English: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. Last week I visited, along with the rest of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, the young offenders unit at Parc prison, and to be told that 40 per cent of the young people there were formerly looked after was a salutary reminder, if ever one was needed, of the way that we have to go to improve the outcomes for looked-after children. So, I'm sure that is something that we all very much buy into in this Chamber. I have to say, though, that I am deeply uneasy with the idea of setting targets or expectations of reduction, or whatever you want to call them, in this field, for the reasons that Helen Mary Jones has just said, really. I think there is always a risk of perverse incentives and of measuring what is being counted. The 2018 UK-wide care crisis review found that there was no simple explanation for the rising numbers of looked-after children, so I think it is fair to say that I and the committee are also concerned that there is unlikely to be any simple answer either, and that's why the committee has written to the First Minister, to ADSS and to the children's commissioner expressing some concerns and probing this issue further. I do have some specific questions that I would like to ask you. The first is to ask about the recently published Care Inspectorate Wales thematic report on looked-after children, which did not find evidence of children becoming looked after who should not have done so. So, I'd be interested to know what account you have taken of that work in taking this forward. The committee has written to you, as I said, and I won't ask all the questions that were in the letter, because we'll await a written response from the First Minister. But I would ask again the question about who is actually responsible for risk assessing these targets. The onus is being put on local authorities, who also have the statutory duty to keep children safe, and I don't think there's a head of children's services in the country that gets up in the morning and thinks, 'Let's bring more children into care.' So, I'd like to ask you, specifically, about that and what the role of Welsh Government will be in monitoring those targets or whatever they are to be called. I welcome what you've said about co-production, although what I would say is, from what I've seen so far, the approach in this does not smack of co-production in the dealings of some of the authorities, and that is a concern and something that I will be wanting to follow. You referred to this being a prime commitment of the First Minister. I'd like to ask whether there's been a child rights impact assessment done on this commitment, and if so, whether that will be published. And just finally, on the out-of-county, out-of-country placements, again, nobody wants to see children placed far away from their homes and their communities, but as far as I understand the situation, we just don't have the alternative placements for some of these children. We don't have enough secure placements, we don't have enough low-secure, or enough support for children and young people with emotional problems. And this cannot just be an issue for local authorities; this is something that has to be led by Government, because they cannot plan this on their own. So, I would like to know what the Welsh Government is doing. And we questioned the health Minister on this last week in the Children, Young People and Education Committee. What is Welsh Government doing to make sure that those places are available, to avoid children having to be sent so far from their homes? Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch, Gweinidog, am eich datganiad. Yr wythnos diwethaf, ar y cyd â phawb arall ar y Pwyllgor Iechyd, Gofal Cymdeithasol a Chwaraeon, fe ymwelais i â'r uned troseddwyr ifanc yng ngharchar y Parc. Roedd yn beth da imi gael fy atgoffa o'r angen i wella'r canlyniadau i blant sy'n derbyn gofal, pe byddai eisiau hynny, gan fod 40 y cant o'r bobl ifanc a oedd yno wedi derbyn gofal. Felly, rwy'n siŵr bod hynny'n rhywbeth yr ydym ni i gyd yn ei gefnogi'n gryf iawn yn y Siambr hon. Mae'n rhaid imi ddweud, er hynny, fy mod i'n anesmwyth iawn gyda'r syniad o bennu targedau neu ddisgwyliadau am leihad, neu beth bynnag y dymunwch chi eu galw nhw, yn y maes hwn, am y rhesymau y mae Helen Mary Jones newydd eu mynegi. Rwy'n credu bod yna berygl bob amser o gymhellion gwrthnysig a mesur yn unig yr hyn a gyfrifir. Roedd yr adolygiad o'r argyfwng gofal yn y DU 2018 yn nodi nad oedd unrhyw esboniad syml am y niferoedd cynyddol o blant sy'n derbyn gofal. Felly rwy'n credu ei bod hi'n deg dweud fy mod i a'r pwyllgor yn bryderus hefyd ei bod yn annhebygol y ceir unrhyw ateb syml ychwaith, a dyna pam mae'r pwyllgor wedi ysgrifennu at y Prif Weinidog, at Gymdeithas Cyfarwyddwyr Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol ac at y comisiynydd plant yn mynegi rhai pryderon ac yn holi ymhellach ynglŷn â'r mater hwn. Mae gennyf i rai cwestiynau penodol yr hoffwn i eu gofyn i chi. Y cyntaf yw holi am adroddiad thematig Arolygiaeth Gofal Cymru a gyhoeddwyd yn ddiweddar ynglŷn â phlant sy'n derbyn gofal, na ddaeth o hyd i dystiolaeth fod plant sy'n cael eu derbyn mewn gofal na ddylen nhw fod mewn gofal. Felly, byddai'n ddiddorol cael gwybod pa ystyriaeth yr ydych chi wedi ei rhoi i'r gwaith hwnnw wrth fwrw ymlaen â hyn. Mae'r pwyllgor wedi ysgrifennu atoch chi, fel y dywedais i, ac nid wyf am ofyn y cwestiynau a oedd yn y llythyr i gyd, oherwydd rydym am aros am ymateb ysgrifenedig gan y Prif Weinidog. Ond rwyf i am ofyn eto pwy yn union sy'n gyfrifol am asesu risg y targedau hyn. Mae'r cyfrifoldeb yn cael ei roi ar awdurdodau lleol, sydd â'r ddyletswydd statudol hefyd o gadw plant yn ddiogel, ac nid wyf i o'r farn fod yna unrhyw bennaeth gwasanaethau plant yn y wlad sy'n codi yn y bore ac yn meddwl, 'Gadewch inni dderbyn mwy o blant mewn gofal.' Felly, hoffwn ofyn i chi, yn benodol, am hynny a'r hyn fydd swyddogaeth Llywodraeth Cymru wrth fonitro'r targedau hynny neu beth bynnag y byddan nhw'n cael eu galw. Rwy'n croesawu'r hyn yr ydych wedi ei ddweud am gyd-gynhyrchu, er mai'r hyn y byddwn i'n ei ddweud yw, o'r hyn yr wyf i wedi ei weld hyd yn hyn, nid yw'r gweithredu yn y maes hwn yn awgrymu unrhyw gyd-gynhyrchu yng ngweithrediadau rhai o'r awdurdodau, ac mae hynny'n bryder ac yn rhywbeth y byddwn i'n dymuno mynd ar ei ôl. Roeddech chi'n cyfeirio at y ffaith bod hwn yn un o brif ymrwymiadau'r Prif Weinidog. Hoffwn i ofyn a oes asesiad o'r effaith ar hawliau plant wedi cael ei wneud ynglŷn â'r ymrwymiad hwn, ac os felly, a gaiff hwnnw ei gyhoeddi? Ac yn olaf, o ran y lleoliadau y tu allan i'r sir, y tu allan i'r wlad, unwaith eto, nid oes neb yn dymuno gweld plant yn cael eu lleoli ymhell oddi wrth eu cynefin a'u cydnabod. Ond cyn belled ag yr wyf i'n deall y sefyllfa, nid oes gennym ni'r lleoliadau amgen ar gyfer rhai o'r plant hyn. Nid oes gennym ddigon o leoliadau diogel, nid oes gennym ddigon o gymorth diogelwch isel, neu ddigon o gefnogaeth i blant a phobl ifanc sydd â phroblemau emosiynol. Ac ni all hyn fod yn fater i awdurdodau lleol yn unig; mae hyn yn rhywbeth y mae'n rhaid i'r Llywodraeth arwain arno, oherwydd ni allan nhw gynllunio ar gyfer hynny ar eu liwt eu hunain. Felly, hoffwn i wybod beth mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud. Holwyd y Gweinidog iechyd ynglŷn â hyn yr wythnos diwethaf yn y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl ifanc ac Addysg. Beth mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud i sicrhau bod y lleoliadau hynny ar gael, i osgoi gorfod anfon plant mor bell o'u cynefin? Diolch.