English: I'd like to thank our committee Chair, Members and the clerking team for the work that they've put into this inquiry and this report. We should all be angry about how COVID-19 has affected some people in our society more than others. That anger shouldn't fade. We should use the anger to compel us to make sure we change the way our society functions, because COVID-19 has not been a leveller. People in the poorest communities have not only experienced higher mortality, as we've heard, but they've also been more likely to lose income, have employment reduced and faced periods of restrictions and lockdown in a smaller space. Housing has been recognised not just as a functionality, but a provider of security and solace, and people without that security and solace have been exposed to an unnecessary and unconscionable risk. The lockdown and now the restrictions are also having a disproportionate impact on people in the poorest communities. As our report makes clear, children with the lowest educational attainment before the pandemic will have fallen further behind their peers. Disabled people are more likely to face difficulties because of the challenges to the environment caused by social distancing. And, of course, those with caring responsibilities being more likely than not women - though not always - are more likely to face difficulties in employment, as facilities like childcare, education and routine social care become less available. Now, I'm not arguing that we shouldn't have restrictions, but we should be more targeted on keeping the virus out of our communities altogether, and we should have mitigation plans for dealing with the effect of the restrictions. But poverty is not the only inequality we should consider. Seventeen and 18-year-olds went through the A-level debacle and are now either in university in very difficult circumstances or facing levels of unemployment not seen since the 1980s. Young people and children have missed out on seeing friends and socialising, which is important for development, but also mental health and joy. The importance of joy in all our lives should not be discounted. We must find ways of giving young people hope again. Llywydd dros dro, another group that's faced unprecedented strain and worry these past few months has been older people. It was noted yesterday that the Government's report looking at recovery after COVID-19 does not make much mention of older people, which is an oversight that must be corrected. Because older people, residents of care homes especially, have been marginalised; they've been made to feel like their lives don't matter as much. More than 1,000 residents of care homes were discharged from hospitals without tests, and an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the older people's commissioner into whether the human rights of older people were breached is ongoing. There is an obligation on all of us to ensure that this narrative of marginalisation doesn't set in. Ninety-four per cent of everyone who has died from COVID-19 has been over the age of 60. Damage has been done and there's a further danger that older people and the many ills done to them will not be part of the story that this Government wants to tell. They must be central, because if we don't learn the lessons about the myriad inequalities that have been exposed by this virus, the same pattern will be repeated. Let's look at the early response to the pandemic, particularly the UK Government's complacency, and compare it with other tragedies that have befallen our poorest communities. We see worrying patterns. In Grenfell, warning signs went unheeded for years because the people who were crying out weren't listened to. The British establishment has spent the past few years determined to not learn lessons, to not acknowledge responsibility and to not concede that poverty doesn't just strip people in this state of wealth, but of a voice. That can't be allowed to continue. Likewise with COVID-19, a decade or more of austerity meant that there were insufficient stocks of personal protective equipment, whilst our defective social security system left many people unable to self-isolate when they needed to. Our society should be built around the needs of our most vulnerable citizens. Inequality cannot be a catalyst for disease. Our anger should not diminish. This should be a rallying cry, a chance for things to change, not just a report that gets noted. Diolch.
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i Gadeirydd ein pwyllgor, yr Aelodau a'r tîm clercio am y gwaith y maent wedi'i wneud ar gyfer yr ymchwiliad a'r adroddiad hwn. Dylem i gyd fod yn ddig am y ffordd y mae COVID-19 wedi effeithio mwy ar rai pobl yn ein cymdeithas nag eraill. Ni ddylai'r dicter hwnnw bylu. Dylem ddefnyddio'r dicter i'n gorfodi i sicrhau ein bod yn newid y ffordd y mae ein cymdeithas yn gweithredu, oherwydd nid yw COVID-19 wedi gosod pawb ar yr un lefel. Mae pobl yn y cymunedau tlotaf nid yn unig wedi gweld cyfraddau marwolaeth uwch, fel y clywsom, maent hefyd wedi bod yn fwy tebygol o golli incwm, o gael llai o waith ac o wynebu cyfnodau o gyfyngiadau symud mewn gofod llai. Ceir cydnabyddiaeth fod tai nid yn unig yn cyflawni swyddogaeth ymarferol, ond hefyd eu bod yn darparu diogelwch a chysur, ac mae pobl heb y diogelwch a'r cysur hwnnw wedi bod yn agored i risg ddiangen a digydwybod. Mae'r cyfyngiadau symud cenedlaethol a'r cyfyngiadau lleol nawr hefyd yn cael effaith anghymesur ar bobl yn y cymunedau tlotaf. Fel y mae ein hadroddiad yn nodi'n glir, bydd plant sydd â'r cyrhaeddiad addysgol isaf cyn y pandemig wedi disgyn ymhellach ar ôl eu cyfoedion. Mae pobl anabl yn fwy tebygol o wynebu anawsterau oherwydd yr heriau i'r amgylchedd a achosir gan gadw pellter cymdeithasol. Ac wrth gwrs, mae'r rheini sydd â chyfrifoldebau gofalu yn fwy tebygol o fod yn fenywod - er nad bob amser - ac yn fwy tebygol o wynebu anawsterau mewn cyflogaeth, gyda llai o gyfleusterau fel gofal plant, addysg a gofal cymdeithasol arferol ar gael. Nawr, nid wyf yn dadlau na ddylem gael cyfyngiadau, ond dylem eu targedu'n well ar gadw'r feirws allan o'n cymunedau'n gyfan gwbl, a dylem gael cynlluniau lliniaru ar gyfer ymdrin ag effaith y cyfyngiadau. Ond nid tlodi yw'r unig anghydraddoldeb y dylem ei ystyried. Aeth pobl ifanc 17 a 18 oed drwy'r llanast Safon Uwch ac maent bellach naill ai yn y brifysgol mewn amgylchiadau anodd iawn neu'n wynebu lefelau diweithdra nas gwelwyd ers y 1980au. Mae pobl ifanc a phlant wedi methu gweld ffrindiau a chymdeithasu, sy'n bwysig i'w datblygiad, a hefyd i'w iechyd meddwl a'u llawenydd. Ni ddylid diystyru pwysigrwydd llawenydd ym mywyd neb ohonom. Rhaid inni ddod o hyd i ffyrdd o roi gobaith i bobl ifanc unwaith eto. Lywydd dros dro, grŵp arall sydd wedi wynebu straen a phryder digynsail dros y misoedd diwethaf yw pobl hŷn. Nodwyd ddoe nad yw adroddiad y Llywodraeth sy'n edrych ar adferiad ar ôl COVID-19 yn sôn llawer am bobl hŷn, sy'n amryfusedd y mae'n rhaid ei gywiro. Oherwydd mae pobl hŷn, preswylwyr cartrefi gofal yn arbennig, wedi'u hymyleiddio; maent wedi cael eu gwneud i deimlo nad yw eu bywydau'n cyfrif cymaint. Rhyddhawyd dros 1,000 o breswylwyr cartrefi gofal o ysbytai heb brofion, ac mae ymchwiliad ar y gweill gan y Comisiwn Cydraddoldeb a Hawliau Dynol a'r comisiynydd pobl hŷn i weld a dorrwyd hawliau dynol pobl hŷn. Mae dyletswydd ar bob un ohonom i sicrhau nad yw naratif ymyleiddio yn magu gwraidd. Mae 94 y cant o bawb a fu farw o COVID-19 wedi bod dros 60 oed. Mae niwed wedi'i wneud ac mae perygl pellach na fydd pobl hŷn a'r cam mawr a wnaed â hwy yn rhan o'r stori y mae'r Llywodraeth hon am ei hadrodd. Rhaid iddynt fod yn ganolog, oherwydd os na ddysgwn y gwersi am y llu o anghydraddoldebau a amlygwyd gan y feirws hwn, bydd yr un patrwm yn cael ei ailadrodd. Gadewch inni edrych ar yr ymateb cynnar i'r pandemig, yn enwedig agwedd hunanfodlon Llywodraeth y DU, a'i gymharu â thrychinebau eraill sydd wedi dod i ran ein cymunedau tlotaf. Gwelwn batrymau sy'n peri pryder. Yn Grenfell, ni chymerwyd sylw o arwyddion rhybudd am flynyddoedd am nad oedd neb yn gwrando ar y bobl a oedd yn codi llais. Mae'r sefydliad Prydeinig wedi treulio'r blynyddoedd diwethaf yn benderfynol o beidio â dysgu gwersi, peidio â chydnabod cyfrifoldeb a chyfaddef bod tlodi'n amddifadu pobl yn y wladwriaeth hon o gyfoeth, a hefyd o lais. Ni ellir caniatáu i hynny barhau. Yn yr un modd â COVID-19, golygodd degawd neu fwy o gyni nad oedd digon o stociau o gyfarpar diogelu personol ar gael, tra bod ein system nawdd cymdeithasol ddiffygiol wedi golygu bod llawer o bobl wedi methu hunanynysu pan oedd angen. Dylid adeiladu ein cymdeithas o amgylch anghenion ein dinasyddion mwyaf agored i niwed. Ni all anghydraddoldeb fod yn gatalydd ar gyfer clefydau. Ni ddylai ein dicter leihau. Dylai hon fod yn alwad i'r gad, yn gyfle i bethau newid, nid dim ond adroddiad a nodwyd. Diolch.