English: I think that many Members have also pointed out that it's not the issue about transition to equality in state pension age that's the question here; it's the manner in which the changes were communicated, the speed with which they were done, and the removal of the transitional arrangements in 2011 that we have a serious problem with. The UK Government has a responsibility towards the women that they have put into this position, to right a wrong and to ensure gender equality is not compounded. Around 195,000 women in Wales are WASPI women, affected by the changes in this Act. And I think many Members have also pointed this out as well, but there is some really heartening stuff here as well, because, as Jane Hutt and Siân Gwenllian and many others have pointed out, it's amazing what the accomplishments of this group of women acting together have achieved already, from getting the message into the mainstream media, the crowdfunding campaign that raised over £100,000 in three weeks, the formation of groups all over the country, and being instrumental in the formation of the all-party parliamentary group on state pension inequality for women. As a result of their campaign, women from across the country have submitted complaints of maladministration against the Department for Work and Pensions regarding what they see as inadequate communication of changes in the state pension age. Progress on the complaints submitted to the Independent Case Examiner has been very slow, but last November, the legal firm hired by WASPI had a breakthrough, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman stepped in and agreed with the Independent Case Examiner that it will directly streamline the process in future, and I just mention that in the Chamber to demonstrate the sheer strength of the campaign and the campaigning behind it. Julie Morgan, in her intervention with Jane Hutt, mentioned the queue of women outside the meeting organised by Anna McMorrin, and we've had similar experiences as well. Very strong feelings have been aroused by this, quite rightly so, because it's an appalling injustice. There have been numerous debates in the House of Commons, unfortunately not binding on the Government, and Carolyn Harris introduced a private Member's Bill in September on behalf of the all-party parliamentary group, which is calling for a review of the situation, and in particular to undertake costings for the compensation scheme. Its Second Reading has unfortunately been postponed, but they have got an online consultation inviting groups who campaign on this issue to respond, so if anyone knows of a group that hasn't responded, please urge them to do so. I know they've had over 100 responses so far. They're going to be presenting the results of that survey on 25 April, and the point of it is to seek to identify a solution that large numbers of Members can support, that can inform the private Member's Bill, and that this Government will also be seeking to support in any way that we can. Just because Michelle Brown said that she didn't think that we were doing anything, Deputy Presiding Officer, I will just point out that the Welsh Government recognises the important role played by social welfare advice services in helping people make informed decisions and enforcing their rights to civil justice in terms of these sorts of problems. We remain committed to supporting not-for-profit advice providers who have been very instrumental in giving advice to women as to how to submit a complaint, because we feel confident that some of the most vulnerable people in our society ought to have access to free and independent advice on debt, money management and pension issues, and be supported in this way. So, during this financial year, the Welsh Government will provide £5.97 million in grant funding to not-for-profit advice services, helping people across Wales to access free and independent advice on problems linking to accessing welfare benefits, debt advice, housing and so on. The reason I point that out is because a number of Members linked, quite rightly, the issue of the WASPI women's injustice with the issue of poverty and women living in poverty. Figures show that the number of women aged 60 plus claiming employment support allowance in Great Britain increased by 410 per cent between August 2013 and August 2017. It's not very difficult to figure out why that should be. The increase for women aged 60 plus claiming universal credit and jobseeker's allowance was 110 per cent. Data compiled by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in its 2017 report 'Can't wait to get my pension: the effect of raising the female state pension age on income, poverty and deprivation' found household incomes for women aged 60 to 62 had fallen by around £32 a week on average. The reduction is similar in cash terms for richer and poorer households, meaning that while the average drop in proportional terms is 12 per cent, the decline is significantly larger, on average, for low-income households: a 21 per cent drop, compared to higher-income households, where it's around 4 per cent. So, all the evidence suggests that it's those who are already around the poverty line who have already seen the largest income losses as a result of the impacts of welfare reform, compared to other income groups. I spoke earlier, Deputy Presiding Officer, in the Chamber, in answer to some questions, about unintended consequences of numbers of policies coming together and having a much bigger effect than was intended, and we will be making that point again to the UK Government, because its roll-out of universal credit, the way that it's reacting to jobseekers and the way that it's reacting to the transition to personal independent payments, combined with the increase in state pension age, is having a most unfortunate cumulative effect on a large number of women in Wales, and it's right that we point that out. Universal credit has now been rolled out to eight local authorities in Wales, with Denbighshire going live in April. The DWP have, I'm pleased to say, amended their roll-out schedule to include more time for the full Welsh language online system to be available, but it does mean that the women caught in this position are also caught in the transition, which is very unfortunate indeed. We remain deeply concerned about the fundamental flaws of the system, and we're very disappointed that the UK Government is persisting with the roll-out, despite our and others' calls on them to halt the roll-out and address the number of issues, of which this is one that should be addressed as part of the roll-out. So, Deputy Presiding Officer, we are fully behind the WASPI women in their campaign. I will continue to urge the UK Government to change its mind and not set its face against transitional and other arrangements, and we will continue to do everything that the Welsh Government possibly can do to support the very brave, courageous and very effective campaigns run by WASPI women all over the country. Diolch.
Welsh: Credaf fod llawer o'r Aelodau wedi nodi hefyd nad y newid i gydraddoldeb o ran oedran pensiwn y wladwriaeth sydd dan sylw yma ond y modd y cafodd y newidiadau eu cyfathrebu, cyflymder eu gwneud, a chael gwared ar y trefniadau pontio yn 2011 sy'n peri problem ddifrifol i ni. Mae gan Lywodraeth y DU gyfrifoldeb tuag at y menywod y maent wedi'u rhoi yn y sefyllfa hon, i unioni cam a sicrhau na chaiff cydraddoldeb rhwng y rhywiau ei beryglu. Mae oddeutu 195,000 o fenywod yng Nghymru yn fenywod WASPI yr effeithiwyd arnynt gan y newidiadau yn y Ddeddf hon. A chredaf fod llawer o'r Aelodau wedi nodi hyn hefyd, ond mae rhai pethau calonogol iawn yma hefyd, oherwydd, fel y mae Jane Hutt a Siân Gwenllian a llawer o rai eraill wedi nodi, mae'n anhygoel meddwl cymaint y mae'r grŵp hwn o fenywod yn gweithredu gyda'i gilydd wedi'i gyflawni eisoes, o gael y neges wedi'i chynnwys yn y cyfryngau prif ffrwd, yr ymgyrch ariannu torfol a gododd dros £100,000 mewn tair wythnos, ffurfio grwpiau ledled y wlad, a bod yn allweddol yn y broses o ffurfio'r grŵp hollbleidiol seneddol ar anghydraddoldeb pensiwn y wladwriaeth i fenywod. O ganlyniad i'w hymgyrch, mae menywod ledled y wlad wedi cyflwyno cwynion camweinyddu yn erbyn yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau ynghylch yr hyn a welant fel cyfathrebu annigonol ynglŷn â newidiadau i oedran pensiwn y wladwriaeth. Araf iawn fu'r cynnydd ar y cwynion a gyflwynwyd i'r Archwilydd Achosion Annibynnol ond fis Tachwedd diwethaf, cafodd y cwmni cyfreithiol a logir gan WASPI lwyddiant, a chamodd yr Ombwdsmon Seneddol a'r Gwasanaeth Iechyd i mewn a chytuno gyda'r Archwilydd Achosion Annibynnol y bydd yn symleiddio'r broses yn uniongyrchol yn y dyfodol, a soniaf am hynny yn y Siambr er mwyn dangos cryfder yr ymgyrch a'r ymgyrchu. Soniodd Julie Morgan, wrth ymyrryd ar Jane Hutt, am y ciw o fenywod y tu allan i'r cyfarfod a drefnwyd gan Anna McMorrin, ac rydym wedi cael profiadau tebyg yn ogystal. Mae hyn wedi ennyn teimladau cryf iawn, yn gwbl briodol felly, oherwydd mae'n anghyfiawnder ofnadwy. Bu nifer o ddadleuon yn y Tŷ Cyffredin, er nad ydynt yn rhwymol ar y Llywodraeth, a chyflwynodd Carolyn Harris Fil Aelod preifat ym mis Medi ar ran y grŵp seneddol hollbleidiol, sy'n galw am adolygu'r sefyllfa, ac yn benodol am wneud gwaith costio ar gyfer y cynllun iawndal. Mae ei Ail Ddarlleniad wedi'i ohirio yn anffodus, ond mae ganddynt ymgynghoriad ar-lein sy'n gwahodd grwpiau sy'n ymgyrchu ar y mater hwn i ymateb, felly os oes unrhyw un yn gwybod am grŵp sydd heb ymateb, os gwelwch yn dda anogwch hwy i wneud hynny. Gwn eu bod wedi cael dros 100 o ymatebion hyd yn hyn. Maent yn mynd i gyflwyno canlyniadau'r arolwg hwnnw ar 25 Ebrill, a'i ddiben yw ceisio nodi ateb y gall nifer fawr o'r Aelodau ei gefnogi, a gall hynny lywio'r Bil Aelod preifat, a bydd y Llywodraeth hon hefyd yn ceisio cefnogi mewn unrhyw ffordd a allwn. Oherwydd bod Michelle Brown wedi dweud nad oedd yn credu ein bod yn gwneud unrhyw beth, Ddirprwy Lywydd, rwyf am ddweud bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn cydnabod y rôl bwysig a chwaraeir gan wasanaethau cynghori lles cymdeithasol yn helpu pobl i wneud penderfyniadau gwybodus ac arfer eu hawliau i gyfiawnder sifil o ran y mathau hyn o broblemau. Rydym yn parhau'n ymrwymedig i gynorthwyo darparwyr cyngor di-elw sydd wedi bod yn allweddol iawn yn rhoi cyngor i fenywod ynghylch sut i gyflwyno cwyn, oherwydd teimlwn yn hyderus y dylai rhai o'r bobl fwyaf agored i niwed yn ein cymdeithas gael mynediad at gyngor annibynnol am ddim ar ddyled, rheoli arian a materion pensiwn, ac y dylent gael eu cefnogi yn y modd hwn. Felly, yn ystod y flwyddyn ariannol hon, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn darparu £5.97 miliwn mewn arian grant i wasanaethau cynghori di-elw sy'n helpu pobl ledled Cymru i ddod o hyd i gyngor annibynnol am ddim ar broblemau'n ymwneud â chael budd-daliadau lles, cyngor ar ddyledion, tai ac ati. Y rheswm pam rwy'n nodi hynny yw oherwydd bod nifer o'r Aelodau wedi cysylltu'r anghyfiawnder i fenywod WASPI yn gwbl briodol â mater tlodi a menywod sy'n byw mewn tlodi. Dengys ffigurau fod nifer y menywod dros 60 oed sy'n hawlio lwfans cyflogaeth a chymorth ym Mhrydain wedi cynyddu 410 y cant rhwng mis Awst 2013 a mis Awst 2017. Nid yw'n anodd deall pam. Roedd y cynnydd ymhlith menywod dros 60 oed sy'n hawlio credyd cynhwysol a lwfans ceisio gwaith yn 110 y cant. Canfu data a gasglwyd gan y Sefydliad Astudiaethau Cyllid yn ei adroddiad ar gyfer 2017, 'Can't wait to get my pension: the effect of raising the female state pension age on income, poverty and deprivation', fod incwm aelwydydd menywod rhwng 60 a 62 oed wedi gostwng oddeutu £32 yr wythnos ar gyfartaledd. Mae'r gostyngiad yn debyg yn nhermau arian parod ar gyfer aelwydydd cyfoethocach a thlotach, sy'n golygu, er bod y gostyngiad cyfartalog mewn termau cyfrannol yn 12 y cant, mae'r gostyngiad yn sylweddol fwy, ar gyfartaledd, ar gyfer cartrefi incwm isel: gostyngiad o 21 y cant, o'i gymharu ag aelwydydd incwm uwch, lle mae oddeutu 4 y cant. Felly, mae'r holl dystiolaeth yn awgrymu mai'r rhai sydd eisoes o gwmpas y ffin tlodi sydd eisoes wedi gweld y colledion mwyaf yn eu hincwm o ganlyniad i effeithiau diwygio lles, o gymharu â grwpiau incwm eraill. Siaradais yn gynharach yn y Siambr, Ddirprwy Lywydd, wrth ateb cwestiynau, am ganlyniadau anfwriadol nifer o bolisïau'n dod at ei gilydd ac yn cael effaith lawer mwy nag a fwriadwyd, a byddwn yn gwneud y pwynt hwnnw unwaith eto wrth Lywodraeth y DU, gan fod y modd y cyflwynodd y credyd cynhwysol, y ffordd y mae'n ymateb i geiswyr gwaith a'r ffordd y mae'n ymateb i'r newid i daliadau personol annibynnol, ynghyd â chodi oedran pensiwn y wladwriaeth, yn cael yr effaith gronnol fwyaf anffodus ar nifer fawr o fenywod yng Nghymru, ac mae'n iawn ein bod yn tynnu sylw at hynny. Mae credyd cynhwysol bellach wedi'i gyflwyno mewn wyth awdurdod lleol yng Nghymru, gyda Sir Ddinbych yn mynd yn fyw ym mis Ebrill. Rwy'n falch o ddweud bod yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau wedi diwygio'u hamserlen gyflwyno i gynnwys mwy o amser i'r system ar-lein Gymraeg lawn fod ar gael, ond mae'n golygu bod y menywod sy'n cael eu dal yn y sefyllfa hon hefyd yn cael eu dal yn y trefniadau pontio, sy'n anffodus iawn. Rydym yn dal i fod yn bryderus iawn ynglŷn â diffygion sylfaenol y system, ac rydym yn siomedig iawn fod Llywodraeth y DU yn parhau â'r cyflwyno, er gwaethaf ein galwadau ni ac eraill arnynt i atal y cyflwyno a mynd i'r afael â'r nifer o broblemau, yn cynnwys y broblem hon, y dylid ymdrin â hwy yn rhan o'r broses gyflwyno. Felly, Ddirprwy Lywydd, rydym yn cefnogi'r menywod WASPI yn llwyr yn eu hymgyrch. Byddaf yn parhau i annog Llywodraeth y DU i newid ei meddwl a pheidio â gwrthwynebu trefniadau pontio a threfniadau eraill, a byddwn yn parhau i wneud popeth y gall Llywodraeth Cymru ei wneud i gefnogi ymgyrchoedd dewr ac effeithiol iawn menywod WASPI ledled y wlad. Diolch.