English: Thank you. The Cabinet Secretary is well aware of my concerns about the potential loss of this grant, and I'm grateful to her for her engagement on this and for meeting with me about it yesterday. I have no doubt that she is personally deeply committed to supporting our poorest pupils, but on this issue, we need some urgent clarity and assurances. In the last five years, the school uniform grant has benefited 1,107 pupils in Torfaen - young people whose families would otherwise have struggled to afford school uniform. This year, there are 202 pupils who should be eligible for the grant. We've had assurances about a new scheme, but there remain important unanswered questions about which I would be grateful for a response from the Cabinet Secretary today. Firstly, will the Cabinet Secretary guarantee that every pupil who was eligible for school uniform support under the old scheme will be eligible under the new scheme? There has been a suggestion that the scheme could be more flexible and fund other school-related activities that families are struggling with. Now, I welcome any extra help for pupils on free school meals, but that help must be additional and not at the cost of existing support for school uniforms. There are too many activities that children from low-income families are excluded from - things like school trips, which is worthy of a debate in its own right here. Back in 2015, the predecessor Children, Young People and Education Committee published our report on our inquiry into educational outcomes for children from low-income households. A recommendation calling for Government to strengthen and clarify guidance for schools on charging for activities related to education was accepted in principle. I believe that it is now time to look again and strengthen that guidance. I'd like to ask the Cabinet Secretary: what will be the delivery mechanism for this new grant? I would have serious concerns about that money going directly to schools. There is already a well-established delivery mechanism in place through local authorities, which families are familiar with. Families are used to having discussions about the sensitive matter of family incomes with a larger, more anonymous body that is the local authority. I would not want to see families having to go cap in hand to the school office to ensure that their kids have got the uniform they need to attend school. If it is the Cabinet Secretary's contention that schools are better placed to provide this support, then I would like to see the evidence for that and to know precisely what consultation there has been with those families likely to be affected. I really welcome the indication that the Government has given that they will look at putting the 2011 guidance for governing bodies on school uniform on a statutory basis. It is good guidance, but it is not being implemented. Proper implementation of the guidance will deliver affordable school uniforms for all families. We must ensure that as many generic items that can be bought in supermarkets as possible are used. The guidance currently states that schools should only stipulate basic items that can be bought from retail chains at reasonable costs rather than from one supplier. High-cost items like blazers should be avoided, and logos restricted to one reasonably priced item, but this is just not happening. A quick look at the year 7 uniform list for just one school in Torfaen includes a number of items that can only be bought in one specialist shop: a blazer, £27.50; school tie, £4.50; and the PE kit alone, £44. So, £76 in total for one set, and I know this is replicated in schools across Wales. It is not good enough. I wanted to conclude by highlighting two wider points about the way we make decisions about resources for our neediest pupils. The first is on the approach to the budget round this year, and this is not just directed at the Cabinet Secretary for Education, but across Government. I believe it has led to the situation and also the controversy around ongoing support for minority ethnic and Gypsy Roma Traveller pupils. I do not believe that the decision to effectively just pass the responsibility for funding to local government without clearly identified and sufficient resource is going to meet the needs of the young people we are trying to benefit. The ring-fenced funding was there for a reason. Secondly, I would question the processes that have led to these decisions in the first place across Government, in particular, around consultation and the lack of a child rights impact assessment, which applies not just to education, but across Government. We trumpet our record on children's rights in Wales, but I am far from convinced we are doing anything like enough to live up to that commitment and to deliver children's rights as a reality in Wales. To conclude, we know that universal credit will push thousands more children into poverty. There could not be a worse time to remove support for school uniform grants or to put obstacles in the way of claiming it. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch. Mae Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn ymwybodol iawn o fy mhryderon ynglŷn â'r posibilrwydd o golli'r grant hwn, ac rwy'n ddiolchgar iddi am ei hymrwymiad ar hyn ac am gyfarfod â mi yn ei gylch ddoe. Nid oes gennyf unrhyw amheuaeth ei bod yn ymrwymedig iawn yn bersonol i gefnogi ein disgyblion tlotaf, ond ar y mater hwn, mae arnom angen rhywfaint o eglurder a sicrwydd ar frys. Yn y pum mlynedd diwethaf, mae'r grant ar gyfer gwisg ysgol wedi bod o fudd i 1,107 o ddisgyblion yn Nhorfaen - pobl ifanc y byddai eu teuluoedd fel arall wedi cael trafferth i fforddio gwisg ysgol. Eleni, ceir 202 o ddisgyblion a ddylai fod yn gymwys i gael y grant. Rydym wedi cael sicrwydd ynglŷn â chynllun newydd, ond mae cwestiynau pwysig yn dal heb eu hateb a buaswn yn ddiolchgar am ymateb gan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn eu cylch heddiw. Yn gyntaf, a wnaiff Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet warantu y bydd pob disgybl a oedd yn gymwys i gael cymorth ar gyfer gwisg ysgol o dan yr hen gynllun yn gymwys o dan y cynllun newydd? Cafwyd awgrym y gallai'r cynllun fod yn fwy hyblyg ac ariannu gweithgareddau eraill sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion y mae teuluoedd yn ei chael hi'n anodd talu amdanynt. Nawr, rwy'n croesawu unrhyw help ychwanegol ar gyfer disgyblion gyda phrydau ysgol am ddim, ond mae'n rhaid i'r cymorth hwnnw fod yn ychwanegol ac nid ar draul cymorth a geir eisoes ar gyfer gwisgoedd ysgol. Ceir gormod o weithgareddau y mae plant o deuluoedd incwm isel wedi'u heithrio ohonynt - pethau fel tripiau ysgol, sy'n deilwng o ddadl yn ei hawl ei hun yma. Yn ôl yn 2015, cyhoeddodd y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg blaenorol ein hadroddiad ar ein hymchwiliad i ganlyniadau addysgol plant o gartrefi incwm isel. Cafodd argymhelliad yn galw ar y Llywodraeth i gryfhau ac egluro canllawiau i ysgolion ar godi tâl am weithgareddau sy'n gysylltiedig ag addysg ei dderbyn mewn egwyddor. Credaf ei bod yn bryd edrych eto ar y canllawiau hynny a'u cryfhau. Hoffwn ofyn i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet: beth fydd y mecanwaith darparu ar gyfer y grant newydd hwn? Byddai gennyf bryderon difrifol ynglŷn â'r arian hwnnw'n mynd yn uniongyrchol i ysgolion. Ceir mecanwaith cyflenwi sefydledig eisoes ar waith drwy awdurdodau lleol, ac mae teuluoedd yn gyfarwydd ag ef. Mae teuluoedd yn gyfarwydd â chael trafodaethau am fater sensitif incwm teuluol gyda chorff mwy o faint a mwy anhysbys yr awdurdod lleol. Ni hoffwn weld teuluoedd yn gorfod mynd i ofyn yn swyddfa'r ysgol er mwyn sicrhau bod gan eu plant y wisg sydd ei hangen arnynt i fynd i'r ysgol. Os yw Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn mynnu bod ysgolion mewn sefyllfa well i ddarparu'r cymorth hwn, yna hoffwn weld y dystiolaeth ar hynny a gwybod yn union pa ymgynghori a fu gyda'r teuluoedd sy'n debygol o gael eu heffeithio. Rwy'n croesawu'n fawr yr arwydd a roddodd y Llywodraeth y byddant yn ystyried rhoi canllawiau 2011 i gyrff llywodraethu ar wisg ysgol ar sail statudol. Maent yn ganllawiau da, ond nid ydynt yn cael eu gweithredu. Bydd gweithredu'r canllawiau'n briodol yn sicrhau bod gan bob teulu wisgoedd ysgol fforddiadwy. Rhaid inni sicrhau bod cymaint â phosibl o eitemau generig y gellir eu prynu mewn archfarchnadoedd yn cael eu defnyddio. Ar hyn o bryd, mae'r canllawiau yn nodi na ddylai ysgolion bennu mwy nag eitemau sylfaenol y gellir eu prynu o siopau cadwyn am gost resymol yn hytrach na chan un cyflenwr yn unig. Dylid osgoi eitemau costus fel blaser a dylid cyfyngu logos i un eitem am bris rhesymol, ond nid yw hyn yn digwydd. Mae cipolwg cyflym ar restr gwisg ysgol blwyddyn 7 un ysgol yn Nhorfaen yn cynnwys nifer o eitemau na ellir ond eu prynu o un siop arbenigol un unig: blaser, £27.50; tei ysgol, £4.50; ac mae'r pecyn addysg gorfforol yn £44 ar ei ben ei hun. Felly, cyfanswm o £76 am un set, a gwn fod hyn yn cael ei ailadrodd mewn ysgolion ledled Cymru. Nid yw'n ddigon da. Roeddwn am gloi drwy dynnu sylw at ddau bwynt ehangach am y ffordd y gwnawn benderfyniadau ynghylch adnoddau ar gyfer ein disgyblion mwyaf anghenus. Mae'r cyntaf yn ymwneud â'r dull o weithredu cylch y gyllideb eleni, ac nid yw hyn wedi ei gyfeirio'n unig at Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg, ond ar draws y Llywodraeth. Credaf ei fod wedi arwain at y sefyllfa a'r ddadl hefyd ynghylch cymorth parhaus ar gyfer lleiafrifoedd ethnig a disgyblion sy'n Sipsiwn Roma a Theithwyr. Nid wyf yn credu bod y penderfyniad i drosglwyddo'r cyfrifoldeb am ariannu i bob pwrpas i lywodraeth leol heb adnoddau digonol wedi'u nodi yn mynd i ddiwallu anghenion y bobl ifanc yr ydym yn ceisio sicrhau eu bod yn elwa. Roedd y cyllid wedi'i glustnodi yno am reswm. Yn ail, rwy'n cwestiynu'r prosesau a arweiniodd at y penderfyniadau hyn yn y lle cyntaf ar draws y Llywodraeth, yn benodol ynghylch ymgynghori a diffyg asesiad effaith hawliau plant, sy'n gymwys nid yn unig i addysg, ond ar draws y Llywodraeth. Rydym yn datgan ein record ar hawliau plant yng Nghymru, ond rwy'n bell o fod wedi fy argyhoeddi ein bod yn gwneud agos digon i gyflawni'r ymrwymiad hwnnw a sicrhau bod hawliau plant yn realiti yng Nghymru. I gloi, rydym yn gwybod y bydd credyd cynhwysol yn gwthio miloedd yn fwy o blant i fyw mewn tlodi. Ni allai fod adeg waeth i gael gwared ar gymorth ar gyfer grantiau gwisg ysgol nac i osod rhwystrau rhag gallu eu hawlio. Diolch.