a gwybodaeth sy'n datblygu. Ar hyn o bryd, gall teithiau dydd i ganolfannau preswyl o'r fath fynd rhagddynt, a chyn belled â bod ysgolion yn gwneud hynny mewn ffordd sy'n asesu risg, nid oes rheswm pam y dylai'r holl weithgareddau hynny ddod i ben. Ond ar hyn o bryd, mae cyngor gwyddonol yn glir iawn nad yw teithiau preswyl yn briodol. Ond fel y dywedais yn fy ateb cychwynnol i chi, byddwn yn parhau i adolygu hynny, ac nid ydym eisiau cyfyngu ar y teithiau preswyl hynny am eiliad yn hwy na sydd angen, o ystyried y manteision rydych wedi'u hamlinellu i blant.

Minister, thank you for that assurance that you do not want to keep these closed for residential visits for a minute more than is necessary, and that, once safe, we will get back to having residential visits. She will know that, for many of us, outdoor education centres were the first time that we would have been immersed in an outdoor environment, and learnt through skills and confidence and self-esteem all the benefits that come from that. So, could I ask her, firstly, will she, along with other Cabinet colleagues, continue to work with people like the Institute of Outdoor Learning and the Outdoor Alliance in Wales to put in place those plans for when we can get back to residential outdoor learning? But, secondly, will she also with Cabinet colleagues work with UK Government to amend the current job support schemes they have to extend their reach to the outdoor learning environment? At the moment, they're not able to apply for that support, and we need to get them through these current constraints, in order to get to rebuilding after we've got through this crisis.

Weinidog, diolch i chi am y sicrwydd nad ydych eisiau cadw'r rhain ar gau ar gyfer ymweliadau preswyl am funud yn fwy nag sy'n angenrheidiol, ac y byddwn, pan fydd hi'n ddiogel, yn dychwelyd at gael ymweliadau preswyl. Fe fydd hi'n gwybod mai ymweld â chanolfannau addysg awyr agored, i lawer ohonom, oedd y tro cyntaf inni gael ein trochi mewn amgylchedd awyr agored, a dysgu, drwy sgiliau a hyder a hunan-barch, yr holl fanteision a ddaw o hynny. Felly, a gaf fi ofyn iddi, yn gyntaf, a fydd hi, ynghyd â chyd-Aelodau eraill yn y Cabinet, yn parhau i weithio gyda phobl fel y Sefydliad Dysgu yn yr Awyr Agored a Chynghrair Awyr Agored Cymru i roi'r cynlluniau hynny ar waith ar gyfer pan allwn ddychwelyd at ddysgu preswyl yn yr awyr agored? Ond yn ail, a wnaiff hi hefyd, gyda chyd-Aelodau eraill yn y Cabinet, weithio gyda Llywodraeth y DU i ddiwygio'r cynlluniau cefnogi swyddi presennol sydd ganddynt i ymestyn eu cyrhaeddiad i'r amgylchedd dysgu yn yr awyr agored? Ar hyn o bryd, nid ydynt yn gallu gwneud cais am y cymorth hwnnw, ac mae angen i ni sicrhau eu bod yn goroesi'r cyfyngiadau presennol hyn, er mwyn ailadeiladu ar ôl yr argyfwng hwn.

Thank you, Huw. I'm sure many people will have shared your experience—that the ability to go on a residential trip was the first opportunity to spend extended time in the natural environment. And I know that that is something that is very much valued by many schools in parts of Wales where access to the outdoors is perhaps more limited, to be able to take children out to areas—such as Russell George's constituency, and indeed to Brecon and Radnorshire—to give them that experience and, hopefully, a lifelong love and interest of spending time in the outdoors.

As I said, we're keeping this issue constantly under review. My officials met as recently as 14 October with Public Health Wales, to discuss the appropriateness of current advice. Unfortunately, at this time, residential trips are not recommended, but as soon as we are able to do so, then clearly we will want to change that.

With regard to discussions for economic support, recognising not only the importance for children of outdoor education, but actually they are valuable employers in their own right in rural communities, then such centres are able to look to support from the economic resilience fund that the Welsh Government has made available. But I will certainly make the representations that you have asked for this afternoon, and I will write back to the Member.

Diolch, Huw. Rwy'n siŵr y bydd llawer o bobl wedi rhannu eich profiad—mai'r gallu i fynd ar daith breswyl oedd y cyfle cyntaf i dreulio amser estynedig yn yr amgylchedd naturiol. A gwn fod hwnnw'n rhywbeth sy'n cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr gan lawer o ysgolion mewn rhannau o Gymru lle mae mynediad at yr awyr agored yn fwy cyfyngedig o bosibl, gallu mynd â phlant allan i ardaloedd—megis etholaeth Russell George, ac yn wir i Frycheiniog a Sir Faesyfed—i roi'r profiad hwnnw iddynt a gobeithio, cariad a diddordeb gydol oes mewn treulio amser yn yr awyr agored.

Fel y dywedais, rydym yn parhau i adolygu'r mater hwn. Cyfarfu fy swyddogion â Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru mor ddiweddar â 14 Hydref, i drafod priodoldeb y cyngor presennol. Yn anffodus, ar hyn o bryd, ni argymhellir teithiau preswyl, ond cyn gynted ag y gallwn wneud hynny, byddwn yn amlwg eisiau newid hynny.

O ran trafodaethau am gymorth economaidd, gan gydnabod pwysigrwydd addysg awyr agored i blant yn ogystal â'r ffaith eu bod, mewn gwirionedd, yn gyflogwyr gwerthfawr yn eu hawl eu hunain mewn cymunedau gwledig, gall canolfannau o'r fath wneud cais am gefnogaeth gan y gronfa cadernid economaidd y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i darparu. Ond byddaf yn sicr yn cyflwyno'r sylwadau rydych wedi gofyn amdanynt y prynhawn yma, a byddaf yn ysgrifennu'n ôl at yr Aelod.

Cwestiynau Heb Rybudd gan Lefarwyr y Pleidiau
Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Siân Gwenllian.

Questions now from the party spokespeople. The Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Siân Gwenllian.

Diolch, Llywydd. Gaf i ddechrau gyda sefyllfa ariannol ein prifysgolion yn sgil yr argyfwng iechyd? Dwi'n ymwybodol bod yna gymorth yn cael ei ddarparu drwy'r gronfa buddsoddi ac adfer addysg uwch. Mae'n debyg bod y ceisiadau angen bod i mewn erbyn diwrnod olaf y mis yma, sydd wrth gwrs reit yng nghanol y cyfnod clo byr. Ac, wrth gwrs, mi fydd gan y prifysgolion anghenion ychwanegol yn sgil y cyfnod clo sydd yn cychwyn cyn bo hir, yn enwedig o ran cael help efo track and trace a llesiant meddyliol ac emosiynol.

Mae'r gefnogaeth yn cael ei rhannu rhwng cymorth i brifysgolion unigol a dyraniad ar gyfer buddsoddi cydweithredol. O dan yr amgylchiadau newydd, a wnewch chi feddwl ynglŷn ag ymestyn yr amser sydd gan y prifysgolion i wneud eu ceisiadau? Ond hefyd, a wnewch chi feddwl am newid y ffordd mae'r arian yma yn cael ei ddyrannu, fel eich bod chi'n diwygio'r dosbarthiad cyllid, er mwyn bod y cyllid yn cael ei flaenoriaethu ar gyfer y cymorth brys i brifysgolion unigol, yn hytrach nag ar gyfer y buddsoddi cydweithredol? 

Thank you, Llywydd. May I begin with the financial situation of our universities as a result of the health crisis? I'm aware that there is support being provided by the investment and resilience fund for higher education. It appears that the applications need to be in by the last day of this month, which is within the firebreak period. And, of course, universities will have additional requirements as a result of the firebreak lockdown, which begins very soon, particularly with regard to assistance with track and trace and emotional and mental well-being.

The support is being divided between assistance to individual universities and an allocation for co-operative investment. Under the new circumstances, will you think again about extending the time available to universities to make their applications? But also, will you think about changing the way that this funding is allocated, so that you amend the financial allocation process to ensure that the funding is prioritised for that urgent assistance to individual universities, rather than for the collaborative investment? 

14:35

Thank you for that question. We have indeed made additional resources available to the higher education sector, in additional moneys to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and a remit letter to HEFCW to support the distribution and the prioritisation of those resources.

The Member raises the issue of timescales—that is a matter for HEFCW. What I do know from universities is that they are as anxious as possible to see that money into their accounts, rather than in the accounts of HEFCW. So, there is a balance to be struck, is there not, of bringing that application process to a close and allocating that money, rather than extending the application process?

With regard to asking universities to work together, there is a huge appetite amongst the higher education sector here in Wales, which is based on values of co-operation rather than competition, to work together to support each other during this time. That is particularly important when being able to resource a blended learning approach and support each other in the provision of bilingual opportunities for blended learning. So, I wouldn't want to curtail the ability of Welsh universities, who see the value in co-operating to help one another to get through this time, to be lost.

Clearly, the situation is changing all the time. I'm very pleased that in even during the firebreak universities will be able to continue to provide a blended learning approach with in-person teaching as well as remote learning. But, clearly, we meet regularly with both HEFCW and the universities and the National Union of Students Wales to discuss what additional support universities and higher education and students may need during this time, as we enter into this very uncertain period of the winter. 

Diolch i chi am y cwestiwn hwnnw. Yn wir rydym wedi sicrhau bod adnoddau ychwanegol ar gael i'r sector addysg uwch, mewn arian ychwanegol i Gyngor Cyllido Addysg Uwch Cymru a llythyr cylch gwaith i CCAUC i gefnogi'r gwaith o ddosbarthu a blaenoriaethu'r adnoddau hynny.

Mae'r Aelod yn codi mater amserlenni—mater i CCAUC yw hwnnw. Yr hyn y mae prifysgolion wedi'i ddweud wrthyf yw eu bod yn awyddus iawn i weld yr arian hwnnw yn eu cyfrifon, yn hytrach nag yng nghyfrifon CCAUC. Felly, onid oes angen sicrhau cydbwysedd drwy ddod â'r broses ymgeisio honno i ben a dyrannu'r arian hwnnw, yn hytrach nag ymestyn y broses ymgeisio?

O ran gofyn i brifysgolion gydweithio, mae awydd mawr ymhlith y sector addysg uwch yma yng Nghymru, sy'n seiliedig ar werthoedd cydweithredu yn hytrach na chystadlu, i gydweithio a chefnogi ei gilydd yn ystod y cyfnod hwn. Mae hynny'n arbennig o bwysig er mwyn gallu darparu adnoddau ar gyfer dull dysgu cyfunol a chynorthwyo ei gilydd i ddarparu cyfleoedd dwyieithog ar gyfer dysgu cyfunol. Felly, ni fyddwn eisiau cyfyngu ar allu prifysgolion Cymru, sy'n gweld gwerth mewn cydweithredu i helpu ei gilydd i ddod drwy'r cyfnod hwn.

Yn amlwg, mae'r sefyllfa'n newid drwy'r amser. Rwy'n falch iawn y bydd prifysgolion, yn ystod y cyfnod atal byr, yn gallu parhau i ddarparu dull dysgu cyfunol gydag addysgu wyneb yn wyneb yn ogystal â dysgu o bell. Ond yn amlwg, rydym yn cyfarfod yn rheolaidd â CCAUC a'r prifysgolion ac Undeb Cenedlaethol Myfyrwyr Cymru i drafod pa gymorth ychwanegol y gallai fod ei angen ar brifysgolion ac addysg uwch a myfyrwyr yn ystod y cyfnod hwn, ar drothwy cyfnod ansicr y gaeaf. 

Dwi'n croesawu eich penderfyniad i ymestyn eich cynllun cinio am ddim i gynnwys y gwyliau ysgol tan wanwyn y flwyddyn nesaf, a hefyd eich penderfyniad i ymestyn y cinio am ddim i gynnwys mwy o ddisgyblion, yn enwedig y rhai o deuluoedd incwm isel. A wnewch chi ystyried ei ymestyn ymhellach i gynnwys teuluoedd sy'n derbyn credyd cyffredinol sylfaenol, neu, yn well fyth, i bob plentyn yng Nghymru, o gofio pa mor anodd ydy hi i deuluoedd gael dau ben llinyn ynghyd, a hefyd pa mor bwysig ydy hi i blant gael bwyd maethlon? 

I welcome your decision to extend your free school meals scheme to include school holidays until the spring of next year, and, also, your decision to extend the free-school-meals scheme to include additional pupils, particularly those from low income families. Will you consider extending it further still to include families who receive universal credit, the basic provision, or, even better still, to all pupils and children in Wales, given how difficult it is for families to cope at the present time, and how important it is for children to receive nutritious food? 

Thank you, Siân. Wales, back in the spring of this year, was the first part of the United Kingdom to announce continued support for families entitled to free school meals during school holidays, and I am very pleased to have been able to work with the finance Minister to obtain an additional £11 million, which will ensure that children who are entitled to free school meals will continue to receive that support during this half term, during the Christmas holiday, the February half term and, indeed, the Easter holidays. We keep under review our range of support for families who find themselves in financial difficulties at that time. We know that schools are seeing an increase in the number of children who are now eligible, sadly, for free school meals, which is adding additional pressure to budgets. But we are determined not to forget those children for whom school is about so much more than just learning, and to ensure that those families have some certainty with regard to support for their children during what is, as I said, a very uncertain time. 

Diolch, Siân. Cymru, yn ôl yng ngwanwyn eleni, oedd rhan gyntaf y Deyrnas Unedig i gyhoeddi cefnogaeth barhaus i deuluoedd sydd â hawl i gael prydau ysgol am ddim yn ystod gwyliau ysgol, ac rwy'n falch iawn fy mod wedi gallu gweithio gyda'r Gweinidog cyllid i sicrhau £11 miliwn ychwanegol, a fydd yn sicrhau y bydd plant sydd â hawl i gael prydau ysgol am ddim yn parhau i gael y cymorth hwnnw yn ystod yr hanner tymor hwn, yn ystod gwyliau'r Nadolig, hanner tymor mis Chwefror a gwyliau'r Pasg yn wir. Rydym yn parhau i adolygu ein hamrywiaeth o gymorth i deuluoedd sydd mewn anawsterau ariannol ar yr adegau hynny. Gwyddom fod ysgolion yn gweld cynnydd yn nifer y plant sydd bellach yn gymwys, yn anffodus, i gael prydau ysgol am ddim, sy'n rhoi pwysau ychwanegol ar gyllidebau. Ond rydym yn benderfynol o beidio ag anghofio'r plant y mae'r ysgol yn golygu cymaint mwy iddynt na dysgu yn unig, a sicrhau bod y teuluoedd hynny'n cael rhywfaint o sicrwydd mewn perthynas â chymorth ar gyfer eu plant mewn cyfnod ansicr iawn, fel y dywedais.

Dwi'n falch eich bod chi'n cadw'r sefyllfa o dan adolygiad parhaus. Mae hynny'n hollbwysig, onid ydy? 

I droi at fater arall, i orffen, ym mis Gorffennaf fe gyhoeddwyd y byddai 600 o athrawon ychwanegol yn cael eu recriwtio i ysgolion a 300 o gynorthwywyr dysgu ar gyfer y flwyddyn ysgol bresennol. Byddwn i'n hoffi cael diweddariad am hyn, a does yna, efallai, ddim digon o amser prynhawn yma i chi wneud hynny, ond a wnewch chi roi datganiad llawn i ni, maes o law, ac egluro i ni pa waith monitro a gwerthuso mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud ynglŷn â'r gwariant yma ar gyfer yr athrawon ychwanegol a'r cynorthwywyr dysgu ychwanegol, ac esboniad yn union sut mae hyn yn arwain at leihau maint dosbarthiadau yn yr ysgolion?

I am pleased that you're keeping the situation under continuous review. That is vital, isn't it? 

Now, turning to another issue, to conclude, in July it was announced that 600 additional teachers would be recruited to schools and 300 teaching assistants for the current school year. I would like an update on this, and perhaps there isn't sufficient time this afternoon for you to give that update, but will you give us a full statement, in due course, on this, and explain to us what monitoring work and evaluation work the Welsh Government is undertaking with regard to this expenditure on the additional teachers and the additional teaching assistants, and an explanation of how this will lead to decreasing the classroom sizes in schools?

14:40

Thank you, Siân. You're correct to say that we have allocated in excess of £29 million to support schools to address the learning loss that has already happened in our children's education. That means schools can indeed look to recruit additional teachers, teaching assistants, or indeed any other professional who they feel would be appropriate to work with their cohort of children. That could be youth workers, mentors, and we have provided guidance, alongside the financial resources, to make that happen, and I will be more than happy to be able to give Members an update about how those resources have been spent in school.

The Member also talks about class sizes. Despite the immense pressure on Government budgets at this time, we have been able to maintain our funding for our class size reduction budget as well. But the Member is right and proper to ask for an update on the use of the £29 million, and I will be happy to give that once details are available.

Diolch, Siân. Rydych yn gywir i ddweud ein bod wedi dyrannu dros £29 miliwn i gynorthwyo ysgolion i fynd i'r afael â'r dysgu a gollwyd eisoes yn addysg ein plant. Mae hynny'n golygu yn wir y gall ysgolion geisio recriwtio athrawon ychwanegol, cynorthwywyr addysgu ychwanegol, neu'n wir unrhyw weithiwr proffesiynol arall y teimlant y byddai'n briodol eu cael i weithio gyda'u carfan o blant. Gallai hynny olygu gweithwyr ieuenctid, mentoriaid, ac rydym wedi darparu arweiniad, ochr yn ochr â'r adnoddau ariannol i wneud i hynny ddigwydd, a byddaf yn fwy na pharod i allu rhoi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i'r Aelodau am y modd y gwariwyd yr adnoddau hynny yn yr ysgolion.

Mae'r Aelod hefyd yn sôn am faint dosbarthiadau. Er gwaethaf y pwysau aruthrol ar gyllidebau'r Llywodraeth ar hyn o bryd, rydym wedi gallu cynnal ein cyllid ar gyfer ein cyllideb lleihau maint dosbarthiadau hefyd. Ond mae'r Aelod yn iawn ac yn gywir i ofyn am y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am y defnydd o'r £29 miliwn, a byddaf yn hapus i ddarparu'r wybodaeth honno pan fydd y manylion ar gael.

Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Suzy Davies.

Conservative spokesperson, Suzy Davies. 

Diolch, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Minister. Why did Welsh Government ignore the wishes of all 22 local authority leaders to keep secondary schools fully open during the forthcoming lockdown?

Diolch, Lywydd. Prynhawn da, Weinidog. Pam yr anwybyddodd Llywodraeth Cymru ddymuniadau pob un o'r 22 arweinydd awdurdod lleol i gadw ysgolion uwchradd ar agor yn llawn yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud sydd i ddod?

Well, Suzy, a range of views have to be taken into consideration at this time. As I said in answer to Hefin David, we know that keeping community levels of transmission of COVID-19 low is the best thing that we can all do to minimise disruption to education. The firebreak is essential if we are to slow the rates of infection and bring R down. In doing so, we will see less disruption in our schools, from teachers who are perhaps contracting the virus and having to self-isolate, children who themselves are catching the virus and having to self-isolate, and the knock-on effect that has to other children within their bubble.

The contribution of schools opening to R was well known and is inevitable. The Government has published its technical advice group paper, and it was felt that by asking those pupils in years 9 and above to study from home for a week, given the fact that they are more able to do that, allowed us to make sure that the firebreak is successful, and everybody's sacrifices can make a difference. 

Wel, Suzy, mae'n rhaid ystyried amrywiaeth o safbwyntiau ar hyn o bryd. Fel y dywedais wrth ateb Hefin David, gwyddom mai cadw lefelau trosglwyddo COVID-19 yn y gymuned yn isel yw'r peth gorau y gallwn ni i gyd ei wneud i leihau'r amharu ar addysg. Mae'r cyfnod atal byr yn hanfodol os ydym eisiau arafu cyfraddau'r haint a gostwng y rhif R. Wrth wneud hynny, byddwn yn gweld llai o darfu yn ein hysgolion, o athrawon sydd efallai'n dal y feirws ac yn gorfod hunanynysu, o blant sy'n dal y feirws eu hunain ac yn gorfod hunanynysu, a'r effaith ganlyniadol y mae hynny'n ei chael ar blant eraill o fewn eu swigod.

Roedd cyfraniad ysgolion yn agor i'r rhif R yn hysbys iawn ac mae'n anochel. Mae'r Llywodraeth wedi cyhoeddi papur y grŵp cynghori technegol, ac roeddent yn teimlo bod gofyn i'r disgyblion ym mlynyddoedd 9 ac uwch astudio gartref am wythnos, o gofio eu bod yn fwy abl i wneud hynny, yn caniatáu inni sicrhau bod y cyfnod atal byr yn llwyddiannus, ac y gall aberth pawb wneud gwahaniaeth.

Well, Minister, the news has been full of the negotiation between the Prime Minister and city region mayors, and the different deals on whether gyms, for example, should be kept open. But when the Welsh Local Government Association leaders speak as one, with one voice, on something as important as our schools, it seems that Welsh Government is perfectly content to instruct and not to listen. And I hope that the implication isn't that those leaders haven't given due consideration to the technical advice group advice, and I hope that some of the accusations levelled at Welsh Conservatives yesterday, simply for taking a different view from Welsh Government, don't attach to those leaders for also having a different view.

Minister, we all know what the children's commissioner has had to say about further reducing children and young people's access to an experience of education that they have a right to expect, with particularly serious consequences for poorer children and those in care. The age of those children isn't necessarily the determinant of how well they can learn at home. We know what some parents and young people are saying about the quality of some of the blended learning, and the work that they get sent home, and the existence of Google classrooms doesn't necessarily mean anyone attending is learning what they need do. We also know that secondary schools are now geared up to teach mainly in school, not to find out from leaked letters that expectations are going to change without any decent lead-in time. What we don't know, with all this chopping and changing, is how Welsh Government is supporting the rapidly deteriorating mental health of our teachers and lecturers. Can you tell us, please?

Wel, Weinidog, mae'r newyddion wedi bod yn llawn o'r trafodaethau rhwng y Prif Weinidog a meiri dinas-ranbarthau, a'r gwahanol fargeinion ynglŷn ag a ddylid cadw campfeydd, er enghraifft, ar agor. Ond pan fydd arweinwyr Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru yn siarad fel un, gydag un llais, ar rywbeth mor bwysig â'n hysgolion, mae'n ymddangos bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn berffaith fodlon cyfarwyddo a pheidio â gwrando. Ac rwy'n gobeithio nad ydych yn awgrymu nad yw'r arweinwyr hynny wedi rhoi ystyriaeth briodol i gyngor y grŵp cynghori technegol, a gobeithio nad yw rhai o'r cyhuddiadau a wnaed yn erbyn y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig ddoe, am fod ganddynt safbwynt gwahanol i Lywodraeth Cymru, yn cael eu cyfeirio at yr arweinwyr hynny am fabwysiadu barn wahanol hefyd.

Weinidog, mae pawb ohonom yn gwybod beth y mae'r comisiynydd plant wedi'i ddweud am leihau mynediad plant a phobl ifanc at brofiad o addysg y mae ganddynt hawl i'w ddisgwyl, gyda chanlyniadau arbennig o ddifrifol i blant tlotach a'r rhai sydd mewn gofal. Nid oedran y plant hynny o reidrwydd sy'n penderfynu pa mor dda y gallant ddysgu gartref. Gwyddom beth y mae rhai rhieni a phobl ifanc yn ei ddweud am ansawdd peth o'r dysgu cyfunol a'r gwaith sy'n cael ei anfon adref atynt, ac nid yw bodolaeth Google Classrooms o reidrwydd yn golygu bod unrhyw un sy'n mynychu yn dysgu'r hyn y mae angen iddynt ei ddysgu. Gwyddom hefyd fod ysgolion uwchradd bellach wedi bod yn paratoi i addysgu yn yr ysgol yn bennaf, yn hytrach na chael gwybod gan lythyrau a ddatgelwyd yn answyddogol fod disgwyliadau'n mynd i newid heb unrhyw amser i baratoi. Yr hyn nad ydym yn ei wybod, gyda'r holl dorri a newid sy'n digwydd, yw sut y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cefnogi ein hathrawon a'n darlithwyr gyda'u hiechyd meddwl sy'n dirywio'n gyflym. A allwch chi ddweud wrthym, os gwelwch yn dda?

Well, let me be absolutely clear: we have, even in this most difficult and serious of circumstances, been able to ensure that primary schoolchildren, children in our special educational needs schools, pupils in education other than at schools and in specialist centres within mainstream schools will be able to attend school in person after the break. I appreciate that this is a worrying time for all of those students who have been asked to stay at home for that week, but they will be supported in their learning by staff who will be indeed in school to be able to deliver that online learning. And before the Member is quick to condemn the quality of that, I can assure her that Estyn, regional consortia, local education authorities and schools themselves have been working very, very hard to put contingency plans in place to support distance learning. 

I regret that there is any further disruption to education for children here in Wales. Unfortunately, COVID-19 doesn't care about that. As I said, the best way in which we can minimise disruption to schools is to keep community transmission levels low. As we have seen community transmission levels rise, we have seen growing numbers of children in our classrooms who have had to self-isolate. If we are to get back to a more even keel and to lessen that disruption to individual classes and teachers and schools, we have to bring the R number down and that is what the firebreak is intending to do.

Wel, gadewch imi fod yn gwbl glir: hyd yn oed yn yr amgylchiadau mwyaf anodd a difrifol hyn, rydym wedi gallu sicrhau y bydd plant ysgolion cynradd, plant yn ein hysgolion anghenion addysgol arbennig, disgyblion sydd mewn addysg y tu allan i ysgolion ac mewn canolfannau arbenigol mewn ysgolion prif ffrwd yn gallu mynychu'r ysgol ar ôl y toriad. Rwy'n sylweddoli bod hwn yn gyfnod pryderus i'r holl fyfyrwyr y gofynnwyd iddynt aros gartref am yr wythnos honno, ond bydd eu dysgu'n cael ei gefnogi gan staff a fydd yn yr ysgol i allu darparu'r dysgu ar-lein. A chyn i'r Aelod ruthro i gondemnio ansawdd y dysgu hwnnw, gallaf ei sicrhau bod Estyn, consortia rhanbarthol, awdurdodau addysg lleol ac ysgolion eu hunain wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed iawn i roi cynlluniau wrth gefn ar waith i gefnogi dysgu o bell.

Mae'n ofid i mi fod unrhyw darfu pellach ar addysg i blant yma yng Nghymru. Yn anffodus, nid yw COVID-19 yn poeni am hynny. Fel y dywedais, y ffordd orau y gallwn darfu cyn lleied â phosibl ar ysgolion yw cadw lefelau trosglwyddo cymunedol yn isel. Wrth inni weld lefelau trosglwyddo cymunedol yn codi, rydym wedi gweld niferoedd cynyddol o blant yn ein hystafelloedd dosbarth yn gorfod hunanynysu. Os ydym am ddychwelyd at ryw fath o sefydlogrwydd a lleihau'r tarfu ar ddosbarthiadau unigol ac athrawon ac ysgolion, mae'n rhaid inni ostwng y rhif R a dyna yw'r bwriad gyda'r cyfnod atal byr.

14:45

Thank you for that, Minister. Obviously, the quality of work that's either being given to young people to take home or that they're getting remotely, is very variable. You've admitted this in the past and it's certainly not a reflection on the hard work that teachers are putting in, which is why I asked you what Welsh Government is doing to support the mental health of our teachers, particularly as over half of them are now saying that their mental health has been impacted, and the main reason for that is late arrival of new guidance on any changes that they're expected to deal with. I think the combination of education reforms and the disruption of teaching and learning due to COVID have placed a very, very visible strain on practitioners in the sector, which was already struggling with years of difficult funding arrangements and low uptake of opportunities. How can we all help to make sure that those considering teaching as a career haven't been put off by all of this?

Diolch ichi am hynny, Weinidog. Yn amlwg, mae ansawdd y gwaith sydd naill ai'n cael ei roi i bobl ifanc i fynd adref gyda hwy neu'r gwaith a gânt o bell yn amrywiol iawn. Rydych wedi cyfaddef hyn yn y gorffennol ac yn sicr nid yw'n adlewyrchiad o'r gwaith caled y mae athrawon yn ei wneud, a dyna pam y gofynnais i chi beth y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud i gefnogi iechyd meddwl ein hathrawon, yn enwedig gan fod dros eu hanner yn dweud bellach fod eu hiechyd meddwl wedi cael ei effeithio, a'r prif reswm am hynny yw bod canllawiau newydd ar unrhyw newidiadau y disgwylir iddynt ymdopi â hwy'n cyrraedd yn hwyr. Credaf fod y cyfuniad o ddiwygiadau addysg a'r tarfu ar addysgu a dysgu oherwydd COVID wedi rhoi straen gweladwy iawn ar ymarferwyr yn y sector, a oedd eisoes yn cael trafferth dod i ben wedi blynyddoedd o drefniadau ariannu anodd a niferoedd isel yn manteisio ar gyfleoedd. Sut y gall pawb ohonom helpu i sicrhau nad yw hyn i gyd wedi annog y rhai sy'n ystyried addysgu fel gyrfa rhag gwneud hynny?

Forgive me, Suzy, you did ask a very direct question and it is only right that that is answered. This Government has made additional financial resources available specifically to support mental health and well-being during this crisis. And, quite rightly, whilst the majority of that resource has been made available to support children and young people, an element of that resource has been made available to support the mental health and well-being of staff and school leaders.

I appreciate that additional stress occurs when situations change, but I'm sure the Member would understand that we are dealing with a fast-paced and rapidly changing situation. Cases and statistics and infection levels can change very rapidly, and whilst it is almost always my intention to give as much notice as possible, sometimes governments find themselves in a position of having to act very quickly.

With regard to initial teacher education, I am pleased to say that we have seen a strong level of recruitment into ITE programmes this year. We will continue to work with the Education Workforce Council in Wales to promote teaching as a career, and, goodness me, if ever there was a time for an individual who wants to make a difference to the lives of children and young people in Wales, and feel that they want to make a contribution, then helping us to recover in education from the impact of COVID-19 now would be a fantastic time to think about and join the profession.

Maddeuwch i mi, Suzy, fe wnaethoch ofyn cwestiwn uniongyrchol iawn ac nid yw ond yn iawn fod hwnnw'n cael ei ateb. Mae'r Llywodraeth hon wedi sicrhau bod adnoddau ariannol ychwanegol ar gael yn benodol i gefnogi iechyd meddwl a llesiant yn ystod yr argyfwng hwn. Ac yn gwbl briodol, er bod y rhan fwyaf o'r adnodd hwnnw ar gael i gefnogi plant a phobl ifanc, mae elfen o'r adnodd ar gael i gefnogi iechyd meddwl a llesiant staff ac arweinwyr ysgolion.

Rwy'n sylweddoli bod straen ychwanegol pan fo sefyllfaoedd yn newid, ond rwy'n siŵr y byddai'r Aelod yn deall ein bod mewn sefyllfa sy'n newid yn gyflym. Gall achosion ac ystadegau a lefelau heintio newid yn gyflym iawn, ac er mai fy mwriad bron bob amser yw rhoi cymaint o rybudd â phosibl, weithiau mae llywodraethau'n wynebu sefyllfa lle mae'n rhaid iddynt weithredu'n gyflym iawn.

O ran addysg gychwynnol i athrawon, rwy'n falch o ddweud ein bod wedi gweld lefel gref o recriwtio i raglenni addysg gychwynnol i athrawon eleni. Byddwn yn parhau i weithio gyda Chyngor y Gweithlu Addysg yng Nghymru i hyrwyddo addysgu fel gyrfa, a bobl bach, os oes yna adeg erioed i unigolion sydd eisiau gwneud gwahaniaeth i fywydau plant a phobl ifanc yng Nghymru, ac sy'n teimlo eu bod eisiau gwneud cyfraniad, byddai ein helpu i adfer yn y byd addysg ar ôl effeithiau COVID-19 nawr yn amser gwych i ystyried ac ymuno â'r proffesiwn.

Ymbellhau Cymdeithasol mewn Ysgolion
Social Distancing in Schools

3. Pa gamau sy'n cael eu cymryd i sicrhau bod ysgolion yn cadw at ganllawiau ymbellhau cymdeithasol? OQ55742

3. What steps are being taken to ensure that schools are adhering to social distancing guidelines? OQ55742

Thank you, David. The operational guidance for schools sets out the control measures that need to be put in place to minimise the risk of transmission, including social distancing. Local authorities continue to work with their schools to ensure that all measures are put in place as far as possible. 

Diolch, David. Mae'r canllawiau gweithredol ar gyfer ysgolion yn nodi'r mesurau rheoli sydd angen eu rhoi ar waith i leihau'r risg o drosglwyddiad, gan gynnwys cadw pellter cymdeithasol. Mae awdurdodau lleol yn parhau i weithio gyda'u hysgolion i sicrhau bod yr holl fesurau'n cael eu rhoi ar waith cystal ag y bo modd.

Minister, we know that social distancing is our best defence in stopping transmission. Hygiene practice is also very important, but social distancing is really crucial. I think that we should be grateful to the professionalism of our teaching staff and the whole staff in complimenting schools, because we have not had the sort of transmission events that we've seen in higher education. Now, I realise that they are not comparable directly, but they are the same in that there are lots of young people gathering together. And, I think that it is really important that we maintain these best practices, and are thankful to all of the staff that have allowed us to maintain attendance rates in our schools in the high 80s. Obviously, we want to do even better than that to ensure that our young people get as full an education as possible. 

Weinidog, gwyddom mai cadw pellter cymdeithasol yw'r ffordd orau o atal trosglwyddiad y feirws. Mae arferion hylendid hefyd yn bwysig iawn, ond mae cadw pellter cymdeithasol yn hanfodol. Credaf y dylem fod yn ddiolchgar am broffesiynoldeb ein staff addysgu a'r holl staff wrth ganmol ysgolion, oherwydd nid ydym wedi gweld y lefelau trosglwyddo rydym wedi'u gweld mewn addysg uwch. Nawr, rwy'n sylweddoli nad oes modd eu cymharu'n uniongyrchol, ond maent yr un fath yn yr ystyr fod llawer o bobl ifanc yn ymgynnull. A chredaf ei bod yn bwysig iawn ein bod yn cynnal yr arferion gorau hyn, ac rydym yn ddiolchgar i'r holl staff sydd wedi ein galluogi i gadw cyfraddau presenoldeb yn ein hysgolion yn yr 80au uchel. Yn amlwg, rydym eisiau gwneud hyd yn oed yn well na hynny i sicrhau bod ein pobl ifanc yn cael addysg mor llawn ag sy'n bosibl.

14:50

Thank you, David, for recognising the huge amount of effort that has gone into our school settings to make them as COVID secure as possible. Like you, what we need to do is continually keep under review our support and guidance available to schools in the light of experience. There are things that we can learn from this first half-term of the new academic year—hence, issuing new guidance last week—in light of the experiences that we have. But, overall, we have seen strong levels of adherence to social distancing in our schools, for which I am very, very grateful.

What's really important, as we head into half-term, is that young people remind themselves of the need to continue to social distance, not to gather in each other's homes over half-term, and to continue to follow the rules, because that gives us the best chance of minimising disruption to education going forward.

Diolch, David, am gydnabod yr ymdrech enfawr a fu i sicrhau bod ein lleoliadau ysgol mor ddiogel â phosibl rhag COVID. Fel chithau, yr hyn y mae angen inni ei wneud yw parhau i adolygu ein cymorth a'n canllawiau sydd ar gael i ysgolion yng ngoleuni profiad. Mae pethau y gallwn eu dysgu o hanner tymor cyntaf y flwyddyn academaidd newydd—a dyna pam y cyhoeddwyd canllawiau newydd yr wythnos diwethaf—yng ngoleuni'r profiadau sydd gennym. Ond yn gyffredinol, rydym wedi gweld lefelau cryf o ymlyniad at fesurau cadw pellter cymdeithasol yn ein hysgolion, ac rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn am hynny.

Yr hyn sy'n wirioneddol bwysig, wrth i ni agosáu at hanner tymor, yw bod pobl ifanc yn atgoffa eu hunain o'r angen i barhau i gadw pellter cymdeithasol, i beidio ag ymgynnull yng nghartrefi ei gilydd dros hanner tymor, ac i barhau i ddilyn y rheolau, oherwydd mae hynny'n rhoi'r cyfle gorau i ni leihau'r tarfu ar addysg wrth symud ymlaen.

Minister, the operational guidance for schools and settings for the autumn term—version 3, published by the Welsh Government—was updated two days ago. This guidance states that local authorities should communicate the control measures to schools and settings, and that schools and settings should work with staff, parents, carers and learners so that the revised arrangements will work in practice. Minister, how will the Welsh Government seek to ensure that there is a consistency of approach across schools in Islwyn, and how will the Welsh Government be kept updated by Caerphilly county borough on the measures adopted across the authority and across the academic year 2020-21?

Weinidog, diweddarwyd y canllawiau gweithredol ar gyfer ysgolion a lleoliadau ar gyfer tymor yr hydref—fersiwn 3, a gyhoeddwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru—ddeuddydd yn ôl. Mae'r canllawiau hyn yn nodi y dylai awdurdodau lleol gyfathrebu'r mesurau rheoli i ysgolion a lleoliadau, ac y dylai ysgolion a lleoliadau weithio gyda staff, rhieni, gofalwyr a dysgwyr er mwyn i'r trefniadau diwygiedig weithio'n ymarferol. Weinidog, sut y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn mynd ati i sicrhau dull gweithredu cyson ar draws ysgolion yn Islwyn, a sut y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cael y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf gan fwrdeistref sirol Caerffili am y mesurau a fabwysiadwyd ar draws yr awdurdod ac ar draws blwyddyn academaidd 2020-21?

Well, we are in regular contact with local authorities. We are aware that, sometimes, there are differences in the approach taken by local authorities in supporting their schools. That's why Estyn is currently doing a piece of work to identify good practice in local authorities supporting individual settings to adhere to rules and to support education during this time.

We, as a Welsh Government, will look to use all of our platforms to reinforce those messages with parents, because they, too, have a crucial role to play in decisions that they are making about their lives, and how they support their children to make good decisions—especially older children, and how they make good decisions when they are outside school—to ensure that we can minimise disruption and bear down on community transmission rates.

Wel, rydym mewn cysylltiad rheolaidd ag awdurdodau lleol. Rydym yn ymwybodol fod gwahaniaethau, weithiau, yn y dull a fabwysiadwyd gan awdurdodau lleol o gefnogi eu hysgolion. Dyna pam fod Estyn wrthi'n gwneud gwaith i nodi arferion da mewn awdurdodau lleol sy'n cefnogi lleoliadau unigol i gadw at reolau ac i gefnogi addysg yn ystod y cyfnod hwn.

Byddwn ni, fel Llywodraeth Cymru, yn ceisio defnyddio ein holl lwyfannau i atgyfnerthu'r negeseuon hynny gyda rhieni, oherwydd mae ganddynt hwythau hefyd rôl hollbwysig i'w chwarae mewn penderfyniadau y maent yn eu gwneud am eu bywydau, a sut y maent yn cefnogi eu plant i wneud penderfyniadau da—yn enwedig plant hŷn, a sut y maent yn gwneud penderfyniadau da pan fyddant y tu allan i'r ysgol—i sicrhau y gallwn leihau tarfu a lleihau cyfraddau trosglwyddo cymunedol.

Canlyniadau Arholiadau Haf 2020
The 2020 Summer Examination Results

4. A wnaiff y Gweinidog gadarnhau pryd y bydd yr adolygiad o ddyfarnu canlyniadau arholiadau yn ystod haf 2020 yn cael ei gyhoeddi? OQ55757

4. Will the Minister confirm when the review into the awarding of examination results in summer 2020 will be published? OQ55757

The independent panel that are reviewing arrangements for the awarding of grades from the 2020 summer exam series, and exploring considerations for 2021, will publish their interim report by the end of this month and their final report in December.

Bydd y panel annibynnol sy'n adolygu'r trefniadau ar gyfer dyfarnu graddau arholiadau haf 2020, ac yn archwilio ystyriaethau ar gyfer 2021, yn cyhoeddi eu hadroddiad interim erbyn diwedd y mis hwn a'u hadroddiad terfynol ym mis Rhagfyr.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. I have been approached by teachers who are very concerned about what will happen for the examinations in the summer of 2021. They need to be aware of what assessments pupils will be taking so that they can prepare pupils and they can prepare their work. And, if it is going to be an internally moderated type of approach, they also need to understand the extra work that that will require. So, while you indicate that the interim report will be published by the end of this month, and the final report by December, to be blunt, December is too late for some of the decisions and some of the actions that need to be taken. Will you be making a decision sooner than that to identify when, or whether, examinations will be going ahead in July 2021, and if not, what will be replacing them?  

Diolch am yr ateb hwnnw, Weinidog. Mae athrawon sy'n pryderu'n fawr ynglŷn â beth fydd yn digwydd yn arholiadau haf 2021 wedi bod mewn cysylltiad â mi. Mae angen iddynt fod yn ymwybodol o ba asesiadau y bydd disgyblion yn eu cael fel y gallant baratoi disgyblion a pharatoi eu gwaith. Ac os bydd yn ddull a gymedrolir yn fewnol, mae angen iddynt hefyd ddeall y gwaith ychwanegol y bydd ei angen yn sgil hynny. Felly, er eich bod yn dweud y bydd yr adroddiad interim yn cael ei gyhoeddi erbyn diwedd y mis hwn, a'r adroddiad terfynol erbyn mis Rhagfyr, i fod yn blwmp ac yn blaen, mae mis Rhagfyr yn rhy hwyr i rai o'r penderfyniadau a rhai o'r camau y mae angen eu cymryd. A fyddwch yn gwneud penderfyniad yn gynt na hynny i nodi pryd, neu a fydd, arholiadau'n mynd rhagddynt ym mis Gorffennaf 2021, ac os na, beth fydd yn dod yn eu lle?

It is my intention to make a statement in this regard, David, in the week beginning 9 November.

Fy mwriad yw gwneud datganiad yn hyn o beth, David, yn yr wythnos sy'n dechrau ar 9 Tachwedd.

Ysgolion yn Sir Benfro
Schools in Pembrokeshire

5. A wnaiff y Gweinidog amlinellu blaenoriaethau uniongyrchol Llywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer ysgolion yn sir Benfro? OQ55718

5. Will the Minister outline the Welsh Government's immediate priorities for schools in Pembrokeshire? OQ55718

My immediate priorities for schools in Pembrokeshire and, indeed, across Wales, is to provide the best possible learning experience for pupils, drawing on the learning guidance Welsh Government published in July, while keeping children, young people and staff safe.

Fy mlaenoriaethau uniongyrchol ar gyfer ysgolion yn sir Benfro ac yn wir, ledled Cymru, yw darparu'r profiad dysgu gorau posibl i ddisgyblion, gan ddefnyddio'r canllawiau dysgu a gyhoeddwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru ym mis Gorffennaf, gan gadw plant, pobl ifanc a staff yn ddiogel.

14:55

Thank you for that response, Minister. Now, as you know, supply teachers can play a key role in supporting our schools, and I'm sure that supporting those professionals is also a priority of yours. Now, I've received correspondence from local supply teachers who are deeply worried that many are not being paid the basic recommended minimum rate, as outlined in the supply teaching framework. As you know from my previous representations to you on this matter, supply staff have had a really tough time since the COVID-19 crisis. Many have been without any work, and furlough has been hard to work out or apply for due to the transient nature of their incomes. Therefore, can you tell us what steps the Welsh Government is taking to ensure the supply teaching framework is enforceable and that supply teachers are being paid adequately? And can you also tell us what the Welsh Government and local education authorities are doing to monitor this issue and ensure that supply staff are treated fairly, not only across Pembrokeshire, but, indeed, across the whole of Wales?

Diolch am yr ymateb hwnnw, Weinidog. Nawr, fel y gwyddoch, gall athrawon cyflenwi chwarae rhan allweddol yn y gwaith o gefnogi ein hysgolion, ac rwy'n siŵr bod cefnogi'r gweithwyr proffesiynol hynny yn flaenoriaeth i chi hefyd. Nawr, rwyf wedi derbyn gohebiaeth gan athrawon cyflenwi lleol sy'n poeni'n fawr nad yw nifer ohonynt yn cael y gyfradd sylfaenol isaf a argymhellir, fel yr amlinellir yn y fframwaith athrawon cyflenwi. Fel y gwyddoch o fy sylwadau blaenorol i chi ar y mater hwn, mae staff cyflenwi wedi cael amser caled iawn ers argyfwng COVID-19. Mae llawer wedi bod heb waith, ac mae wedi bod yn anodd cyfrifo neu wneud cais am ffyrlo oherwydd natur dros dro eu hincwm. Felly, a allwch chi ddweud wrthym pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn eu cymryd i sicrhau y gellir gorfodi'r fframwaith athrawon cyflenwi a bod athrawon cyflenwi'n cael eu talu'n ddigonol? Ac a allwch chi hefyd ddweud wrthym beth y mae Llywodraeth Cymru ac awdurdodau addysg lleol yn ei wneud i fonitro'r mater hwn a sicrhau bod staff cyflenwi'n cael eu trin yn deg, nid yn unig yn sir Benfro, ond ledled Cymru yn wir?

Yes, indeed. All those supply teaching agencies that are on the framework need to abide by the conditions of that framework, which seeks to protect the interests of supply teachers. If you, Paul, or indeed if any Member has evidence where that is not the case, then I can assure you that will be pursued by my officials and by members of staff in the National Procurement Service. Indeed, recently, such a case was brought to our attention, and that was immediately dealt with. In that case, the offer of work had been made directly by a school, and conversations were had to remind those people involved of their requirements to treat and pay supply staff securely. So, Paul, if you have constituents that are not in that position, please do bring them to my attention and I will assure you action will be taken.

Ie, yn wir. Mae angen i'r holl asiantaethau cyflenwi hynny sy'n rhan o'r fframwaith gadw at amodau'r fframwaith hwnnw, sy'n mynd ati i ddiogelu buddiannau athrawon cyflenwi. Os oes gennych chi, Paul, neu'n wir os oes gan unrhyw Aelod dystiolaeth ynglŷn â lle nad yw hynny'n wir, gallaf eich sicrhau y bydd fy swyddogion ac aelodau o staff y Gwasanaeth Caffael Cenedlaethol yn mynd ar drywydd hynny. Yn wir, yn ddiweddar, tynnwyd ein sylw at achos o'r fath, ac aethom i'r afael ag ef ar unwaith. Yn yr achos hwnnw, roedd y cynnig gwaith wedi'i wneud yn uniongyrchol gan ysgol, ac fe gafwyd sgyrsiau i atgoffa'r bobl dan sylw o'r angen iddynt drin a thalu staff cyflenwi yn ddigonol. Felly, Paul, os oes gennych etholwyr nad ydynt yn y sefyllfa honno, rhowch wybod i mi a gallaf eich sicrhau y byddaf yn gweithredu ar hynny.

Diolch, Llywydd. I was interested in the Minister's reply just now—

Diolch, Lywydd. Mae gennyf ddiddordeb yn ateb y Gweinidog—

You do need to ask the question.

Mae angen i chi ofyn y cwestiwn.

I apologise; it's been a while.

Ymddiheuriadau; mae cryn dipyn o amser wedi bod.

Addysg yng Nghanol De Cymru
Education in South Wales Central

6. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am ddarparu addysg yng Nghanol De Cymru? OQ55746

6. Will the Minister make a statement on the provision of education in South Wales Central? OQ55746

I would be delighted to. Local authorities have a statutory duty to maintain schools in their area. In South Wales Central, the Central South Consortium provides school improvement support to the 277 schools, the two special schools and the four pupil referral units that it covers.

Gwnaf, â phleser. Mae gan awdurdodau lleol ddyletswydd statudol i gynnal ysgolion yn eu hardal. Yng Nghanol De Cymru, mae Consortiwm Canolbarth y De yn darparu cymorth gwella ysgolion i'r 277 o ysgolion, y ddwy ysgol arbennig a'r pedair uned cyfeirio disgyblion dan eu goruchwyliaeth.

Thank you, Minister. In schools in England, the UK Government's intention is to go ahead with most exams next summer. Now, I'm aware from what the Minister just said in response to David Rees that she's making a statement on 9 November, and I realise she will not want to pre-empt this. Notwithstanding that, exams are the fairest and most transparent way to assess the ability of schoolpupils, and when they were cancelled last summer and we had replacement grades instead, there was a fiasco. Most pupils and students are saying that they want exams to proceed as they don't want a grade allocated by a teacher or generated by an algorithm. I know we are having this statement in a couple of weeks' time, but could the Minister assure us that she is doing all she can to ensure that school exams do take place in Wales next summer?

Diolch, Weinidog. Mewn ysgolion yn Lloegr, bwriad Llywodraeth y DU yw bwrw ymlaen â'r rhan fwyaf o arholiadau yr haf nesaf. Nawr, rwy'n ymwybodol fod y Gweinidog newydd ddweud mewn ymateb i David Rees y bydd yn gwneud datganiad ar 9 Tachwedd, ac rwy'n sylweddoli na fydd hi eisiau achub y blaen ar hyn. Er hynny, arholiadau yw'r ffordd decaf a mwyaf tryloyw o asesu gallu disgyblion ysgol, a phan gawsant eu canslo yr haf diwethaf, a phan roddwyd graddau i ddisgyblion yn lle hynny, roedd yn llanast. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o ddisgyblion a myfyrwyr yn dweud eu bod eisiau i arholiadau gael eu cynnal gan nad ydynt eisiau gradd wedi'i rhoi gan athro neu ei chynhyrchu gan algorithm. Gwn y byddwch yn gwneud y datganiad ymhen ychydig wythnosau, ond a allai'r Gweinidog ein sicrhau ei bod yn gwneud popeth yn ei gallu i sicrhau bod arholiadau ysgol yn cael eu cynnal yng Nghymru yr haf nesaf?

Well, the Member is right—examinations are an important and mainstream part of how we run our education system in Wales, but I am sure the Member will also agree that these are extraordinary times, and what an examination system cannot do is solve the issue on its own of the extreme disruption that there has been to children's education. Indeed, if the Member was to look at his own region, he would be aware that there are some children who, through no fault of their own but because they are in a bubble with a child who has contracted COVID-19, have had their education disrupted. How we find a system—an examination system—that treats that child as fairly as a child who has had no further disruption to their education because they are fortunate enough to be in a cohort that has not been sent home from school, I'm sure he would agree, is a challenge indeed. That's why I have asked the independent review to look at the situation, and he will have seen from Qualifications Wales, only this morning, that they too recognise that the disruption to education is considerable. England have made their decision; Scotland have made a different one. I will make a decision that I believe is in the best interests of Welsh learners and is fair to this particular cohort of children who, again, in the words of Qualifications Wales, have suffered more disruption and are more challenged—this cohort is—than even that of last year, and we need to be fair to them.

Wel, mae'r Aelod yn iawn—mae arholiadau'n rhan bwysig a phrif ffrwd o'r ffordd rydym yn gweithredu ein system addysg yng Nghymru, ond rwy'n siŵr y bydd yr Aelod hefyd yn cytuno bod hwn yn gyfnod eithriadol, a'r hyn na all system arholi ei wneud yw datrys y tarfu eithafol sydd wedi bod ar addysg plant ar ei phen ei hun. Yn wir, pe bai'r Aelod yn edrych ar ei ranbarth ei hun, byddai'n ymwybodol fod rhai plant, heb fod unrhyw fai arnynt hwy, wedi wynebu tarfu i'w haddysg am eu bod mewn swigen gyda phlentyn sydd wedi dal COVID-19. Mae'r ffordd rydym yn dod o hyd i system—system arholi—sy'n trin y plentyn hwnnw yr un mor deg â phlentyn nad yw wedi wynebu tarfu pellach i'w haddysg am eu bod yn ddigon ffodus i fod mewn carfan nad yw wedi cael ei hanfon adref o'r ysgol, rwy'n siŵr y byddai'n cytuno, yn her go iawn. Dyna pam y gofynnais i'r adolygiad annibynnol edrych ar y sefyllfa, a bydd wedi gweld y bore yma fod Cymwysterau Cymru hefyd wedi cydnabod bod y tarfu ar addysg yn sylweddol. Mae Lloegr wedi gwneud eu penderfyniad; mae'r Alban wedi gwneud un gwahanol. Byddaf yn gwneud penderfyniad sydd, yn fy marn i, er lles gorau dysgwyr Cymru ac sy'n deg â'r garfan benodol hon o blant sydd, unwaith eto, yng ngeiriau Cymwysterau Cymru, wedi dioddef mwy o aflonyddwch ac wedi wynebu mwy o heriau—y garfan hon—na charfan y llynedd hyd yn oed, ac mae angen inni fod yn deg â hwy.

15:00

Thank you, Minister, for that response to the opening question. Obviously, with the national lockdown that's coming in as of Friday evening, years 9 and above have been ordered to stay at home for one week of the school calendar. Can you point me to the scientific evidence that says that this is a sensible course of action for years 9 and above, or is it, as you said in your response to Suzy Davies, a sacrifice that we have to make to, obviously, suppress the virus?

Diolch am yr ymateb i'r cwestiwn agoriadol, Weinidog. Yn amlwg, gyda'r cyfyngiadau symud cenedlaethol sy'n dod i rym nos Wener, mae blynyddoedd 9 ac uwch wedi cael eu gorchymyn i aros gartref o'r ysgol am wythnos. A allwch chi fy nghyfeirio at y dystiolaeth wyddonol sy'n dweud bod hwn yn gam gweithredu synhwyrol ar gyfer blynyddoedd 9 ac uwch, neu fel y dywedoch chi yn eich ymateb i Suzy Davies, a yw'n aberth y mae'n rhaid inni ei wneud, yn amlwg, i atal y feirws?

You'll be aware of evidence contained within the TAC paper that talks about the contribution to reducing R from closing schools in their entirety and closing secondary schools in particular. Throughout this pandemic, I have tried to minimise the disruption to children and maximise education. It is very worrying for those children in years 9 and above that this decision has been reached, but, as I said in answer to earlier questions, this part of the cohort are best placed to be able to engage in self-directed and distanced learning. And I hope that, by suppressing the virus across Wales and driving down community rates of transmission, that will limit the amount of disruption to education as we head towards the end of this term.

Fe fyddwch yn ymwybodol o'r dystiolaeth sydd wedi'i chynnwys ym mhapur y gell cyngor technegol sy'n sôn am gyfraniad cau ysgolion yn eu cyfanrwydd a chau ysgolion uwchradd yn benodol i leihau rhif R. Drwy gydol y pandemig hwn, rwyf wedi ceisio lleihau'r aflonyddwch i blant a sicrhau'r addysg orau bosibl. Mae'n peri pryder mawr i'r plant hynny ym mlynyddoedd 9 ac uwch fod y penderfyniad hwn wedi'i wneud, ond fel y dywedais wrth ateb cwestiynau cynharach, mae'r rhan hon o'r garfan yn y sefyllfa orau i allu cymryd rhan mewn dysgu hunangyfeiriedig a dysgu o bell. A thrwy gyfyngu ar y feirws ledled Cymru a lleihau cyfraddau trosglwyddo cymunedol, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd hynny'n cyfyngu ar yr aflonyddwch i addysg wrth inni anelu at ddiwedd y tymor hwn.

Blynyddoedd Ysgol yn Hunanynysu
School Years Self-isolating

7. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ddatganiad am y newidiadau yn y canllawiau newydd ynghylch anfon blynyddoedd ysgol llawn adref i hunanynysu? OQ55758

7. Will the Minister make a statement on the changes in the new guidance regarding full school years being sent home to self-isolate? OQ55758

Additional guidance has been published in collaboration with Public Health Wales and test, trace, protect on the role of contact tracing when a positive COVID-19 case is identified in an education setting. This includes the identification of close contacts to limit, where possible, the number of pupils and staff who are asked to self-isolate as the result of a positive case.

Mae canllawiau ychwanegol wedi'u cyhoeddi ar y cyd ag Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru a profi, olrhain, diogelu ar rôl olrhain cysylltiadau pan nodir achos positif o COVID-19 mewn lleoliad addysg. Mae hyn yn cynnwys nodi cysylltiadau agos i gyfyngu lle bo'n bosibl ar nifer y disgyblion a staff y gofynnir iddynt hunanynysu o ganlyniad i achos positif.

Thank you. I don't underestimate the task for secondary school heads, in particular, of reconfiguring school layouts, timetables and attendance times in order to comply with the rules on social distancing and hygiene. But I don't think there can be any justification for hundreds of pupils being sent home to self-isolate just because one individual has tested positive. Five hundred and fifty three children were sent home from just two schools in Cardiff a week ago, and both of these where there was just one case. I don't think that's proportionate. Why are heads still in the position where they feel that they have no choice but to send so many pupils home? And do they need the protection of the law to give them the confidence to isolate smaller numbers?

Diolch. Nid wyf yn bychanu'r dasg i benaethiaid ysgolion uwchradd, yn arbennig, o ad-drefnu cynlluniau, amserlenni ac amseroedd presenoldeb ysgolion er mwyn cydymffurfio â'r rheolau ar gadw pellter cymdeithasol a hylendid. Ond nid wyf yn credu y gall fod unrhyw gyfiawnhad dros anfon cannoedd o ddisgyblion adref i hunanynysu oherwydd bod un unigolyn wedi cael canlyniad positif. Anfonwyd 553 o blant adref o ddwy ysgol yn unig yng Nghaerdydd wythnos yn ôl, a hynny oherwydd bod un achos positif yn y ddwy ysgol. Nid wyf yn credu bod hynny'n gymesur. Pam fod penaethiaid yn dal i fod mewn sefyllfa lle maent yn teimlo nad oes ganddynt ddewis ond anfon cynifer o ddisgyblion adref? Ac a ydynt angen amddiffyniad y gyfraith er mwyn rhoi hyder iddynt ynysu niferoedd llai?

Well, Suzy, you have just outlined beautifully the disruption that is happening on a daily basis, in some parts of Wales, to children's education. In the light of experience of this first half term, we have worked with TTP teams and health protection teams to reflect on the feedback given by headteachers to develop new guidance so that we can reduce the number of pupils and staff who are having to self-isolate. As you identified, one way in which we are looking to do this is by making sure that we can focus on schools having the processes in place to capture information so that we can have more confidence around what constitutes a close contact and to work with those schools to identify—perhaps, in the first instance, a bubble is sent home, but then to work as quickly as possible, following the bubble being sent home, to identify the close contacts within that particular group and then bring more of those children back into school within those 14 days of self-isolation.

So, you're right: we need to give support and confidence to headteachers to make these decisions. And, of course, headteachers need to work with us to have processes in place so that they can more easily and readily identify those children who will have had a close contact with a positive case, rather than asking entire year groups, or very large bubbles, to miss school.

Wel, Suzy, rydych newydd amlinellu'r aflonyddwch sy'n digwydd bob dydd, mewn rhai rhannau o Gymru, i addysg plant. Yng ngoleuni profiad yr hanner tymor cyntaf hwn, rydym wedi gweithio gyda thimau profi, olrhain, diogelu a thimau diogelu iechyd i fyfyrio ar yr adborth a roddwyd gan benaethiaid i ddatblygu canllawiau newydd fel y gallwn leihau nifer y disgyblion a staff sy'n gorfod hunanynysu. Fel y nodoch chi, un ffordd rydym yn ceisio gwneud hyn yw drwy sicrhau y gallwn ganolbwyntio ar sicrhau bod gan ysgolion brosesau ar waith i gasglu gwybodaeth fel y gallwn fod â mwy o hyder ynghylch yr hyn yw cyswllt agos a gweithio gyda'r ysgolion hynny i nodi—efallai, yn y lle cyntaf, fod swigen yn cael ei hanfon adref, ond wedyn i weithio cyn gynted â phosibl, ar ôl anfon y swigen adref, i nodi'r cysylltiadau agos o fewn y grŵp penodol hwnnw a dod â mwy o'r plant hynny yn ôl i'r ysgol o fewn y 14 diwrnod o hunanynysu.

Felly, rydych yn iawn: mae angen inni roi cefnogaeth a hyder i benaethiaid wneud y penderfyniadau hyn. Ac wrth gwrs, mae angen i benaethiaid weithio gyda ni i sefydlu prosesau er mwyn iddynt allu nodi plant a fydd wedi bod mewn cysylltiad agos ag achos positif yn haws ac yn fwy parod, yn hytrach na gofyn i grwpiau blynyddoedd cyfan, neu swigod mawr iawn, i golli ysgol.

Gwasanaethau Addysg Digidol
Digital Education Services

8. Sut bydd Llywodraeth Cymru'n cefnogi gwasanaethau addysg ddigidol eleni? OQ55754

8. How will the Welsh Goverment support digital education services this academic year? OQ55754

Thank you very much, Joyce, for that important question. Clearly, digital education services have come to the fore during the crisis, and we will continue to work with individual schools and local educational authorities to provide the digital resources children need.

Diolch yn fawr iawn am y cwestiwn pwysig hwnnw, Joyce. Yn amlwg, mae gwasanaethau addysg ddigidol wedi dod i'r amlwg yn ystod yr argyfwng, a byddwn yn parhau i weithio gydag ysgolion unigol ac awdurdodau addysg lleol i ddarparu'r adnoddau digidol sydd eu hangen ar blant.

15:05

I thank you for that answer, and the Welsh Government has made keeping children in schools one of its top priorities. And reflecting on the first wave of the pandemic, the Education Policy Institute commended Wales for leading the way in the UK in terms of providing IT and online learning and for supporting families eligible for free school meals in particular. But, sadly, disruption to face-to-face teaching and blended learning could be a feature of education for the foreseeable future, so we can't rest on our laurels. So, by your assessment, Minister, what additional support and resource will schools, teachers and families need to ensure no pupil is left behind?

Diolch am yr ateb hwnnw, ac mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dweud mai cadw plant mewn ysgolion yw un o'i phrif flaenoriaethau. A chan ystyried ton gyntaf y pandemig, cafodd Cymru ei chanmol gan y Sefydliad Polisi Addysg am arwain y ffordd yn y DU o ran darparu TG a dysgu ar-lein ac am gefnogi teuluoedd sy'n gymwys i gael prydau ysgol am ddim yn arbennig. Ond yn anffodus, gallai tarfu ar addysgu wyneb yn wyneb a dysgu cyfunol fod yn nodwedd o addysg hyd y gellir rhagweld, felly ni allwn orffwys ar ein bri. Felly, drwy eich asesiad, Weinidog, pa gymorth ac adnoddau ychwanegol fydd eu hangen ar ysgolion, athrawon a theuluoedd i sicrhau na chaiff unrhyw ddisgybl ei adael ar ôl?

Thank you, Joyce, and thank you for the recognition of the excellent partnership working between my department and local education authorities that allowed for the very swift distribution of many thousands of pieces of kit and equipment and Mi-Fi devices in the first phase of the pandemic. We continue to work with local education authorities to ensure that planned tech spend is getting kit into schools so that it can be distributed and we can continue to ensure that no child doesn't have the IT resources or connectivity that they need to allow them to participate in distance and blended learning, and to make sure that staff themselves have the requisite kit so that they can use that if they are required to work off school premises.

Diolch, Joyce, a diolch i chi am gydnabod y gwaith partneriaeth rhagorol rhwng fy adran i ac awdurdodau addysg lleol a ganiataodd i filoedd lawer o ddarnau o offer a dyfeisiau Mi-Fi gael eu darparu yn gyflym iawn yn ystod cyfnod cyntaf y pandemig. Rydym yn parhau i weithio gydag awdurdodau addysg lleol i sicrhau bod gwariant technoleg wedi'i gynllunio yn mynd tuag at offer i ysgolion fel y gellir ei ddosbarthu ac fel y gallwn barhau i sicrhau fod gan bob plentyn y cysylltedd a'r adnoddau TG sydd eu hangen arnynt i ganiatáu iddynt gymryd rhan mewn dysgu cyfunol a dysgu o bell, a sicrhau bod gan y staff eu hunain yr offer angenrheidiol fel y gallant ei ddefnyddio os oes angen iddynt weithio oddi ar safle'r ysgol.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I just listened to your response to Joyce Watson very, very carefully, and the particular issue I want to raise is the children who will be, or the students who will be, scheduled to take exams next year. Quite a few parents have raised concerns with me that their children are the ones that they feel should be—forgive me for using the word 'prioritised', but, because of the exam element, really need to make sure they have the right kit, and not only the right kit, but actually have the ability to access not just the blended learning, but, more importantly, the live learning. Parents are saying to me that they didn't have some of those opportunities during the first coronavirus wave. So, when you do publish your decision on the examinations later on this term, will you also perhaps give consideration to what reassurance you can offer the parents who are specifically concerned about their children who are facing those exams?

Diolch, Lywydd. Weinidog, gwrandewais ar eich ymateb i Joyce Watson yn ofalus iawn, a'r mater penodol rwyf eisiau ei godi yw'r plant sydd i fod, neu'r myfyrwyr sydd i fod yn sefyll arholiadau y flwyddyn nesaf. Mae cryn dipyn o rieni wedi lleisio pryderon mai eu plant hwy yw'r rhai y teimlant y dylent fod yn cael eu—maddeuwch i mi am ddefnyddio'r gair 'blaenoriaethu', ond, oherwydd yr elfen arholiadau, mae gwir angen iddynt sicrhau bod ganddynt yr offer cywir, ac nid yr offer cywir yn unig, ond bod ganddynt allu i gael mynediad nid yn unig at y dysgu cyfunol, ond yn bwysicach, at ddysgu byw. Mae rhieni'n dweud wrthyf na chawsant rai o'r cyfleoedd hynny yn ystod y don gyntaf o'r coronafeirws. Felly, pan fyddwch yn cyhoeddi eich penderfyniad ynglŷn â'r arholiadau yn ddiweddarach y tymor hwn, a wnewch chi hefyd ystyried pa sicrwydd y gallwch ei gynnig i'r rhieni sy'n pryderu'n benodol am eu plant sy'n wynebu'r arholiadau hynny?

Yes, of course. I can give you absolute assurance, Angela, that we will, in coming to a conclusion as to the summer series for 2021, be absolutely mindful of the needs of those learners for whom some have had even more disruption than others to their learning, and how we come up with a system that is fair to all learners that recognises the disproportionate impact that COVID may have had, through no fault of teachers. Because, even with extra kit and IT, the ability of a child to engage in some of that sometimes can be hampered by other issues at home. So, I can absolutely give you that assurance that learner interest will be at the forefront of my mind, and recognising the significant disruption that those children have had through no fault of their own.

Wrth gwrs. Gallaf roi sicrwydd llwyr i chi, Angela, y byddwn, wrth ddod i gasgliad ynglŷn ag arholiadau haf 2021, yn gwbl ymwybodol o anghenion y dysgwyr hynny, dysgwyr y mae rhai ohonynt wedi dioddef hyd yn oed mwy o aflonyddwch i'w dysgu nag eraill, a sut rydym yn cynnig system sy'n deg i bob dysgwr ac sy'n cydnabod yr effaith anghymesur y gallai COVID fod wedi'i chael, heb unrhyw fai ar athrawon. Oherwydd, hyd yn oed gyda TG ac offer ychwanegol, gall materion eraill yn y cartref lesteirio gallu plentyn i gymryd rhan mewn peth o hynny weithiau. Felly, gallaf roi'r sicrwydd hwnnw i chi y bydd lles dysgwyr ar flaen fy meddwl, gan gydnabod yr aflonyddwch sylweddol y mae'r plant hynny wedi'i wynebu heb fod unrhyw fai arnynt hwy.

3. Cwestiynau i Gomisiwn y Senedd
3. Questions to the Senedd Commission

Yr eitem nesaf, felly, yw'r cwestiynau i Gomisiwn y Senedd, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf i'w ateb gan y Comisiynydd Joyce Watson, a'r cwestiwn i'w ofyn gan Helen Mary Jones.

The next item is questions to the Senedd Commission, and the first question is to be answered by Commissioner Joyce Watson and to be asked by Helen Mary Jones.

Staff sy'n Gweithio Gartref
Staff Working from Home

1. Sut mae'r Comisiwn yn cefnogi staff sy'n gweithio gartref yn ystod pandemig y coronafeirws? OQ55729

1. How does the Commission support staff working from home during the coronavirus pandemic? OQ55729

6. Pa fesurau sydd ar waith i gefnogi staff y Comisiwn sy'n gweithio gartref yn ystod y pandemig? OQ55741

6. What measures are in place to support Commission staff working from home during the pandemic? OQ55741

I thank you for that question. The measures provided to Commission staff are extensive and include practical support in the form of ICT and other hardware and home office adaptations, including desks and chairs; health, safety and emotional support, ranging from display screen equipment assessments and working from home guidance through to support and access to well-being resources. There's flexibility around working practices to support those staff with caring responsibilities, and ongoing and regular two-way communication. Since September, identified individuals struggling with well-being or who have difficulty with their home environment can attend the workplace, and all these arrangements are kept under review as the circumstances change.

Diolch am y cwestiwn hwnnw. Mae'r mesurau a ddarperir i staff y Comisiwn yn helaeth ac yn cynnwys cymorth ymarferol ar ffurf TGCh ac addasiadau eraill i galedwedd a swyddfeydd cartref, gan gynnwys desgiau a chadeiriau; iechyd, diogelwch a chymorth emosiynol, yn amrywio o asesiadau offer a sgrin arddangos a chanllawiau gweithio o'r cartref i gymorth a mynediad at adnoddau llesiant. Ceir hyblygrwydd o ran arferion gwaith i gefnogi staff sydd â chyfrifoldebau gofalu, yn ogystal â chyfathrebu dwy ffordd parhaus a rheolaidd. Ers mis Medi, gall unigolion sy'n cael trafferth gyda llesiant neu sy'n cael anhawster gyda'u hamgylchedd cartref fynychu'r gweithle, a bydd yr holl drefniadau hyn yn cael eu hadolygu wrth i'r amgylchiadau newid.

15:10

I'm very grateful to the Commissioner for her answer. I have to say that that is very reassuring. I'd specifically like to ask whether those criteria that enable some staff to come into the workplace include circumstances where people may be at home with very small children and may find it very stressful to be working from home. So, are those kinds of family circumstances included in the kind of special circumstances under which a member of staff might be allowed to work in the workplace?

Rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn i'r Comisiynydd am ei hateb. Mae'n rhaid imi ddweud bod hynny'n galonogol iawn. Hoffwn ofyn yn benodol a yw'r meini prawf sy'n galluogi rhai staff i ddod i mewn i'r gweithle yn cynnwys amgylchiadau lle gall pobl fod gartref gyda phlant bach iawn ac efallai'n ei chael hi'n anodd iawn gweithio gartref. Felly, a yw'r mathau hynny o amgylchiadau teuluol wedi'u cynnwys yn y math o amgylchiadau arbennig lle gellid caniatáu i aelod o staff weithio yn y gweithle?

Thank you for that. Of course, every home has a different environment, and all individuals, of course, have different challenges. And, as I said in my first answer, it is the case that the communication lines are kept open, and there are many communications. We do have the business continuity surveys—two well-being pulse surveys have allowed us to explore and respond to the practical, as well as emotional and physical well-being, to good effect. We do meet with the trade unions twice weekly, with regular interaction with staff networks. And, of course, we as employers, the Assembly Members, also have a duty to our staff. So, there have been things put in place, where it's safe to do so, for staff to enter the workplace when that's possible. Of course, it won't be so easily possible in the lockdown period, where the advice is clearly to work from home.

Diolch i chi am hynny. Wrth gwrs, mae gan bob cartref amgylchedd gwahanol, ac mae pob unigolyn, wrth gwrs, yn wynebu heriau gwahanol. Ac fel y dywedais yn fy ateb cyntaf, mae'n wir fod y llinellau cyfathrebu'n cael eu cadw ar agor, ac mae llawer o gyfathrebu. Mae gennym yr arolygon parhad busnes—mae dau arolwg pwls o lesiant wedi caniatáu inni archwilio ac ymateb i lesiant ymarferol, yn ogystal â llesiant emosiynol a chorfforol, yn effeithiol. Rydym yn cyfarfod â'r undebau llafur ddwywaith yr wythnos, gan ryngweithio'n rheolaidd â rhwydweithiau staff. Ac wrth gwrs, mae gennym ni fel cyflogwyr, Aelodau'r Cynulliad, ddyletswydd i'n staff hefyd. Felly, mae pethau wedi'u rhoi ar waith lle mae'n ddiogel gwneud hynny, i alluogi staff i fynd i'r gweithle pan fo hynny'n bosibl. Wrth gwrs, ni fydd mor hawdd gwneud hynny yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud, lle cynghorir pobl i weithio gartref wrth gwrs.

Question 1 has been grouped with question 6, so David Melding to ask his supplementary. David Melding.

Mae cwestiwn 1 wedi'i grwpio gyda chwestiwn 6, felly David Melding i ofyn ei gwestiwn atodol. David Melding.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Commissioner, can I put on record my own thanks—and I'm sure I speak for all Members of this Senedd—for the outstanding support we get from the Commission staff, and, of course, we realise that much of that support is coming via our own Zooming and contacts. But the level of professionalism that's been maintained is really quite extraordinary. But we obviously see that staff are often now in a much more isolated position than they would be in the usual work environment, and I think we do need to be reassured that the normal methods, both informal and formal, of supervision, appraisal and support are present so that staff have those lines of communication should they be feeling either direct strain through their duties, or just the general social situation we're all in at this extraordinary time in our history.

Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Gomisiynydd, a gaf fi gofnodi fy niolch fy hun—ac rwy'n siŵr fy mod yn siarad ar ran yr holl Aelodau o'r Senedd—am y gefnogaeth ragorol a gawn gan staff y Comisiwn, ac wrth gwrs, sylweddolwn fod llawer o'r cymorth hwnnw'n dod drwy ein cyfarfodydd Zoom a'n cysylltiadau ein hunain. Ond mae lefel y proffesiynoldeb sydd wedi'i gynnal yn eithaf eithriadol. Ond rydym yn amlwg yn gweld bod staff yn aml bellach mewn sefyllfa lawer mwy ynysig nag y byddent yn yr amgylchedd gwaith arferol, a chredaf fod angen i ni gael sicrwydd fod y dulliau arferol, anffurfiol a ffurfiol, o oruchwylio, arfarnu a chefnogi yn bresennol fel bod gan staff y llinellau cyfathrebu hynny os ydynt yn teimlo straen uniongyrchol drwy eu dyletswyddau, neu straen y sefyllfa gymdeithasol gyffredinol rydym i gyd ynddi yn y cyfnod eithriadol hwn yn ein hanes.

You're absolutely right, David. Keeping communication lines open—because we all are here today, as you've just said, quite rightly, because other staff are supporting that. So, there are regular team meetings and individual meetings and social activity that are ongoing, and some of those are weekly communications. There are several all-staff meetings, there are question and answer sessions, there are written and video blogs on sustaining business, working at home and our planning work to ensure staff feel connected with each other, because isolation is obviously a big challenge to many, many people. That's done through engagement with the trade unions and equality networks.

We are, of course, having to move on. We're having to plan actively for the long term, and there are pulse surveys that are providing rich data, and a large percentage of staff feel well connected at home. Working from home is a challenge for some people, but it is equally an opportunity for other people, and it may well be the case that, moving forward, in the recruitment, we will be able to offer employment opportunities to a wider range and a more diverse range of people.

Rydych yn llygad eich lle, David. Cadw llinellau cyfathrebu ar agor—oherwydd rydym i gyd yma heddiw, fel rydych newydd ei ddweud yn gywir, am fod staff eraill yn cefnogi hynny. Felly, mae cyfarfodydd tîm rheolaidd a chyfarfodydd unigol a gweithgarwch cymdeithasol yn mynd rhagddynt, ac mae rhai o'r rheini'n gyfathrebiadau wythnosol. Cynhelir nifer o gyfarfodydd staff cyffredinol, cynhelir sesiynau holi ac ateb, ceir blogiau ysgrifenedig a blogiau fideo ar gynnal gwaith, gweithio gartref a'n gwaith cynllunio i sicrhau bod staff yn teimlo mewn cysylltiad â'i gilydd, oherwydd mae ynysu'n amlwg yn her fawr i lawer o bobl. Mae hynny wedi'i wneud drwy ymgysylltu â'r undebau llafur a rhwydweithiau cydraddoldeb.

Wrth gwrs, mae'n rhaid i ni symud ymlaen. Rydym yn gorfod cynllunio'n weithredol ar gyfer y tymor hir, a cheir arolygon pwls sy'n darparu data cyfoethog, ac mae canran fawr o staff yn teimlo bod ganddynt gysylltiad da gartref. Mae gweithio gartref yn her i rai pobl, ond yn yr un modd, mae'n gyfle i bobl eraill, ac mae'n ddigon posibl y byddwn, wrth symud ymlaen, wrth recriwtio, yn gallu cynnig cyfleoedd cyflogaeth i ystod ehangach ac ystod fwy amrywiol o bobl.

15:15

Can I thank you for the report, and also applaud all the good intentions and the work that is being done? But can I say that I really am not so reassured in this process? What we have is the most dramatic change in the way in which work is carried out at home, and in work technologically, in many ways, and where similar situations have occurred over recent decades, there is a need for us as employers and for the institution to actually take a proactive approach to this. I think there are issues of mental health, eye strain, musculoskeletal problems, occupational stress, ergonomic issues, and there are issues over the hours. What is very clear is that it is not a case of us managing this new environment and Zoom and so on, but Zoom and the environment is actually managing us far more.

What I think needs to be taken, and what I think should be taken, and what I think is our legal duty to take, is to actually commission a radical occupational health analysis of what is happening at the moment and how people are working. I think it has to be a proactive, expert report that will come forward with recommendations. I think it needs to be done sooner rather than later, because this way of working is going to be with us for a long way in a very intense period of time. I wonder if you could actually take that back to the Commission to actually take those steps, which actually, I think, are probably the legal steps that we do need to take now. The existing steps are, I think, reactive rather than proactive, and I think it's that change of approach that I would recommend.

A gaf fi ddiolch i chi am yr adroddiad, yn ogystal â chanmol yr holl fwriadau da a'r gwaith sy'n cael ei wneud? Ond a gaf fi ddweud nad wyf yn teimlo cymaint â hynny o sicrwydd ynghylch y broses hon? Yr hyn sydd gennym yw'r newid mwyaf dramatig yn y ffordd y mae gwaith yn cael ei wneud gartref, ac yn y gwaith yn dechnolegol, a hynny mewn sawl ffordd, a lle mae sefyllfaoedd tebyg wedi digwydd dros y degawdau diwethaf, mae angen i ni fel sefydliad a chyflogwyr fynd ati'n rhagweithiol i ymdrin â hyn. Credaf fod materion yn codi mewn perthynas ag iechyd meddwl, straen llygaid, problemau cyhyrysgerbydol, straen galwedigaethol, materion ergonomig, a materion yn ymwneud â'r oriau. Yr hyn sy'n amlwg iawn yw nad yw'n fater ohonom ni'n rheoli'r amgylchedd newydd hwn a Zoom ac yn y blaen, ond yn hytrach, fod Zoom a'r amgylchedd yn ein rheoli ni i raddau llawer mwy.

Yr hyn rwy'n credu y mae angen i ni ei gymryd, a'r hyn rwy'n credu sy'n ddyletswydd gyfreithiol arnom i'w wneud, yw comisiynu dadansoddiad iechyd galwedigaethol radical o'r hyn sy'n digwydd ar hyn o bryd a sut y mae pobl yn gweithio. Credaf fod yn rhaid iddo fod yn adroddiad rhagweithiol, arbenigol a fydd yn cyflwyno argymhellion. Credaf fod angen ei wneud yn gynt yn hytrach nag yn hwyrach, oherwydd bydd y ffordd hon o weithio yn aros gyda ni am gyfnod hir a dwys iawn. Tybed a allech ddweud hynny wrth y Comisiwn a gofyn iddynt gymryd y camau hynny sef y camau cyfreithiol y mae angen inni eu cymryd yn awr yn fy marn i. Credaf fod y camau presennol yn adweithiol yn hytrach nag yn rhagweithiol, a chredaf mai dyna'r newid yn y dull o weithredu y byddwn yn ei argymell.

I agree that we have to make absolutely certain that all those things you mentioned, the eye strain, the posture—I'm sure mine isn't very good here at the moment, and that of many other people. So, I think a review now is absolutely the right time because, as I said, we are looking at reviewing working forward. There is a recognition, of course, that many people will want to carry on working from home, and on the other hand, other people may have to work from home. That is what happened when we had the coronavirus in the very first place: we suddenly had to find different ways of working in March and people are carrying that out.

In terms of the immediate, which is what the Commission has focused on, and the things that they've done, they are giving health, safety and emotional support in the form of working from home guidance and display screen equipment assessments, and they've set up guidance on posture, ICT guidance, information and links, and that is of course all online. We've also helped people who've experienced domestic abuse during lockdown and, again, that is hugely important for those people.

But you raised the issue, quite rightly, about looking after the workforce in the same way that they would be looked after if they were visibly within an office, and all those things that would have happened to make sure that their chairs and their screens were ergonomically aligned, and that their desks were able to move according to their need. So, there is an assessment that needs to happen. That assessment, I'm sure, will happen and I most definitely will, along with other Members here, be taking that back and giving it very serious consideration, and I thank you for it.

Rwy'n cytuno bod rhaid inni sicrhau nad yw'r holl bethau hynny y sonioch chi amdanynt, y straen llygaid, ystum y corff—rwy'n siŵr nad yw fy un i'n dda iawn yma ar hyn o bryd, ac mae hynny'n wir am lawer o bobl eraill. Felly, credaf mai nawr yw'r adeg iawn i gael adolygiad oherwydd, fel y dywedais, rydym yn ystyried adolygu wrth symud ymlaen. Mae cydnabyddiaeth, wrth gwrs, y bydd llawer o bobl eisiau parhau i weithio gartref, ac ar y llaw arall, efallai y bydd yn rhaid i bobl eraill weithio gartref. Dyna a ddigwyddodd pan gawsom y don gyntaf o'r coronafeirws: yn sydyn bu'n rhaid inni ddod o hyd i wahanol ffyrdd o weithio ym mis Mawrth ac mae pobl bellach yn gwneud hynny.

O ran yr hyn y mae'r Comisiwn wedi canolbwyntio arno, a'r pethau y maent wedi'u gwneud, maent yn rhoi iechyd, diogelwch a chymorth emosiynol ar ffurf canllawiau gweithio gartref ac asesiadau offer sgrin arddangos, ac maent wedi sefydlu canllawiau ar ystum y corff, canllawiau TGCh, gwybodaeth a chysylltiadau, ac mae hynny, wrth gwrs, i gyd ar-lein. Rydym hefyd wedi helpu pobl sydd wedi cael eu cam-drin yn y cartref yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud ac unwaith eto, mae hynny'n eithriadol o bwysig i'r bobl hynny.

Ond rydych wedi codi'r mater, a hynny'n gwbl briodol, ynghylch gofalu am y gweithlu yn yr un modd ag y byddent yn cael gofal pe baent yn weladwy mewn swyddfa, a'r holl bethau a fyddai wedi digwydd i sicrhau bod eu cadeiriau a'u sgriniau wedi'u gosod yn ergonomig, a bod eu desgiau'n gallu symud yn ôl eu hangen. Felly, mae angen cynnal asesiad. Rwy'n siŵr y bydd yr asesiad hwnnw'n digwydd ac yn bendant, gyda'r Aelodau eraill yma, byddaf yn rhoi ystyriaeth ddifrifol iawn iddo, a diolch i chi am hynny.

Cwestiwn 2 sy'n nesaf, ac mae'r cwestiwn hynny i'w ateb gan y Comisiynydd David Rowlands, ac i'w ofyn gan Andrew R.T. Davies.

Question 2 is next, and that question is to be answered by Commissioner David Rowlands, and asked by Andrew R.T. Davies.

Andrew R.T. Davies—can the microphone be unmuted? Here we go.

Andrew R.T. Davies—a oes modd troi'r sain ymlaen? Dyna ni.

Llywodraeth Cymru ac Adeilad Tŷ Hywel
Welsh Government and the Tŷ Hywel Building

2. A wnaiff y Comisiwn ddatganiad am sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn defnyddio cyfleusterau yn adeilad Tŷ Hywel? OQ55748

2. Will the Commission make a statement on the Welsh Government's use of facilities in the Tŷ Hywel building? OQ55748

Can I thank Andrew R.T. for that question? The position is that the Welsh Government has a sub-lease to occupy office space on the fifth and second floors of Tŷ Hywel. The sub-lease includes the use of shared facilities, including car parking, meeting and conference rooms, canteen and catering facilities, cycle storage, electric vehicle charging points and, lastly, post room services.

A gaf fi ddiolch i Andrew R.T. am y cwestiwn hwnnw? Y sefyllfa yw bod gan Lywodraeth Cymru is-les i feddiannu swyddfeydd ar bumed llawr ac ail lawr Tŷ Hywel. Mae'r is-les yn cynnwys defnyddio cyfleusterau a rennir, gan gynnwys mannau parcio ceir, ystafelloedd cyfarfod a chynadledda, cyfleusterau ffreutur ac arlwyo, storio beiciau, mannau gwefru cerbydau trydan ac yn olaf, gwasanaethau ystafell y post.

15:20

Thank you for that answer, Commissioner. Obviously, the Welsh Government, since 29 September, have chosen to participate in Plenary and Assembly proceedings via the Zoom method, rather than being in person in the Plenary or committee meetings. I'd be grateful to understand from the Commissioner: have any Government Ministers attended the facilities in Tŷ Hywel, because obviously people have seen Ministers—I'm not referring to officials, I'm referring to Ministers only—within the precincts of the Assembly estate? So I think it's important for us to understand whether Ministers are making use of the facilities that they have access to on the Tŷ Hywel part of the complex.

Diolch am yr ateb hwnnw, Gomisiynydd. Yn amlwg, mae Llywodraeth Cymru, ers 29 Medi, wedi dewis cymryd rhan yn nhrafodion y Cyfarfod Llawn a'r Cynulliad drwy Zoom, yn hytrach na mynychu'r Cyfarfod Llawn neu gyfarfodydd pwyllgor yn bersonol. Byddwn yn ddiolchgar am gael gwybod gan y Comisiynydd: a oes unrhyw Weinidogion yn y Llywodraeth wedi mynychu'r cyfleusterau yn Nhŷ Hywel, oherwydd mae'n amlwg fod pobl wedi gweld Gweinidogion—nid wyf yn cyfeirio at swyddogion, rwy'n cyfeirio at Weinidogion yn unig—o fewn ystâd y Cynulliad? Felly, rwy'n credu ei bod yn bwysig i ni ddeall a yw Gweinidogion yn defnyddio'r cyfleusterau y mae ganddynt fynediad atynt ar ran Tŷ Hywel o'r ystâd.

Daeth David Melding i’r Gadair.

David Melding took the Chair.

Well, there is a process for managing access to the estate, which includes a notification process for all users of the estate, Members and their staff, Ministers and their staff, and Commission staff and contractors, and this has been shared with all users and it is working effectively. 

Wel, mae proses ar gyfer rheoli mynediad at yr ystâd, sy'n cynnwys proses hysbysu ar gyfer holl ddefnyddwyr yr ystâd, Aelodau a'u staff, Gweinidogion a'u staff, a staff a chontractwyr y Comisiwn, ac mae hyn wedi'i rannu â phob defnyddiwr ac mae'n gweithio'n effeithiol.

Well, it does cover the fact that we have to be very careful as to who is actually on the estate at any one time. I am not in a position to answer for Ministers, R.T., as you know.

Wel, mae'n ymdrin â'r ffaith bod yn rhaid inni fod yn ofalus iawn ynghylch pwy sydd ar yr ystâd ar unrhyw un adeg. Nid wyf mewn sefyllfa i ateb ar ran y Gweinidogion, R.T., fel y gwyddoch.

Thank you, Commissioner. These are questions, not conversations, I remind Members. 

Question 3 will be answered by the Llywydd. Alun Davies.

Diolch, Gomisiynydd. Hoffwn atgoffa'r Aelodau mai cwestiynau yw'r rhain ac nid sgyrsiau.

Bydd cwestiwn 3 yn cael ei ateb gan y Llywydd. Alun Davies.

Etholiadau Nesaf y Senedd
The Next Senedd Elections

3. A wnaiff y Comisiwn ddatganiad am baratoadau i sicrhau y bydd etholiadau nesaf y Senedd fis Mai yn mynd rhagddynt yn ôl y bwriad? OQ55764

3. Will the Commision make a statement on preparations to ensure that next May's Senedd elections will go ahead as planned? OQ55764

Bydd etholiad nesaf y Senedd yn garreg filltir hanesyddol i Gymru, gan y bydd pobl ifanc 16 a 17 oed yn cael pleidleisio am y tro cyntaf. Mae pandemig COVID yn golygu ei bod yn bosib y gwelir newidiadau i’r ffordd y caiff yr etholiad ei weinyddu o ran profiad y pleidleiswyr, a hynny er mwyn diogelu iechyd y cyhoedd. Swyddogion canlyniadau awdurdodau lleol, Llywodraeth Cymru a'r Comisiwn Etholiadol sy'n gyfrifol am gynnal etholiad y Senedd. Fodd bynnag, mae swyddogion y Comisiwn wedi bod yn cymryd rhan yn y grŵp cynllunio etholiadau a gynullwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru, i sicrhau bod y Comisiwn yn paratoi’n drylwyr ac i roi cyngor ar weithdrefnau perthnasol y Senedd.

The forthcoming Senedd elections will be a historic milestone for Wales, with 16 and 17-year-olds voting for the first time. The COVID pandemic will likely result in changes to the administration of the election and voter experience, in order to protect public health. Now, it's returning officers in local authorities, the Welsh Government and the Electoral Commission who are responsible for delivering Senedd elections. However, Commission officials have been attending a Welsh Government convened election planning group to ensure that the Commission is well prepared and to advise on relevant procedures of the Senedd.

Diolch yn fawr. Dwi'n gwerthfawrogi'r ateb yna gan y Llywydd, a dwi'n gwerthfawrogi'r gwaith sy'n cael ei wneud. Dwi eisiau bod mewn sefyllfa ble, os oes yn rhaid inni newid y gyfraith, ein bod ni'n gwneud hynny ymlaen llaw. Dwi'n awyddus iawn, iawn, iawn i sicrhau ein bod ni'n ystyried yr holl ddewisiadau a fydd gennym ni, yr opsiynau y byddwn ni, efallai, yn eu hwynebu ym mis Mai, a bod pob un peth wedi cael ei wneud—os oes yn rhaid newid y gyfraith, os oes yn rhaid gwneud trefniadau, beth bynnag ydyn nhw, fod y Comisiwn yn ran o hynny. Dwi'n deall y sefyllfa gyda swyddogion awdurdodau lleol ac yn y blaen, ond dwi eisiau bod yn sicr bod gennym ni bob peth yn ei le so bydd dim byd yn rhwystro'r etholiadau rhag cymryd lle ym mis Mai.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that response from the Llywydd, and I appreciate the work that is being done. I want to be in a situation where, if we do need to change the law, that we do that in good time. I am very, very eager to ensure that we consider all the options available to us, those options that we may face in May, and that everything possible has been done—if we need to make changes to the law or to make particular arrangements, or whatever it may be, that the Commission should be part of that process. I understand the situation with returning officers in local authorities and so on, but I do want an assurance that we have everything in place so nothing will prevent those elections from taking place in May.

Wel, bydd yr Aelod yn gwybod, fel y dywedais i yn fy ateb i—cyfeiriais i at y ffaith bod y Llywodraeth wedi cynnull grŵp cynllunio etholiadau, ac mae'r grŵp hynny wedi bod yn cwrdd, a'r Comisiwn yn rhan o'r grŵp hynny, ac wedi cytuno ar adroddiad sydd heb ei gyhoeddi ar hyn o bryd, ond wedi ei gyflwyno i'r Prif Weinidog. Mae yna sawl agwedd yn rhan o'r gwaith hynny. Dwi'n siŵr, ar ryw bwynt, fe fydd y Prif Weinidog a'r Llywodraeth yn mynd ati i wneud cyhoeddiadau, mae'n siŵr, ynglŷn â goblygiadau pandemig COVID ar ein hetholiadau ni ar gyfer y flwyddyn nesaf, ond dwi eisiau bod y penderfyniadau hynny a'r cyhoeddiadau hynny, p'un ai a ydyn nhw'n ymwneud â'r angen i gael deddfwriaeth neu beidio yn y lle yma, eu bod nhw'n cael eu gwneud cyn gynted â phosib fel bod pob penderfyniad yn cael ei drafod fan hyn yn y Senedd ac yn cael ei sgrwtineiddio yn llwyr os ydy hwnna'n fater o ddeddfwriaeth hefyd.

Felly, gorau po gyntaf y byddwn ni'n gweld y drafodaeth yma'n drafodaeth gyhoeddus, gan gofio, wrth gwrs, ein bod ni yng nghanol cyfnod eithriadol o anodd ar y Llywodraeth ac ar bobl Cymru a bod angen inni fod yn rhesymol yn hyn oll. Ond, wrth gwrs, mae pobl Cymru yn haeddu eu hawl i bleidleisio ar gyfer ein Senedd nesaf ni, ac fe ddylai hynny fod ym mis Mai y flwyddyn nesaf, gan obeithio y bydd y pandemig COVID yn caniatáu i hynny ddigwydd. 

Well, the Member will know, as I said in my response—I referred to the fact that the Government has convened an electoral planning group, and that group has been meeting, and the Commission has been part of that group, and has agreed on a report that hasn't yet been published, but has been submitted to the First Minister. There are several aspects to that work. I'm sure that, at some point, the First Minister and the Government will make announcements with regard to the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for our elections next year, but I want those decisions and those announcements, whether they involve the need for legislation in this place or not, to be made as soon as possible so that every decision is discussed here at the Senedd and scrutinised thoroughly, particularly with regard to legislation, if need be.

So the sooner the better in terms of when we will see this discussion happening in the public sphere, remembering, of course, that we are facing a situation that is very difficult for the Government and the people of Wales and that we have to be reasonable in this regard. But, of course, the people of Wales deserve to exercise their right to vote for our next Senedd, and that should be next May, in the hope that the COVID pandemic will allow that to happen.

15:25

Question 4 will be answered by Joyce Watson. Neil McEvoy.

Bydd cwestiwn 4 yn cael ei ateb gan Joyce Watson. Neil McEvoy.

Gwahaniaethu Anuniongyrchol ar sail Hil
Indirect Racial Discrimination

4. Pa asesiad y mae'r Comisiwn wedi'i wneud o'i bolisïau i sicrhau nad yw gwahaniaethu anuniongyrchol ar sail hil yn digwydd i aelodau etholedig a staff? OQ55734

4. What assessment has the Commission made of its policies to ensure that indirect racial discrimination of elected members and staff does not take place? OQ55734

[Inaudible.]—are developed and periodically reviewed through a robust process, which includes consultation with all our workplace equality networks, our trade unions, our lawyers, and, when appropriate, advice from our external lawyers. New or revised policies are assessed against all protected characteristics through an equality impact assessment, and the Commission works with independent benchmarking bodies for external assurance on specific aspects of policy. We also gain feedback from Members, their staff and Commission staff, through various surveys, including the dignity and respect survey. Diversity and inclusion training is available for Members, Members' support staff and Commission staff. Members, Members' staff and Commission staff all have avenues to raise concerns formally, if necessary. Provision of specific policy for Members and Members' own staff is the responsibility of the remuneration board. Diversity and inclusion considerations are central to the remuneration board's work.

[Anghlywadwy.]—yn cael eu datblygu a'u hadolygu yn gyson drwy broses gadarn, sy'n cynnwys ymgynghori â'n holl rwydweithiau cydraddoldeb yn y gweithle, ein hundebau llafur, ein cyfreithwyr, a lle bo'n briodol, cyngor gan ein cyfreithwyr allanol. Asesir polisïau newydd neu ddiwygiedig yn erbyn yr holl nodweddion gwarchodedig drwy asesiad o'r effaith ar gydraddoldeb, ac mae'r Comisiwn yn gweithio gyda chyrff meincnodi annibynnol i gael sicrwydd allanol ar agweddau penodol ar bolisi. Rydym hefyd yn cael adborth gan Aelodau, eu staff a staff y Comisiwn, drwy arolygon amrywiol, gan gynnwys yr arolwg urddas a pharch. Mae hyfforddiant amrywiaeth a chynhwysiant ar gael i Aelodau, staff cymorth yr Aelodau a staff y Comisiwn. Mae gan Aelodau, staff yr Aelodau a staff y Comisiwn i gyd ffyrdd o godi pryderon yn ffurfiol, os oes angen. Cyfrifoldeb y bwrdd taliadau yw darparu polisi penodol ar gyfer Aelodau a staff yr Aelodau. Mae ystyriaethau amrywiaeth a chynhwysiant yn ganolog i waith y bwrdd taliadau.

Thank you. The definition of victimisation according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission is when you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of race-related discrimination. Indirect discrimination is when an organisation has a particular policy or a way of working that puts people of your racial group at a disadvantage. During the lockdown, it was at the discretion of the Presiding Officer to decide who would question the First Minister rather than the usual fair ballot system.

Diolch. Y diffiniad o erledigaeth yn ôl y Comisiwn Cydraddoldeb a Hawliau Dynol yw pan fyddwch yn cael eich trin yn wael oherwydd eich bod wedi gwneud cwyn am wahaniaethu ar sail hil. Gwahaniaethu anuniongyrchol yw pan fydd gan sefydliad bolisi penodol neu ffordd o weithio sy'n rhoi pobl yn eich grŵp hiliol o dan anfantais. Yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud, mater i'r Llywydd oedd penderfynu pwy fyddai'n holi'r Prif Weinidog yn hytrach na'r system bleidlais deg arferol.

Order. Order. Order. Neil, this relates to an issue of procedure in the Senedd, which is conducted by the Presiding Officers, and it's not something that the Commissioner is qualified to speak about. So, I have to ask you to sit down as this question or this supplementary cannot be in order.

Trefn. Trefn. Trefn. Neil, mae hwn yn fater sy'n ymwneud â gweithdrefn yn y Senedd, dan arweiniad y Llywyddion, ac nid yw'n rhywbeth y mae'r Comisiynydd yn gymwys i siarad amdano. Felly, mae'n rhaid i mi ofyn i chi eistedd oherwydd mae'r cwestiwn hwn, neu mae'r cwestiwn atodol hwn, yn groes i'r drefn.

It was in order. The officials agreed this question. It has been accepted. I'm raising an issue of racism in this Parliament, indirect discrimination, and I would ask you with the utmost respect that you let me continue, please.

Nid oedd yn groes i'r drefn. Cytunodd y swyddogion ar y cwestiwn hwn. Fe'i derbyniwyd. Rwy'n codi mater hiliaeth yn y Senedd hon, gwahaniaethu anuniongyrchol, a hoffwn ofyn i chi, gyda'r parch mwyaf, adael i mi barhau, os gwelwch yn dda.

Was the script cleared with him? What was the script cleared with us? 

A gafodd y sgript ei derbyn? Beth oedd y sgript a gafodd ei derbyn gennym?

You can ask me to pose the question in—

Gallwch ofyn i mi ofyn y cwestiwn mewn—

Order. You've just told me that the script you were reading was given to the Presiding Office.

Trefn. Rydych newydd ddweud wrthyf fod y sgript roeddech yn ei darllen wedi'i gosod yn Swyddfa'r Llywydd.