English: Can I thank very much the Members that have brought forward this debate today? I certainly will be supporting the motion. The motion has my full support. Now, the Powys Association for Voluntary Organisations, or PAVO as they are known for short, have been raising concerns with me about the current threats that threaten the continuation of community transport in Powys. I thank them very much for their providing me with a very comprehensive briefing and report on this issue, which I shall refer briefly to today in my contribution. I think Members will understand that Powys's geography and sparse population and relatively limited public transport infrastructure mean that community transport, of course, provides an absolutely crucial lifeline to vulnerable residents who would not otherwise be able to access the services and opportunities that matter to them. Other Members have mentioned them in their contributions. Now, the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations provides support themselves for a range of community transport schemes operating across Powys. There are Dial-a-Ride operations, school contracts, community car schemes, taxi card schemes and minibus hire for third-party sectors. Certainly, Dial-a-Ride as well - a number of trustees operating Dial-a-Ride services have been in contact with me with a range of concerns for some time. I think all Members have mentioned - and I've listened to every Member that has spoken so far in this debate today - that it seems that the single largest area of activity and journeys with regard to community transport providers is associated with social care and health needs. In Powys itself, this financial year, groups in Powys drove over 800,000 miles for 8,000 people in Powys and delivered 108,000 single passenger journeys. Now, over 6,000 of these people are over 60, and 1,800 have a disability. I point this out, of course, to demonstrate the importance of community transport to people in my rural constituency who face barriers in accessing services with very limited private transport. Without these services, of course, not only is it estimated that half of the 8,000 passengers in Powys would lose their transport, but the financial consequences for the local authority and the health board would be significant. It's estimated that they would have to spend around just under £800,000 to cover the same health and social services currently serviced by community transport operators. As the motion notes, there is real concern about the proposals contained within the Department for Transport consultation on community transport permits, which would mean that any service in receipt of payment in exchange for the transport provided, whether that be fares or grants or even lunch for the driver, would be considered commercially and subject to new licensing arrangements. This, of course, would have significant costs with regard to running services, limit the availability of community transport services to deliver contracted services for local authorities, and affect some aspects of licensing affecting the group hire of minibuses. I'm just going to read a little bit from the report that PAVO provided to me. There are nine community transport organisations providing services in Powys. Now, as it stands, according to the Powys report, having discussed this issue with each of the nine providers, five would be forced to close altogether, two might continue to operate under the new requirements but would be forced to only operate within the commercial market and, as such, they might still close, and two currently use vehicles with under nine seats and would therefore not be affected by the change. They go on to say that because of the legal nature of licensing arrangements, it is anticipated that these community transport schemes would be obliged to cease, affecting services immediately upon confirmation or enforcement of the new licensing requirements. The motion today calls on the Welsh Government to work in partnership with these groups and provide a clear strategy to recognise the cross-cutting aspects of community transport provision across Welsh Government departments, but I very much hope that the Cabinet Secretary will be able to respond positively to today's debate in a way that provides some stability for the groups that I and others have mentioned.
Welsh: A gaf fi ddiolch yn fawr i'r Aelodau sydd wedi cyflwyno'r ddadl hon heddiw? Yn sicr byddaf yn cefnogi'r cynnig. Rwy'n cefnogi'r cynnig yn llawn. Nawr, mae Cymdeithas Sefydliadau Gwirfoddol Powys, neu PAVO fel y'u gelwir yn fyr, wedi bod yn lleisio pryderon wrthyf am y bygythiadau presennol i barhad trafnidiaeth gymunedol ym Mhowys. Diolch iddynt am ddarparu cyfarwyddyd ac adroddiad cynhwysfawr iawn ar y mater hwn, a byddaf yn cyfeirio'n fyr ato heddiw yn fy nghyfraniad. Credaf y bydd yr Aelodau'n deall bod daearyddiaeth a phoblogaeth wasgarog a seilwaith trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus gymharol gyfyngedig Powys yn golygu bod trafnidiaeth gymunedol, wrth gwrs, yn rhoi achubiaeth gwbl allweddol i breswylwyr agored i niwed na fyddent fel arall yn gallu defnyddio'r gwasanaethau a'r cyfleoedd sy'n bwysig iddynt. Mae'r Aelodau eraill wedi sôn amdanynt yn eu cyfraniadau. Nawr, mae Cymdeithas Sefydliadau Gwirfoddol Powys yn rhoi cymorth eu hunain i amrywiaeth o gynlluniau trafnidiaeth gymunedol sy'n gweithredu ar draws Powys. Ceir gweithgarwch deialu am reid, contractau ysgol, cynlluniau ceir cymunedol, cynlluniau cardiau tacsis a llogi bws mini ar gyfer sectorau trydydd parti. Yn sicr, deialu am reid yn ogystal - mae nifer o'r ymddiriedolwyr sy'n gweithredu gwasanaethau deialu am reid wedi bod yn cysylltu â mi gydag amryw o bryderon ers peth amser. Credaf fod yr holl Aelodau wedi crybwyll - ac rwyf wedi gwrando ar bob Aelod sydd wedi siarad hyd yma yn y ddadl hon heddiw - ei bod hi'n ymddangos bod y maes unigol mwyaf o ran gweithgarwch a theithiau mewn perthynas â darparwyr trafnidiaeth gymunedol yn gysylltiedig ag anghenion iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol. Ym Mhowys ei hun, y flwyddyn ariannol hon, gyrrodd grwpiau ym Mhowys dros 800,000 milltir dros 8,000 o bobl ym Mhowys gan ddarparu 108,000 o deithiau unigol i deithwyr. Nawr, mae dros 6,000 o'r bobl hyn dros 60 oed, ac mae gan 1,800 anabledd. Rwy'n nodi hyn, wrth gwrs, i ddangos pwysigrwydd trafnidiaeth gymunedol i bobl yn fy etholaeth wledig sy'n wynebu rhwystrau rhag defnyddio gwasanaethau gyda thrafnidiaeth breifat gyfyngedig iawn. Heb y gwasanaethau hyn, wrth gwrs, nid yn unig yr amcangyfrifir y byddai hanner yr 8,000 o deithwyr ym Mhowys yn colli eu trafnidiaeth, ond byddai'r canlyniadau ariannol i'r awdurdod lleol a'r bwrdd iechyd yn sylweddol. Amcangyfrifir y byddai'n rhaid iddynt wario oddeutu ychydig o dan £800,000 i dalu am yr un gwasanaethau iechyd a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol a gyflenwir ar hyn o bryd gan weithredwyr trafnidiaeth gymunedol. Fel y noda'r cynnig, ceir pryder gwirioneddol ynghylch y cynigion a gynhwysir yn ymgynghoriad yr Adran Drafnidiaeth ar drwyddedau trafnidiaeth gymunedol, a fyddai'n golygu bod unrhyw wasanaeth sy'n cael taliad yn gyfnewid am y drafnidiaeth a ddarperir, boed yn docynnau neu'n grantiau neu'n ginio i'r gyrrwr hyd yn oed, yn cael ei ystyried yn fasnachol ac yn dod yn ddarostyngedig i drefniadau trwyddedu newydd. Byddai costau sylweddol i hyn wrth gwrs o ran darparu gwasanaethau, cyfyngu ar argaeledd gwasanaethau trafnidiaeth gymunedol i ddarparu gwasanaethau dan gontract ar gyfer awdurdodau lleol, ac yn effeithio ar rai agweddau ar drwyddedu sy'n effeithio ar logi bysiau mini fel grŵp. Rwyf am ddarllen ychydig o'r adroddiad a ddarparodd PAVO ar fy nghyfer. Ceir naw sefydliad trafnidiaeth gymunedol sy'n darparu gwasanaethau ym Mhowys. Nawr, fel y mae, yn ôl adroddiad Powys, ar ôl trafod y mater gyda phob un o'r naw darparwr, byddai pump yn cael eu gorfodi i gau yn gyfan gwbl, efallai y byddai dau'n parhau i weithredu o dan y gofynion newydd ond byddent yn cael eu gorfodi i weithredu o fewn y farchnad fasnachol yn unig, ac o ran hynny, mae'n dal i fod yn bosibl y byddent yn cau, ac mae dau'n defnyddio cerbydau â llai na naw o seddi ar hyn o bryd, ac felly ni fyddent yn cael eu heffeithio gan y newid. Maent yn mynd rhagddynt i ddweud y rhagwelir y byddai'n rhaid i'r cynlluniau trafnidiaeth gymunedol hyn ddod i ben oherwydd natur gyfreithiol y trefniadau trwyddedu, a byddai hynny'n effeithio ar wasanaethau ar unwaith wrth gael cadarnhad, neu wrth orfodi'r gofynion trwyddedu newydd. Mae'r cynnig heddiw'n galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i weithio mewn partneriaeth â'r grwpiau hyn a darparu strategaeth glir i gydnabod agweddau trawsbynciol ar ddarpariaeth trafnidiaeth gymunedol ar draws adrannau Llywodraeth Cymru, ond rwy'n mawr obeithio y gall Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet ymateb yn gadarnhaol i'r ddadl heddiw mewn ffordd sy'n darparu rhywfaint o sefydlogrwydd ar gyfer y grwpiau a grybwyllwyd gennyf fi ac eraill.