English: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move this motion in the name of Plaid Cymru, which regrets the way in which the Welsh Government has scrapped the school uniform grant, because the grant, as we know, has provided crucially important support to many families - those poorest families in Wales - in order to ensure that their children can have an appropriate uniform to attend school. Over the last year alone, 5,500 pupils have been supported under this grant. It is appreciated by local authorities, by schools - we hear stories from the teaching unions as to how individual teachers sometimes have to go into their own pockets to buy items of school uniform for pupils. So, any question as to whether that kind of support is needed is an empty question, to all intents and purposes. And, of course, most importantly, it is appreciated by those parents who find it difficult to make ends meet, and for those children, of course, who are in receipt of free school meals. It is a disgrace that a Labour Government, or a Labour-led Government at least, is cutting that crucial support for the poorest and most deprived in our society, and at a time when it is needed as much as ever, if not more so. At a time when the Conservatives in Government in the UK are cutting the welfare budget, and cutting support for the poorest in our society, when living costs are increasing and salaries are shrinking, the last thing we would expect from Labour is this. And let us put to bed this claim that it has always been the intention to introduce an alternative scheme. Certainly, there was no-one on the Labour backbenches who were aware of that when this news emerged. There was no talk of an alternative proposal when this was first mooted in the media. If it was an intention, well, fine, but shouldn't that alternative proposal have been in place before the current grant was scrapped? That is, we could have avoided all of the confusion and all of the concern among the most vulnerable people and the most needy people in our society. And the first response of the Welsh Government, of course, when the news emerged, was to say, quite carelessly, if I may say so, that the cost of school uniform had reduced in any case. Well, I and others have seen on the Bevan Foundation website how they described this as a mealy-mouthed justification for a cut that would save a relatively small sum for Government, but, of course, would be of huge cost to those most needy parents. We know that the average cost per annum to pay for secondary school uniform is now £316, according to the Teaching Times, and simultaneously the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the working-age families who are poorest and who have children will see their incomes reduced by 20 per cent between 2015 and 2020. So, those poorest families need this support more than ever. It is not a matter of going to a supermarket to buy the cheapest school uniforms now, of course. An increasing number of schools insist that school uniforms have to be bought branded from specific suppliers. Now, I'm a parent at Ysgol Brynhyfryd in Ruthin, and they went through a process of introducing a new school uniform recently - and I should declare an interest as a parent, I'm sure, in that issue, and I will do so. But at that time, many of the parents argued in the local press that you could buy school trousers that are three-times cheaper from other suppliers. There was a similar story recently in Monmouthshire, and I know that many Members here will be familiar with that story. Research by the Children's Society shows that more than 70 per cent of parents say now that they do have to buy some or all of their children's school uniform from a designated supplier. Their analysis demonstrates that parents across Britain could save hundreds of millions of pounds if they were allowed to buy school uniforms from cheaper suppliers. But the Welsh Government's response that school uniform is cheaper anyway by now, I have to say, was insulting, cold-hearted and demonstrated to many of us how out of touch they are with the reality of everyday life. Now, I share the disappointment, and, indeed, the despondency of the Children's Commissioner for Wales at this decision. It wasn't clear in the Government's budgetary motion, and it hasn't been subject to any sort of public consultation. It was a unilateral decision by Government. Has there been an impact assessment on the rights of children? Has an equality impact assessment been prepared? Has the Government given due regard to the public sector equality duty or the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child? These are all questions that remain unanswered and which should have been answered before the decision reached this point. In the meantime, of course, some counties are now saying that they're going to try to step into the breach in certain circumstances, and are looking at where they can make other cuts in current budgets in order to do that. So, something will have to give in those areas. I have spoken to local authorities across north Wales and at least half of them have said that there will be no support available from them as local authorities, and therefore the prospect is very real that that support will not be available in those areas. And there's a pattern here, if I may say so, there's a pattern emerging: cutting a grant or a budget, there's a response out there on the ground, then they scramble to restore the situation and then there's huge confusion about a quick fix to try to restore the situation. We saw that with the minority ethnic achievement grant, the MEAG - it was scrapped, there was a strong response to that cut, the Welsh Government then found some funding from reserves and cobbled an alternative proposal together, and local authorities are still unclear as to how that will be distributed at a regional level. The same thing is happening again here: they cut the school uniform grant, there's a negative reaction and then they make an announcement, 'Oh no, there's an alternative proposal' - which is pretty vague at the moment - 'in train'. But, you're not conning anyone. It's a total shambles. Our poorest families deserve better; our most disadvantaged pupils deserve better and Plaid Cymru insists that the Welsh Government restores the school uniform grant.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n codi i gynnig y ddadl yma yn enw Plaid Cymru, sydd yn ceryddu y modd y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi mynd ati i ddiddymu y grant gwisg ysgol, oherwydd mae'r grant, fel rydym ni'n gwybod, wedi rhoi cefnogaeth allweddol bwysig i nifer fawr o deuluoedd - y teuluoedd tlotaf yna yng Nghymru - i fedru sicrhau bod eu plant nhw yn cael gwisg ysgol i fynd i'r ysgol. Mae 5,500 o ddisgyblion wedi cael cefnogaeth gan y grant y flwyddyn ddiwethaf yn unig. Mae'n cael ei werthfawrogi gan awdurdodau lleol, gan ysgolion - rŷm ni'n clywed am hanesion gan yr undebau athrawon sut mae athrawon unigol weithiau yn gorfod mynd i'w pocedi eu hunain i brynu peth gwisg ysgol i ddisgyblion. Felly, mae unrhyw gwestiwn am yr angen am y math yna o gefnogaeth yn gwestiwn gwag, i bob pwrpas. Ac, wrth gwrs, yn bwysicach na dim byd, mae'n cael ei werthfawrogi gan y rhieni yna sy'n ei chael yn anodd i gael dau ben llinyn ynghyd, ac i'r plant yna, wrth gwrs, sydd yn derbyn cinio ysgol am ddim. Mae'n warthus o beth fod Llywodraeth Lafur, neu Lywodraeth sy'n cael ei harwain gan Lafur, beth bynnag, yn torri'r gefnogaeth hanfodol honno i'r tlotaf a'r mwyaf difreintiedig yn ein cymdeithas ni, a hynny ar yr amser, wrth gwrs, pan fod ei angen e gymaint ag erioed, os nad yn fwy, felly. Ar yr adeg y mae'r Ceidwadwyr yn Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig yn torri ar y gwasanaeth lles, ac yn torri nôl ar y gefnogaeth i'r tlotaf mewn cymdeithas, pan fo costau byw ar gynnydd a chyflogau'n crebachu, y peth olaf y byddem ni'n ei ddisgwyl gan Lafur yw hyn. A gadewch inni daro ar ei ben yr honiad yma ei bod hi'n wastad wedi bod yn fwriad cyflwyno cynllun amgen. Nid oedd neb, yn sicr, o feinciau cefn Llafur yn gwybod hynny pan ddaeth y newydd i'r amlwg. Nid oedd sôn am gynllun amgen pan adroddwyd gyntaf ar y toriad yn y cyfryngau. Os oedd e'n fwriad, wel, iawn, ond oni ddylai cynllun amgen fod yn ei le cyn diddymu yr un presennol? Hynny yw, mi ellid bod wedi osgoi yr holl ddryswch a'r holl ofid ymhlith rhai o'r aelodau mwyaf bregus ac anghenus yn ein cymdeithas ni. Ac ymateb cyntaf Llywodraeth Cymru, wrth gwrs, pan ddaeth y newyddion, oedd dweud yn ddigon di-hid, os caf ddweud, fod cost gwisg ysgol wedi gostwng erbyn hyn beth bynnag. Wel, rydw i ac eraill wedi gweld ar wefan Sefydliad Bevan sut roedden nhw'n disgrifio hyn fel rhyw fath o mealy-mouthed justification am doriad a fyddai'n arbed swm cymharol fychan i'r Llywodraeth, ond, wrth gwrs, yn gost aruthrol i'r rhieni mwyaf anghenus. Rydym ni'n gwybod bod y gost ar gyfartaledd bob blwyddyn i dalu am wisg ysgol uwchradd erbyn hyn yn £316, yn ôl y Teaching Times, ac ar yr un pryd mae'r IFS yn amcangyfrif bod y teuluoedd oed gwaith tlotaf sydd â phlant yn mynd i weld eu hincwm nhw yn gostwng 20 y cant rhwng 2015 a 2020. Felly, mae'r teuluoedd tlotaf yna angen y gefnogaeth yma yn fwy nag erioed. Nid mater o fynd i'r archfarchnad i brynu y dillad ysgol rhataf yw e erbyn hyn, wrth gwrs. Mae nifer cynyddol o ysgolion yn mynnu bod rhaid prynu dillad ysgol wedi eu brandio o gyflenwyr penodol. Nawr, rydw i'n rhiant yn Ysgol Brynhyfryd yn Rhuthun, ac mi aethon nhw drwy broses o gyflwyno gwisg ysgol newydd yn ddiweddar - ac mi ddylwn i ddatgan diddordeb fel rhiant, mae'n siŵr, yn y mater hwnnw, ac mi wnaf i hynny. Ond, wrth gwrs, ar yr adeg honno, fe ddadleuodd nifer o rieni yn y wasg leol y gallech chi fod yn prynu trywsus ysgol sydd dair gwaith yn rhatach o ddarparwyr eraill. Mae yna stori debyg wedi bod yn ddiweddar yn sir Fynwy, ac rydw i'n gwybod y bydd nifer o Aelodau fan hyn yn gyfarwydd â'r stori honno. Mae ymchwil gan Gymdeithas y Plant yn dangos bod dros 70 y cant o rieni yn dweud erbyn hyn eu bod nhw bellach yn gorfod prynu peth neu'r cyfan o wisg ysgol eu plant o gyflenwyr penodol. Mae eu dadansoddiad nhw yn datgelu y gallai rhieni ar draws Prydain arbed cannoedd o filiynau o bunnau petai nhw'n cael prynu dillad ysgol o gyflenwyr rhatach. Ond roedd ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru fod dillad ysgol yn rhatach erbyn hyn, mae'n rhaid i fi ddweud, yn sarhaus, yn galon oer ac yn dangos i nifer ohonom ni gymaint allan o gysylltiad y maen nhw â realiti bywyd heddiw. Nawr, rwy'n rhannu siom, ac yn wir, digalondid Comisiynydd Plant Cymru am y penderfyniad yma. Nid oedd yn glir yng nghynnig cyllidebol y Llywodraeth, ac nid ydy e wedi bod yn destun unrhyw fath o ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus. Penderfyniad unochrog - unilateral - gan y Llywodraeth yw hyn. A oes yna asesiad effaith hawliau plant wedi bod? A oes yna asesiad effaith cydraddoldeb wedi ei baratoi? A ydy'r Llywodraeth wedi rhoi sylw dyledus i'r ddyletswydd cydraddoldeb sector cyhoeddus neu i Gonfensiwn y Cenhedloedd Unedig ar Hawliau'r Plentyn? Mae'r rhain oll yn gwestiynau sydd heb eu hateb ac y dylid fod wedi'u hateb cyn i'r penderfyniad gyrraedd y pwynt y mae wedi'i gyrraedd erbyn hyn. Yn y cyfamser, wrth gwrs, mae rhai siroedd yn dweud nawr eu bod nhw am drio, efallai, camu i'r adwy mewn rhai llefydd, ond yn edrych ble y gallan nhw dorri o fewn eu cyllidebau presennol er mwyn gwneud hynny, felly mi fydd rhywbeth yn gorfod rhoi yn yr ardaloedd hynny. Rydw i wedi siarad ag awdurdodau lleol ar draws y gogledd ac mae o leiaf hanner ohonyn nhw wedi dweud na fydd unrhyw gefnogaeth ar gael ganddyn nhw fel awdurdodau lleol, ac felly mae'r prospect yn real na fydd y gefnogaeth ar gael yn yr ardaloedd hynny. Ac mae yna batrwm fan hyn, os caf i ddweud, mae yna batrwm yn dod i'r amlwg: torri grant neu gyllideb, mae yna adwaith allan yn y wlad, wedyn sgramblo i adfer y sefyllfa ac wedyn mae yna ddryswch o gwmpas rhyw quick fix i drio adfer y sefyllfa. Fe welsom ni hynny gyda'r grant cyflawniad ethnig lleiafrifol, y MEAG - grant yn cael ei ddiddymu, adwaith cryf i'r toriad hwnnw, Llywodraeth Cymru, wedyn, yn ffeindio rhyw bres o arian wrth gefn ac yn coblo rhyw drefniant amgen at ei gilydd, ac nid yw awdurdodau lleol yn dal ddim yn glir, gyda llaw, sut y bydd hynny'n cael ei ddosbarthu ar lefel ranbarthol. Mae'r un peth yn digwydd eto fan hyn: torri'r grant gwisg ysgol, adwaith negyddol eithriadol a chyhoeddi wedyn, 'O na, na, mae yna ryw gynllun amgen' - digon annelwig ar hyn o bryd - 'ar y gweill'. Nid ydych chi'n twyllo neb. Mae'n shambles llwyr. Mae'n teuluoedd tlotaf ni'n haeddu gwell; mae'n plant mwyaf difreintiedig ni'n haeddu gwell ac mae Plaid Cymru'n mynnu bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn adfer y grant gwisgoedd ysgol.