Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
Yr wythnos diwethaf, dywedodd y Swyddfa Cyfrifoldeb Cyllidebol y byddwn yn gweld, yn 2022\-23, y gostyngiad mwyaf mewn safonau byw yn y DU ers i gofnodion ddechrau cael eu cadw. Er gwaethaf galwadau eang ar Lywodraeth y DU i ddarparu mwy o gefnogaeth drwy ddatganiad y gwanwyn i helpu pobl sy'n ei chael yn anodd talu cost cynyddol biliau eu haelwyd, cyhoeddodd y Canghellor gynnydd o ddim ond £27 miliwn yng nghyllid adnoddau Llywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer 2022\-23\.


Gyda'r gyfradd chwyddiant a ragwelir yn 7\.4% ar hyn o bryd, roedd datganiad y gwanwyn yn gyfle i unioni’r penderfyniad i gynyddu budd\-daliadau lles 3\.1% yn unig, i weithredu i leihau biliau ynni ac i leddfu rhywfaint o’r pwysau ariannol sydd ar aelwydydd sy'n agored i niwed ar hyn o bryd o ganlyniad i'r argyfwng costau byw.


Yn hytrach, mae Llywodraeth y DU \- sy'n gyfrifol am y prif ddulliau o fynd i'r afael â thlodi \- wedi dewis peidio â defnyddio'r pŵer gwario sydd ganddynt i fuddsoddi mewn mesurau o sylwedd i gefnogi pobl ar adeg pan fod mwy o angen arnynt nag erioed. Bydd pwysau sylweddol ar gyllidebau aelwydydd o ganlyniad i chwyddiant, prisiau ynni cynyddol a chynnydd mewn cyfraniadau Yswiriant Gwladol. Mae'r penderfyniad i beidio ag uwchraddio budd\-daliadau yn unol â chwyddiant yn golygu gostyngiad o £290 mewn termau real o flwyddyn i flwyddyn mewn incwm o fudd\-daliadau ar gyfer ein cartrefi incwm isaf. Mae hyn ar ben y £1,000 y flwyddyn a gollodd dros 230,000 o aelwydydd fis Hydref diwethaf pan wnaeth Llywodraeth y DU ddileu’r cynnydd o £20 yr wythnos i Gredyd Cynhwysol.


Mae Llywodraeth Cymru eisoes wedi cymryd camau i ddelio â'r cynnydd digynsail hwn mewn costau byw. Ers mis Tachwedd diwethaf, rydym wedi buddsoddi dros £380 miliwn mewn pecyn cymorth i aelwydydd incwm isel i helpu gyda’r pwysau uniongyrchol ar gostau byw.


Bydd y cymorth ariannol hwn yn helpu i ariannu taliad costau byw o £150 i bob aelwyd mewn eiddo sydd ym mandiau A i D y dreth gyngor ac i bob aelwyd sy'n derbyn cymorth gan Gynllun Gostyngiadau'r Dreth Gyngor ym mhob band treth gyngor. Bydd y cynllun yn cael ei weinyddu gan awdurdodau lleol a bydd yn rhedeg o fis Ebrill i fis Medi eleni. Yn ogystal, bydd £25m arall ar gael i awdurdodau lleol ar ffurf cronfa ddewisol. Byddant yn gallu targedu'r cyllid ychwanegol hwn i helpu aelwydydd sy’n cael trafferthion.


Roedd y pecyn cymorth hefyd yn cynnwys cyllid ar gyfer y Cynllun Cymorth Tanwydd Gaeaf a ddarparodd daliad o £200 i aelwydydd cymwys i helpu i dalu cost biliau hanfodol dros gyfnod y gaeaf. Bydd y cyllid hwn hefyd yn cefnogi cynllun cymorth tanwydd pellach a fydd yn cael ei lansio yn yr hydref. Rydym wrthi’n ystyried sut y gall y cynllun gyrraedd mwy o aelwydydd fel bod mwy o bobl yn cael y taliad o £200 sy'n cynnig cymorth mor hanfodol.


Ar ben hyn, dyrannwyd £2\.84 miliwn arall i leddfu pwysau’r galw cynyddol ar fanciau bwyd a chefnogi camau gweithredu i helpu i fynd i'r afael â thlodi bwyd. Roedd hyn yn adeiladu ar y buddsoddiad o £2 filiwn a ddarparwyd am y drydedd flwyddyn yn olynol i gefnogi sefydliadau bwyd cymunedol i helpu i fynd i'r afael â thlodi bwyd ac ansicrwydd bwyd. Ym mis Mai, byddaf yn cynnal cyfarfod bord gron ar dlodi bwyd i ystyried sut y gellir defnyddio  adnoddau yn y ffordd fwyaf effeithiol i leihau ac atal yr angen i ddibynnu ar ddarpariaeth bwyd brys.


Fel rhan o gyllideb derfynol 2022/23, mae £15m arall ar gael ar gyfer y Gronfa Cymorth Dewisol. Bydd hyn yn helpu i ymestyn yr hyblygrwydd a roddwyd tan fis Mawrth 2023, gan sicrhau bod mwy o bobl yn cael cymorth ariannol brys pan fydd ei angen arnynt. Mae'r ffigur hwn yn ychwanegol at y cynnydd o £7m y flwyddyn yng nghyllideb y gronfa am y tair blynedd nesaf.


Rydym yn ymestyn cymorth y Gronfa Cymorth Dewisol drwy gydol yr haf a'r gaeaf hyd at ddiwedd mis Mawrth 2023 ar gyfer aelwydydd oddi ar y grid nad ydynt yn gallu fforddio eu cyflenwad nesaf o olew neu LPG oherwydd caledi ariannol eithafol. Bydd hyn yn helpu'r aelwydydd hynny drwy roi hyd at £250 fel taliad untro ar gyfer olew neu hyd at dri thaliad o £70 ar gyfer LPG.


Rwyf hefyd wedi cytuno i ymestyn y cyllid grant presennol ar gyfer y Gronfa Gynghori Sengl tan fis Mawrth 2023 ac, yn amodol ar gadarnhad o'r gyllideb, rwyf wedi cymeradwyo ymestyn y cyllid grant tan fis Mawrth 2024\. Mae hyn yn cynnig rhywfaint o sefydlogrwydd i ddarparwyr ar adeg pan fydd mwy o bobl angen eu cymorth i reoli'r problemau y mae’r argyfwng costau byw yn eu creu.


Mae risg sylweddol y bydd pobl mewn angen dybryd a'r rhai sydd â hanes credyd gwael ac nad ydynt yn ymwybodol o ddarparwyr fforddiadwy fel undebau credyd, yn troi at fenthycwyr cost uchel neu anghyfreithlon. Er mwyn lliniaru'r risg hon, rydym wedi sicrhau £620k ychwanegol yn 2022\-23 er mwyn i undebau credyd allu parhau ag ymgyrch farchnata ddigidol ddwys ac ehangu eu benthyciadau fel eu bod yn gallu cefnogi mwy o bobl sydd mewn sefyllfa ariannol fregus. Mae hyn ar ben y £500k sydd eisoes yn eu le i gefnogi gwaith yr undebau credyd. Yn ogystal, bydd Cynllun Benthyciad Dim Llog yn dechrau yng Nghymru eleni, a fydd yn helpu hyd yn oed mwy o bobl i gael credyd fforddiadwy pan fydd ei angen arnynt.


Ym mis Hydref 2021, lansiwyd ein hail ymgyrch genedlaethol ar hawlio budd\-daliadau er mwyn codi ymwybyddiaeth pobl a'u hannog i gysylltu â Advicelink Cymru i gael gwybodaeth am sut i gael gafael ar y budd\-daliadau y mae ganddynt hawl iddynt. Fe wnaethom hefyd ail\-lansio ein hymgyrch treth gyngor ar 21 Mawrth 2022 i godi ymwybyddiaeth o'r ystod eang o gymorth y gall aelwydydd ei gael gyda'u treth gyngor ac i annog pobl i ganfod a ydynt yn gymwys.


Rydym hefyd wedi darparu cymorth ariannol i gydnabod y pwysau sy'n wynebu grwpiau penodol: ym mis Mawrth cyhoeddwyd taliad untro ychwanegol o £100 i bob plentyn neu berson ifanc sy'n gymwys ar gyfer y Grant Datblygu Disgyblion – Mynediad ar gyfer y flwyddyn ysgol sydd i ddod; bydd mwy na 57,000 o ofalwyr di\-dâl yn derbyn taliad o £500 i gydnabod eu rôl hanfodol yn ystod y pandemig; bydd tua 53,000 o weithwyr cartrefi gofal cofrestredig, gweithwyr gofal cartref a chynorthwywyr personol yng Nghymru hefyd yn derbyn taliad o £1,498 (gros) ochr yn ochr â chyflwyno'r cyflog byw gwirioneddol.


Fel llywodraeth, rydym yn benderfynol o wneud popeth o fewn ein gallu i gefnogi'r rhai sy'n ei chael hi’n anodd iawn ar hyn o bryd a chymryd y camau sydd eu hangen i feithrin gwydnwch yn ein cymunedau. Byddaf yn cynnal ail uwchgynhadledd ar gostau byw yn yr haf pan fyddwn yn ystyried eto a oes mwy y gallwn ei wneud, drwy weithio gyda phartneriaid, i fynd i'r afael â'r anghydraddoldebau y mae'r argyfwng presennol wedi tynnu sylw atynt.







Translation:


 
Last week, the Office of Budget Responsibility stated that 2022\-23 will see the biggest fall in living standards in the UK since records began. Despite widespread calls on the UK Government to deliver more support through the spring statement to help people who are struggling to meet the rising cost of household bills, the Chancellor announced an increase of just £27million in the Welsh Government’s resource funding for 2022\-23\.


With the forecast inflation rate currently at 7\.4%, the spring statement was an opportunity to put right its decision to uplift welfare benefits by just 3\.1%; it was an opportunity to act to reduce energy bills; it was an opportunity to alleviate some of the financial pressures currently experienced by vulnerable households as a result of the cost of living crisis.


Instead, the UK Government \- which holds the key levers for tackling poverty \- has chosen not to use the spending power it has available to invest in substantive measures to support people when they need it most. People will see household budgets come under significant pressure as a result of inflation, rising energy prices and increased National Insurance contributions. The decision not to uprate benefits in line with inflation means a £290 real terms year\-on\-year fall in benefit income for our lowest income households. This is on top of the £1,000 a year that over 230,000 households lost last October when the UK government ended the £20pw Universal Credit uplift payment.


Welsh Government has already taken action to deal with this unprecedented rise in the cost of living. Since last November, we have invested more than £380 million in a package of support for low income households to meet the immediate pressures on living costs.


This financial support will help fund a £150 cost\-of\-living payment for all households in properties in council tax bands A to D and to all households which receive support from the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in all council tax bands. The scheme will be administered by local authorities and will run from April to September this year. A further £25m will be available to local authorities in the form of a discretionary fund. They will be able to target this additional funding to help households which may be struggling.


The support package also included funding for the Winter Fuel Support Scheme which provided a £200 payment for eligible households to help meet the cost of essential bills over the winter period. The funding will also support a further fuel support scheme to be launched in this coming autumn. We are looking at how the scheme can reach more households so more people receive the £200 payment which offers such crucial support.


A further £2\.84 million was allocated to relieve the pressures of increasing demand on food banks and support action to help tackle food poverty. This built on the £2 million investment which we provided for the third year running to support community food organisations to help tackle food poverty and address food insecurity. In May, I will be hosting a food poverty roundtable to consider how resources can most effectively be directed to reduce and prevent the need for reliance on emergency food provision.


As part of the 2022/23 final budget, a further £15m has been made available for the Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF). This will help extend flexibilities until March 2023, ensuring more people receive emergency financial support when they need it. This figure is in addition to the fund budget uplift of £7m per annum for the next three years.


We are extending DAF support throughout the summer and winter up to the end of March 2023 for off\-grid households which are unable to afford their next delivery of oil or LPG due to extreme financial hardship. This will help those households with up to £250 for a one\-off oil payment or up to three payments of £70 for LPG.


I have also agreed to extend the current grant funding for the Single Advice Fund until March 2023 and, subject to budget confirmation, I have approved to extend the grant funding until March 2024\.  This offers providers a degree of stability at a time when more people will need their help to manage the problems the cost of living crisis is generating. 


There is a significant risk that people in desperation and those with a poor credit history who are unaware of affordable providers such as credit unions, will turn to high cost or illegal lenders. To mitigate this risk, we have secured an additional £620k in 2022\-23 for credit unions to continue an intensive digital marketing campaign and expand their lending so they can support more financially vulnerable people. This is in addition to £500k already in place to support the work of credit unions. A No Interest Loan Scheme will begin in Wales this year, which will support even more people to access affordable credit when they need it.


In October 2021, we launched our second national benefit take\-up campaign, to raise people’s awareness and encourage them to contact Advicelink Cymru for information on accessing the benefits they are entitled to. In addition, on 21 March 2022, we relaunched our council tax ‘green pig’ campaign to raise awareness of the wide range of support households can receive with their council tax, and urge people to find out if they are eligible.


We have also provided financial support in recognition of the pressures facing particular groups: in March we announced an additional one off payment of £100 to every child or young person eligible for PDG Access for the upcoming school year; more than 57,000 unpaid carers will receive a £500 payment in recognition of the pivotal role they played during the pandemic; approximately 53,000 registered care home workers, domiciliary care workers and Personal Assistants in Wales will also receive a payment of £1,498 (gross) alongside the introduction of the real living wage.


As a government we are determined to do all we can to support those who find themselves vulnerable at this time and take the steps needed to build resilience in our communities. I will be hosting a second cost of living summit in the summer when we will look again at more we can do, working with partners, to address the inequalities that the current crisis has brought so starkly into focus.