English: I thank Mike Hedges for that supplementary question. He is absolutely right to point to the success of the decision made here in the National Assembly to have a national scheme. When the social fund was abandoned by the UK Government, here in Wales we decided that we would have a fund that would be run on a Wales-wide basis with no local lottery in it. In England, we know that many local authorities took the money that they were given when the social fund was broken up and provide no service for poor people with it at all. Here, we have helped 280,000 applications to the fund since its inception. The budget has increased year on year in this Assembly term. It was £7 million in the first year of this Assembly term; it's £11.2 million in this year. It went up £2 million in this financial year; it will go up by another £1 million in the next financial year. The number of applications has gone up remarkably quickly in an age of austerity: 65,000 applications in the first year of this Assembly term; 160,000 in this financial year, to the end of December; so it's going to be more than 100,000 additional applicants to the fund. And not only have we sustained it, Llywydd, by more money to keep the fund available to people, but we've extended its scope as well. We've made sure that it can respond to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers here in Wales. We've made sure it's available to people who are discharged from prison with absolutely no possessions at all. I wish there wasn't a need for a discretionary assistance fund. I wish that the social security system provided people with enough to be able to meet their needs without this final safety net of the welfare state. But while it is needed, here in Wales we go on investing in it and making sure that those whose needs are the very toughest in our society have somewhere in Wales that they can go.
Welsh: Diolchaf i Mike Hedges am y cwestiwn atodol yna. Mae yn llygad ei le i dynnu sylw at lwyddiant y penderfyniad a wnaed yma yn y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol i gael cynllun cenedlaethol. Pan gefnodd Llywodraeth y DU ar y gronfa gymdeithasol, fe wnaethom ni benderfynu yma yng Nghymru y byddai gennym ni gronfa a fyddai'n cael ei rhedeg ar sail Cymru gyfan heb unrhyw loteri leol ynddi. Yn Lloegr, rydym ni'n gwybod bod llawer o awdurdodau lleol wedi cymryd yr arian a roddwyd iddyn nhw pan gafwyd gwared ar y gronfa gymdeithasol heb ddarparu unrhyw wasanaeth ar gyfer pobl dlawd gydag ef o gwbl. Yma, rydym ni wedi helpu 280,000 o geisiadau i'r gronfa ers ei sefydlu. Mae'r gyllideb wedi cynyddu o flwyddyn i flwyddyn yn ystod tymor y Cynulliad hwn. Roedd yn £7 miliwn ym mlwyddyn gyntaf y tymor Cynulliad hwn; Mae'n £11.2 miliwn yn y flwyddyn hon. Aeth i fyny £2 filiwn yn y flwyddyn ariannol hon; bydd yn mynd i fyny £1 filiwn arall yn y flwyddyn ariannol nesaf. Mae nifer y ceisiadau wedi codi'n rhyfeddol o gyflym mewn oes o gyni cyllidol: 65,000 o geisiadau ym mlwyddyn gyntaf tymor y Cynulliad hwn; 160,000 yn y flwyddyn ariannol hon, hyd at ddiwedd Rhagfyr; felly mae'n mynd i fod yn fwy na 100,000 o ymgeiswyr ychwanegol i'r gronfa. Ac nid yn unig yr ydym ni wedi ei chynnal, Llywydd, trwy roi mwy o arian i gadw'r gronfa ar gael i bobl, ond rydym ni wedi ehangu ei chwmpas hefyd. Rydym ni wedi gwneud yn siŵr ei bod yn gallu ymateb i anghenion ffoaduriaid a cheiswyr lloches yma yng Nghymru. Rydym ni wedi sicrhau ei bod ar gael i bobl sy'n cael eu rhyddhau o'r carchar heb unrhyw eiddo o gwbl. Byddai'n dda gennyf pe na byddai angen cronfa cymorth dewisol. Hoffwn pe byddai'r system nawdd cymdeithasol yn rhoi digon i bobl allu diwallu eu hanghenion heb y rhwyd diogelwch olaf hwn y wladwriaeth les. Ond tra bod ei hangen, yma yng Nghymru rydym ni'n parhau i fuddsoddi ynddi ac mewn gwneud yn siŵr bod gan y rhai eu anghenion yr anoddaf un yn ein cymdeithas, rywle yng Nghymru y gallan nhw fynd yno.