English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion to approve the Education Workforce Council (Interim Suspension Orders) (Additional Functions) (Wales) Order 2021. The Order addresses recommendation 21 of the Children, Young People and Education Committee in their report on the teachers' professional learning and education inquiry, namely that the 'remit of the Education Workforce Council should be extended to provide it with power to suspend teachers in appropriate circumstances.' However, it's important that I point out that the Order goes further in that it will enable the council to suspend all categories of registered persons, not only schoolteachers. Interim suspension orders are commonly used by professional regulators in Wales and the United Kingdom as a means to temporarily suspend a person's registration whilst a serious concern is being investigated, or pending the outcome of criminal proceedings relating to serious charges. An interim suspension order will not be a disciplinary order, but instead a temporary measure to be taken pending an investigation and a disciplinary hearing. A person can appeal against the imposition of an interim suspension order, and it will be subject to regular review. The maximum period for which an interim suspension order may have an effect, without an application to the High Court for an extension, is 18 months. The decision to impose an interim suspension order would not involve a final determination of facts relating to the allegations in the case. The primary purpose of the imposition of an interim suspension order is to ensure the protection and safeguarding of children and young people, as it would ensure that an individual who has a very serious allegation made against them would not continue to have the status of a registered person while the investigative and disciplinary processes are being carried out. The Government believes that the Order provides a significant additional safeguarding protection to children and young people, and therefore I ask Members of the Senedd to approve the Order before us today.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n cynnig y cynnig i gymeradwyo Gorchymyn Cyngor y Gweithlu Addysg (Gorchmynion Atal Dros Dro Interim) (Swyddogaethau Ychwanegol) (Cymru) 2021. Mae'r Gorchymyn yn mynd i'r afael ag argymhelliad 21 y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg yn ei adroddiad ar yr ymchwiliad i ddysgu ac addysg broffesiynol athrawon, sef y dylid ymestyn cylch gwaith Cyngor y Gweithlu Addysg i roi iddo'r grym i atal athrawon mewn amgylchiadau priodol. Fodd bynnag, mae'n bwysig imi dynnu sylw at y ffaith bod y Gorchymyn yn mynd ymhellach gan y bydd yn galluogi'r cyngor i atal pob categori o bersonau cofrestredig, nid athrawon ysgol yn unig. Defnyddir gorchmynion atal dros dro yn gyffredin gan reoleiddwyr proffesiynol yng Nghymru a'r Deyrnas Unedig fel modd i atal dros dro gofrestriad person wrth ymchwilio i bryder difrifol, neu hyd nes y ceir canlyniad achos troseddol sy'n ymwneud â thaliadau difrifol. Ni fydd gorchymyn atal dros dro yn orchymyn disgyblu, ond yn hytrach yn fesur dros dro i'w weithredu wrth aros am ymchwiliad a gwrandawiad disgyblu. Gall rhywun apelio yn erbyn cyflwyno gorchymyn atal dros dro, a bydd y gorchymyn hwnnw wedyn yn destun adolygiad rheolaidd. Y cyfnod hwyaf y gall gorchymyn atal dros dro fod yn berthnasol iddo, heb gais i'r Uchel Lys am estyniad, yw 18 mis. Ni fyddai'r penderfyniad i gyflwyno gorchymyn atal dros dro yn golygu penderfynu'n derfynol ar ffeithiau sy'n ymwneud â'r honiadau yn yr achos. Prif ddiben cyflwyno gorchymyn atal dros dro yw sicrhau bod plant a phobl ifanc yn cael eu hamddiffyn a'u diogelu, gan y byddai'n sicrhau na fyddai unigolyn sydd â honiad difrifol iawn yn ei erbyn yn parhau i fod â statws person cofrestredig tra bo'r prosesau ymchwilio a disgyblu yn cael eu cynnal. Mae'r Llywodraeth yn credu bod y Gorchymyn yn darparu amddiffyniad diogelu ychwanegol sylweddol i blant a phobl ifanc, ac felly gofynnaf i Aelodau'r Senedd gymeradwyo'r Gorchymyn sydd ger ein bron heddiw.