English: Thank you very much, Bethan. I would agree, and that's the kind of evidence that we heard time and time again during this inquiry as we scrutinised. The parents told us that not all high-functioning people with ASD are eligible for social services under the Act, and, while they may have a high IQ, they may have great difficulty undertaking daily tasks. Adults with ASD who took part in the committee's visit to Autism Spectrum Connections Cymru here in Cardiff told us that they felt that they were an invisible group in the autism community as they did not fall into the category of children or adults who need day-to-day care and they're not affecting employability and disability statistics. We heard that they're keen to work but are unable to get a job and need support to help them into employment. And we have not, as a committee, been able to reach consensus on whether this legislation at this particular time is the most appropriate way of achieving these much-needed improvements. Some Members support the introduction of this Bill now, believing that it is both timely and necessary to put services on a statutory footing to deliver improvement where previous strategies have failed to do so and achieve the change required for people with ASD and their families. Other Members feel that more time is needed for existing initiatives and legislation to take effect. Some were also concerned about the focus of the Bill, which some believe is diagnosis-led rather than needs-led and the potential consequences for people who will not receive an ASD diagnosis and/or have other neurological conditions. However, we are in agreement that there is a pressing need to improve support services for people with ASD and their families across Wales, and we believe that this must be addressed as a matter of priority. To this end, we have made a series of recommendations to the Welsh Government aimed at driving forward these improvements. These include directing the integrated autism services to improve the consistency of the service across the regions beyond what is done at present and to ensure that services in the third sector receive sustainable funding to continue with the specialist support services that they provide for people with ASD and to expand these services. Second, to direct the integrated autism services to improve the consistency of the services across all regions to ensure a national approach, taking urgent action to address the clear need for employment support for adults with ASD. Then instructing health boards and local authorities to ensure that there are multiple appropriate referral pathways available to all, including a specific primary care pathway, and that existing barriers between the health, care and education sectors are removed - for example, to enable GPs to refer children for education support. Then a mandatory requirement for all school staff, particularly teachers and teaching assistants, to receive training in awareness and understanding of ASD during their initial teacher training and as part of their continuing professional development. We also made a recommendation to the Member in charge, as we've heard, that, if the Bill proceeds to Stage 2, an amendment should be brought forward to ensure that judicial review is not the only route available for individuals to assert their rights. I note that the Member in charge accepts the principle behind this recommendation but has been unable to identify a workable solution to address the issue. This is disappointing - but we can understand the reasons why - as it came as a result of our conversations with parents who told us of their concern about their ability to seek appropriate remedies where necessary, given the complexities of the judicial review process. We've not yet, as a committee, received a formal response from the Welsh Government to our recommendations, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister later on in this debate. Thank you very much.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Bethan. Mi fuaswn i'n cytuno. Dyna'r fath o dystiolaeth roedden ni'n ei chael drosodd a throsodd drwy'r ymgynghoriad yma wrth i ni graffu. Dywedodd y rhieni wrthym nad yw'r holl bobl uchel-weithredol sydd efo'r anhwylder yn gymwys am wasanaethau cymdeithasol o dan y Ddeddf, ac er bod ganddyn nhw IQ uchel efallai y bydden nhw'n cael anhawster mawr wrth wneud tasgau dyddiol. Dywedodd oedolion sydd ag awtistiaeth a gymerodd ran yn ymweliad y pwyllgor ag Autism Spectrum Connections Cymru yma yng Nghaerdydd wrthym eu bod nhw'n teimlo eu bod yn grŵp anweledig yn y gymuned awtistiaeth, gan nad oedden nhw'n perthyn i'r categori plant nac oedolion sydd angen gofal o ddydd i ddydd ac nad ydyn nhw'n effeithio ar ystadegau cyflogadwyedd ac anabledd. Clywsom eu bod nhw'n awyddus i weithio ond yn methu â chael swydd ac mae angen cymorth arnyn nhw i'w helpu i gael gwaith. Nid ydym ni, fel pwyllgor, wedi gallu dod i gonsensws ynghylch ai'r ddeddfwriaeth hon, ar yr adeg benodol hon, yw'r ffordd fwyaf priodol o gyflawni'r gwelliannau sydd ddirfawr eu hangen. Mae rhai Aelodau'n cefnogi cyflwyno'r Bil yma nawr, gan gredu ei bod yn amserol ac yn angenrheidiol rhoi gwasanaethau ar sail statudol i gyflawni gwelliant lle mae strategaethau blaenorol wedi methu â gwneud hynny, a sicrhau'r newid sy'n ofynnol i bobl sydd ag anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth a'u teuluoedd. Mae Aelodau eraill o'r farn bod angen rhoi mwy o amser i fentrau a deddfwriaeth bresennol ddod i rym. Roedd rhai hefyd yn pryderu ynghylch ffocws y Bil, y mae rhai o'r farn ei fod yn ddiagnosis yn hytrach nag ar sail anghenion, a'r canlyniadau posibl ar bobl na fyddan nhw'n derbyn diagnosis ar gyfer anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth neu sydd â chyflyrau niwrolegol eraill. Fodd bynnag, dŷn ni'n cytuno bod angen pwysig i wella gwasanaethau cymorth i bobl sydd ag anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth a'u teuluoedd ledled Cymru, a chredwn fod yn rhaid mynd i'r afael â hyn fel mater o flaenoriaeth. I'r perwyl yma, dŷn ni wedi gwneud cyfres o argymhellion i Lywodraeth Cymru gyda'r bwriad o ddatblygu'r gwelliannau hyn. Mae'r rhain yn cynnwys cynyddu'r ddarpariaeth o wasanaethau cymorth anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth uniongyrchol ledled Cymru, y tu hwnt i'r gwasanaethau a gynigir ar hyn o bryd gan y gwasanaeth awtistiaeth integredig, a sicrhau bod gwasanaethau'r trydydd sector yn derbyn cyllid cynaliadwy er mwyn gallu parhau â'u gwasanaethau cymorth arbenigol i bobl sydd ag anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth a'u hehangu. Yn ail, rhoi cyfarwyddyd i'r gwasanaeth awtistiaeth integredig i wella cysondeb y gwasanaethau ar draws y rhanbarthau, er mwyn sicrhau dull gweithredu cenedlaethol. Cymryd camau ar fyrder i fynd i'r afael â'r angen clir am gymorth cyflogaeth ar gyfer oedolion sydd ag anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth. Nesaf, rhoi cyfarwyddyd i fyrddau iechyd ac awdurdodau lleol i sicrhau bod nifer o lwybrau atgyfeirio priodol a chlir ar gael i bawb, gan gynnwys llwybr gofal sylfaenol penodol, a bod y rhwystrau sy'n bodoli rhwng y sectorau iechyd, y sector gofal a'r sector addysg yn cael eu rhoi i'r neilltu, er enghraifft er mwyn galluogi meddygon teulu i allu atgyfeirio plant i gael cymorth addysgol. Gofyniad gorfodol i bob aelod o staff mewn ysgolion, yn enwedig athrawon a chynorthwywyr addysg, gael hyfforddiant mewn ymwybyddiaeth a dealltwriaeth o anhwylder sbectrwm awtistiaeth yn ystod eu hyfforddiant cychwynnol athrawon ac fel rhan o'u datblygiad proffesiynol parhaus. Gwnaethom hefyd argymhelliad i'r Aelod sy'n gyfrifol, fel dŷn ni wedi ei glywed, pe bai'r Bil yn mynd ymlaen i Gyfnod 2, y dylid cyflwyno gwelliant i sicrhau nad adolygiad barnwrol yw'r unig ffordd sydd ar gael i unigolion fynnu eu hawliau. Nodaf fod yr Aelod sy'n gyfrifol yn derbyn yr egwyddor y tu ôl i'r argymhelliad hwn, ond nid yw wedi gallu nodi ateb ymarferol i fynd i'r afael â'r mater. Mae hyn yn siomedig - ond gellir deall y rhesymau - am ei fod wedi dod o ganlyniad i'n sgyrsiau gyda rhieni a soniodd wrthym am eu pryder ynghylch eu gallu i gael atebion priodol pan fo angen, o ystyried cymhlethdodau proses yr adolygiad barnwrol. Nid ydym eto, fel pwyllgor, wedi cael ymateb ffurfiol gan Lywodraeth Cymru i'n hargymhellion, ac rwyf yn edrych ymlaen at glywed gan y Gweinidog yn ddiweddarach yn y ddadl hon. Diolch yn fawr iawn.