English: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to contribute to this debate today as Chair of the Finance Committee. We've made nine recommendations. Given the time available, I will perhaps focus on some of our main concerns in this debate this afternoon. The committee heard from the Minister that the Bill provides the legislative underpinning for the development of a wholesale reform of the curriculum and assessment for Wales, but there were only two options contained within the regulatory impact assessment, namely do nothing, or legislate, and we believe that the RIA should be a key tool to critically assess a range of methods, and to provide an evidence-based approach to policy-making decisions and the committee is concerned that informed, comprehensive RIAs are not driving the decision-making process here. Whilst the committee accepts that the impact of the pandemic may have created a more difficult environment for the preparation of the Bill, we are concerned that the Welsh Government has replaced the explanatory memorandum two months after the original was laid. Whilst the changes weren't particularly relevant to consideration of the financial aspects of the Bill, that's a worrying precedent that has been set. The RIA notes that the curriculum will be decided at school level with each school applying the curriculum requirements in their own contexts. Therefore, there is no single basis on which to assess the costs of the legislation. However, a significant proportion of the costs are estimated to fall to schools, and that is between £146 million and £438 million, or between 45 per cent and 71 per cent of the total costs. The methodology used to estimate the costs for schools was based primarily on a survey of 15 innovation schools, with the RIA providing a plus or minus 50 per cent range on the estimate costs. It's disappointing that a more representative sample of the wider school population has not been used, and that more detailed work of the costs to schools across Wales was not undertaken. Our second recommendations recommend that this work should be undertaken and included in a revised RIA. The duties placed on pupil referral units and education other than at schools are different to those placed on schools. The Welsh Government undertook a small-scale investigation with these stakeholders. However, the transition and ongoing costs were not included in the RIA, as they weren't considered robust enough to aggregate to an all-Wales level. The Minister confirmed the Bill would provide a framework for learners in education other than at school, entitling them to have access to the new curriculum arrangements. However, she said that given the wide range of different learning needs in that sector, it was difficult to quantify costs, because it's a needs-based approach, and therefore the costs were not included. We recommend in our third recommendation that the Welsh Government should undertake further work to define and estimate the costs for education other than at school in consultation with stakeholders. Now, £126.8 million will be provided to schools for professional learning. The Minister confirmed that the funding allocated to schools is determined by a funding formula. We also heard from the Minister that other elements of professional learning are accounted for in different ways, and that the National Academy for Educational Leadership is funded via an annual grant. To aid transparency, the committee recommends that details of the teacher-based formula used to fund schools and information on the other ways schools receive funding should be published. We heard that engagement with a number of key stakeholders had to be paused in response to COVID-19. As I mentioned at the beginning of my contribution, the committee acknowledges the impact of the pandemic, of course. However, it is disappointing that the engagement work with stakeholders had not progressed further upon the Bill's introduction. This leads to a number of concerns around the evidence used by Welsh Government in making the decisions outlined in the explanatory memorandum. We are grateful to the Minister for providing an update on engagement with stakeholders, which stated that Welsh Government officials had met with representatives from the further education sector to discuss the potential impact on the post-16 education system, including financial implications for training. We recommend that the detail on the Welsh Government's discussions with stakeholders around the potential costs to the post-16 education sector should be published along with any details of the financial implications. That's a brief outline of some of the main recommendations that we made, but the full range of recommendations is available in the committee's report. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Dwi'n falch iawn o allu cyfrannu at y ddadl yma, fel dŷch chi'n dweud, fel Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor. Dŷn ni wedi gwneud naw argymhelliad. O ystyried yr amser sydd ar gael, mi wnaf i efallai ganolbwyntio ar rai o'n prif bryderon ni yn y ddadl yma y prynhawn yma. Fe glywodd y pwyllgor gan y Gweinidog fod y Bil yn darparu'r sylfaen ddeddfwriaethol ar gyfer diwygio'r cwricwlwm a'r gyfundrefn asesu drwyddi draw yng Nghymru, ond dim ond dau opsiwn, neu dau ddewis, mae'r asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol yn ei roi, sef gwneud dim byd, neu ddeddfu. Nawr, rŷn ni'n credu y dylai'r asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol fod yn ffordd bwysig o asesu ystod o ddulliau yn feirniadol, ac wedyn cynnig dull o wneud penderfyniadau polisi sy'n seiliedig ar dystiolaeth, ac mae'r pwyllgor yn pryderu nad yw asesiadau effaith rheoleiddiol deallus, cynhwysfawr yn gyrru'r broses benderfynu fan hyn. Er bod y pwyllgor yn derbyn y gallai effaith y pandemig fod wedi creu amgylchedd anoddach ar gyfer paratoi'r Bil, rŷn ni'n pryderu bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi disodli'r memorandwm esboniadol dim ond dau fis ar ôl i'r gwreiddiol gael ei osod. Er nad oedd y newidiadau yn arbennig o berthnasol i ystyried agweddau ariannol y Bil, mae'r cynsail gafodd ei osod yn hynny o beth yn rhywbeth sydd yn peri pryder i ni. Mae'r asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol yn nodi y bydd y cwricwlwm yn cael ei benderfynu ar lefel ysgol, gyda phob ysgol yn cymhwyso gofynion y cwricwlwm yn eu cyd-destunau nhw eu hunain. Felly, does dim jest un sail y gellid ei ddefnyddio i asesu costau'r ddeddfwriaeth. Fodd bynnag, amcangyfrifir mai ysgolion fydd yn ysgwyddo cyfran sylweddol o'r costau, sef rhwng £146 miliwn a £438 miliwn, neu rhwng 45 y cant a 71 y cant o gyfanswm y costau. Roedd y fethodoleg a ddefnyddiwyd i amcangyfrif y costau i ysgolion yn seiliedig yn bennaf ar arolwg o 15 ysgol arloesi, gyda'r asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol yn darparu ystod o plws neu minws 50 y cant ar yr amcangyfrif o'r costau. Ond mae'n siomedig na ddefnyddiwyd sampl fwy cynrychioliadol o'r boblogaeth ysgolion ehangach, ac na wnaed gwaith manylach o'r costau i ysgolion ledled Cymru. Mae'n ail argymhelliad yn argymell y dylid felly ymgymryd â'r gwaith yma ac y dylid ei gynnwys mewn asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol diwygiedig. Mae'r dyletswyddau a osodir ar unedau cyfeirio disgyblion ac addysg heblaw yn yr ysgol yn wahanol i'r rhai a osodir ar ysgolion. Fe gynhaliodd Llywodraeth Cymru ymchwil ar raddfa fach gyda'r rhanddeiliaid hyn. Fodd bynnag, chafodd y costau trosglwyddo na'r costau parhaus ddim o'u cynnwys yn yr asesiad effaith rheoleiddiol, gan na ystyriwyd eu bod yn ddigon cadarn i'w cyfuno i lefel Cymru gyfan. Fe gadarnhaodd y Gweinidog y byddai'r Bil yn darparu fframwaith i ddysgwyr mewn addysg heblaw yn yr ysgol, gan roi hawl iddyn nhw gael mynediad at y trefniadau cwricwlwm newydd. Fodd bynnag, fe ddywedodd, o ystyried yr ystod eang o wahanol anghenion dysgu yn y sector hwnnw, ei bod yn anodd meintioli costau, oherwydd y dilynir dull sy'n seiliedig ar anghenion, ac felly ni chafodd y costau eu cynnwys. Rŷn ni'n argymell yn ein trydydd argymhelliad y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru wneud gwaith pellach i ddiffinio ac amcangyfrif y costau ar gyfer addysg heblaw yn yr ysgol mewn ymgynghoriad â rhanddeiliaid. Mi fydd £126.8 miliwn yn cael ei ddarparu i ysgolion ar gyfer dysgu proffesiynol. Fe gadarnhaodd y Gweinidog fod y cyllid a ddyrennir i ysgolion yn cael ei bennu gan fformiwla ariannu. Fe glywsom ni hefyd gan y Gweinidog y rhoddir cyfrif am elfennau eraill o ddysgu proffesiynol mewn gwahanol ffyrdd a bod yr Academi Genedlaethol ar gyfer Arweinyddiaeth Addysgol yn cael ei hariannu trwy grant blynyddol. Er mwyn cynorthwyo tryloywder, mae'r pwyllgor yn argymell y dylid cyhoeddi manylion y fformiwla ar sail athrawon a ddefnyddir i ariannu ysgolion yn ogystal â gwybodaeth am y ffyrdd eraill y mae ysgolion yn cael cyllid. Fe glywsom ni y bu'n rhaid atal yr ymgysylltu â nifer o randdeiliaid allweddol mewn ymateb i bandemig COVID-19, ac fel y soniais ar ddechrau fy nghyfraniad, mae'r pwyllgor yn cydnabod effaith y pandemig hwnnw, wrth gwrs. Fodd bynnag, mae'n siomedig nad oedd y gwaith ymgysylltu â rhanddeiliaid wedi symud ymlaen ymhellach ar ôl cyflwyno'r Bil. Mae hyn yn arwain at nifer o bryderon ynghylch y dystiolaeth a ddefnyddiwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru i wneud y penderfyniadau a amlinellwyd yn y memorandwm esboniadol. Rŷn ni'n ddiolchgar i'r Gweinidog am roi'r ddiweddariad am ymgysylltu â rhanddeiliaid, a bod hwnnw'n nodi bod swyddogion Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cyfarfod â chynrychiolwyr o'r sector addysg bellach i drafod yr effaith bosibl ar y system addysg ôl-16, a hynny'n cynnwys goblygiadau ariannol ar gyfer hyfforddiant. Rŷn ni'n argymell y dylai manylion trafodaethau Llywodraeth Cymru gyda rhanddeiliaid ynghylch y costau posibl i'r system addysg ôl-16, ynghyd ag unrhyw fanylion am y goblygiadau ariannol, gael eu cyhoeddi. Dyna amlinelliad byr o rai o'r prif argymhellion, ond wrth gwrs, mae'r ystod llawn o argymhellion i'w gweld yn adroddiad y pwyllgor. Diolch.