English: So, linking strongly to the point that you've made about too many children being in care, we agree with that, and we are trying and we're going to have a concerted effort to try to reduce the number of children in care. I'm pleased that there is significant interest in this important area, because if we are scrutinised, it does maintain our focus to actually try to achieve something. It can drive quality improvement and galvanise actions. For example, the Public Accounts Committee is undertaking its own inquiry looking at public services for care-experienced children and young people. And the first part of that inquiry has been completed, and we're taking forward a number of recommendations as a result. For example, we've given a commitment to develop a national approach to placement commissioning, and this will build upon the work already being undertaken by the National Adoption Service, the national fostering framework, and the children's residential care task and finish group. We're particularly keen to promote regional approaches to provision of specialist services, such as residential care for children and young people at risk of going into secure accommodation. We want to de-escalate the services and try to make sure that we do have regional provision for children to go into so that they don't have to travel miles away from their home, because we do think it's very important that children are placed as near as possible to their families, who, obviously, are of utmost importance to them. Following our new investment of £15 million into the integrated care fund to support prevention and early intervention services for care-experienced young people, regional partnership boards have been working hard to develop proposals for innovative new approaches to increase the capacity of our residential accommodation and promote new models of support. And of course, we have got the children's ministerial advisory group, which is chaired excellently by our colleague David Melding, and I'm sure you'll have heard about the work that that group does. They have three key areas of priority, and they are the same as what are now my priorities: safely reducing the number of children in need of care; having sufficiently high-quality placement options for children who are looked after or who are leaving care - so, we want to be sure that there are suitable placements for the children who have to come into care; and supporting children who are looked after to have the best possible journey through care and into adulthood. We have invested to support care-experienced children to keep families with their birth families wherever possible, and this includes - we've established the St David's Day fund, and in its first year alone, over 1,900 care-experienced children across Wales have been supported through this fund. We have developed edge-of-care services in each of the 22 local authorities, and we've helped over 3,600 children to remain within the family unit, by working with more than 2,000 families last year. We've rolled out the Reflect service across Wales, and so far, this year, the service has supported in excess of 160 young parents who've had at least one child placed in the care system, with the aim of trying to not let that happen again. And the previously mentioned £15 million integrated care funding will be also used to support the delivery of prevention and early intervention work highlighted in the improving outcomes for children work programme. And a regular topic of discussion at the ministerial advisory group has been better access to and availability of therapeutic support for care-experienced children. I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak at the launch of a joint report produced by the NSPCC and Voices from Care about the emotional and mental well-being of looked-after children, and I know there are some very important recommendations from this report, and I look forward to hearing their advice on the action that is needed. So, to finish, I want to emphasise that there is a lot of good work going on around Wales. We must be scrutinised, so I welcome that scrutiny, but I think we have to acknowledge that our local authority colleagues are committed and do work very hard for the interests of the children. We are a small, compact nation, which makes it relatively easy for us to learn from each other, so it's very important that the good practice is able to spread around Wales. We here in this Chamber, we are all corporate parents to care-experienced children and young people; they are our responsibility throughout Wales. So, I do hope the Member will agree that the aims of the Welsh Government are to do our utmost to look after children who are in these difficult situations. We want to reduce the number of children who are in care, and we want to do our very best as a Government to ensure that they have the best possible opportunity in life. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.
Welsh: Felly, gan gysylltu'n gryf â'r pwynt a wnaethoch ynghylch gormod o blant mewn gofal, rydym yn cytuno â hynny, ac rydym yn ceisio ac yn mynd i gael ymdrech gydunol i geisio lleihau nifer y plant sydd mewn gofal. Rwy'n falch fod yna ddiddordeb sylweddol yn y maes pwysig hwn, oherwydd os cawn ein craffu, mae'n cadw ein ffocws ar geisio cyflawni rhywbeth mewn gwirionedd. Gall wella ansawdd ac ysgogi camau gweithredu. Er enghraifft, mae'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus yn cynnal ei ymchwiliad ei hun i edrych ar wasanaethau cyhoeddus ar gyfer plant a phobl ifanc sy'n cael profiad o ofal. Ac mae rhan gyntaf yr ymchwiliad hwnnw wedi'i gwblhau ac rydym yn bwrw ymlaen â nifer o argymhellion o ganlyniad i hynny. Er enghraifft, rydym wedi rhoi ymrwymiad i ddatblygu dull cenedlaethol o gomisiynu lleoliadau, a bydd hyn yn adeiladu ar y gwaith a wneir eisoes gan y gwasanaeth mabwysiadu cenedlaethol, y fframwaith maethu cenedlaethol a'r grŵp gorchwyl a gorffen ar ofal preswyl i blant. Rydym yn arbennig o awyddus i hyrwyddo dulliau rhanbarthol o ddarparu gwasanaethau arbenigol, megis gofal preswyl ar gyfer plant a phobl ifanc sydd mewn perygl o fynd i fyw mewn llety diogel. Rydym am ddad-ddwysáu'r gwasanaethau a cheisio gwneud yn siŵr fod gennym ddarpariaeth ranbarthol i blant fynd iddi fel nad oes yn rhaid iddynt deithio milltiroedd i ffwrdd o'u cartref, oherwydd credwn ei bod hi'n bwysig iawn fod plant yn cael eu gosod mor agos â phosibl at eu teuluoedd, sydd, yn amlwg, yn hollbwysig iddynt. Yn dilyn ein buddsoddiad newydd o £15 miliwn yn y gronfa gofal integredig i gefnogi gwasanaethau atal a gwasanaethau ymyrraeth gynnar i bobl ifanc sy'n cael profiad o ofal, mae byrddau partneriaeth rhanbarthol wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed i ddatblygu cynigion ar gyfer dulliau arloesol newydd o gynyddu capasiti ein llety preswyl a hyrwyddo modelau newydd o gymorth. Ac wrth gwrs, mae gennym grŵp cynghori'r Gweinidog ar blant, a gadeirir yn ardderchog gan ein cyd-Aelod, David Melding, ac rwy'n siŵr y byddwch wedi clywed am y gwaith y mae'r grŵp hwnnw'n ei wneud. Mae ganddynt dri maes blaenoriaeth allweddol, ac maent yr un fath â'r hyn sy'n flaenoriaethau i mi bellach: lleihau yn ddiogel nifer y plant sydd angen gofal; cael dewisiadau lleoli o ansawdd digon uchel ar gyfer plant sy'n derbyn gofal neu sy'n gadael gofal - felly, rydym am wneud yn siŵr fod lleoliadau addas ar gael ar gyfer plant sy'n rhaid eu gosod mewn lleoliadau gofal; a chynorthwyo plant sy'n derbyn gofal i gael y daith orau sy'n bosibl drwy ofal a dod yn oedolion. Rydym wedi buddsoddi i gefnogi plant sy'n cael profiad o ofal i gadw teuluoedd gyda'u teuluoedd geni lle bo hynny'n bosibl, ac mae hyn yn cynnwys - rydym wedi sefydlu cronfa Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, ac yn ei flwyddyn gyntaf yn unig, mae dros 1,900 o blant sy'n cael profiad o ofal ledled Cymru wedi cael cymorth drwy'r gronfa hon. Rydym wedi datblygu gwasanaethau ar ffiniau gofal ym mhob un o'r 22 awdurdod lleol, ac rydym wedi helpu dros 3,600 o blant i aros o fewn yr uned deuluol, drwy weithio gyda mwy na 2,000 o deuluoedd y llynedd. Rydym wedi cyflwyno gwasanaeth Reflect ledled Cymru, a hyd yma, eleni, mae'r gwasanaeth wedi cefnogi mwy na 160 o rieni ifanc sydd wedi cael o leiaf un plentyn wedi'i leoli yn y system ofal, gyda'r nod o geisio peidio â gadael i hynny ddigwydd eto. A bydd y £15 miliwn o gyllid gofal integredig y soniwyd amdano'n flaenorol yn cael ei ddefnyddio hefyd i gefnogi'r gwaith o atal ac ymyrraeth gynnar a amlygir yn y rhaglen waith gwella canlyniadau i blant. A thestun trafod rheolaidd yng ngrŵp cynghori'r Gweinidog yw gwella mynediad at, ac argaeledd cymorth therapiwtig ar gyfer plant sy'n cael profiad o ofal. Roeddwn yn ddigon ffodus i gael fy ngwahodd i siarad yn nigwyddiad lansio adroddiad ar y cyd a gynhyrchwyd gan yr NSPCC a Voices from Care am les emosiynol a meddyliol plant sy'n derbyn gofal, a gwn fod argymhellion pwysig iawn yn cael eu gwneud yn yr adroddiad hwnnw, ac edrychaf ymlaen at glywed eu cyngor ar y camau gweithredu sydd eu hangen. Felly, i gloi, hoffwn bwysleisio bod llawer o waith da yn digwydd ledled Cymru. Rhaid inni gael ein craffu, felly rwy'n croesawu'r gwaith craffu hwnnw, ond credaf fod rhaid inni gydnabod bod ein cydweithwyr yn yr awdurdodau lleol yn ymrwymedig ac yn gweithio'n galed iawn er lles y plant. Rydym yn genedl fach, gryno, sy'n ei gwneud yn gymharol hawdd inni ddysgu oddi wrth ein gilydd, felly mae'n bwysig iawn fod yr arferion da yn gallu lledu o amgylch Cymru. Rydym ni yma yn y Siambr hon yn rhieni corfforaethol i blant a phobl ifanc sy'n cael profiad o ofal; rydym yn gyfrifol amdanynt ledled Cymru. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd yr Aelod yn cytuno mai nod Llywodraeth Cymru yw gwneud ein gorau glas i ofalu am blant sydd yn y sefyllfaoedd anodd hyn. Rydym am leihau nifer y plant sydd mewn gofal, ac rydym am wneud ein gorau glas fel Llywodraeth i sicrhau eu bod yn cael y cyfle gorau posibl mewn bywyd. Diolch ichi, Ddirprwy Lywydd.