English: Diolch, Llywydd. The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to have a significant impact on daily life. As we have seen recently, it is still posing major challenges for us all and in particular for our local authorities. I would like to express my thanks to them and to the Welsh Local Government Association who have worked so hard and been so responsive in mobilising to address the situation. We have seen unprecedented levels of engagement and co-production; national and local government working hand in hand to support our citizens and communities, especially those who were most vulnerable - a uniquely Welsh approach where local government leaders had access to Ministers on the issues that really mattered, when they mattered. We have committed significant funding to local government. The local government hardship fund provides for almost £0.5 billion to support authorities to respond to the impacts of the pandemic. I would like to thank the WLGA, the partnership council and the Society of Welsh Treasurers for their continued work with us to enable services to keep running, adapting and meeting the needs of local populations. For the future, we plan to place our established social partnership system and structures on a statutory footing, further strengthening arrangements and supporting constructive dialogue with our social partners for the future that Wales wants post COVID-19. A priority for that future is preventing and ending homelessness in all its forms. At the beginning of the pandemic, we took immediate action to protect those who were homeless, providing £10 million of extra funding, to ensure that no-one was left without access to accommodation. More than 2,200 people have been helped into temporary or emergency accommodation - a huge achievement. But there are challenges ahead. I have made it absolutely clear that I do not want to see anyone forced back onto the streets. To this end, in May, I announced the next phase of our homelessness response. All 22 local authorities in Wales submitted applications, setting out how they will ensure that no-one need return to the streets, focusing on innovation, building and remodelling, to transform the accommodation offer across Wales. A significant oversubscription to the original capital funding pot reflected the scale of ambition to deliver a long-term, sustainable and fundamental change to homelessness services in Wales. It also quite obviously demonstrated that the initial fund of £10.5 million capital did not match our collective ambition. Therefore, I substantially increased the overall capital funding available to £50 million, demonstrating our commitment to making a truly significant and transformational step change towards achieving our goal of ending homelessness in Wales. We have provisionally allocated funding to 70 capital projects, supporting people into settled accommodation or transforming services for the long term. Still on housing, I welcome the suspension of evictions being extended until 20 September, and I am very happy that the court has put in place measures to ensure that the impacts of the pandemic are taken into account. Using the powers available to me under the Coronavirus Act 2020, I have acted to give additional protection to renters by increasing notice periods for eviction to six months, other than in relation to anti-social behaviour. I was pleased to note that the UK Government has since made similar changes. I am committed to ensuring that we continue to protect renters whilst at the same time mitigating impacts on landlords. Therefore, I intend making regulations extending the current protections until the end of March next year. At the same time, and in recognition of the need to address the impact on communities of anti-social and other negative behaviour in a timely manner, I intend reducing the notice periods for possession grounds relating to anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse to the pre-COVID position. Where rent arrears have accumulated due to COVID-19, private rented sector tenants will soon be able to apply for a loan through the tenancy saver loan scheme when it opens for applications later this month. We've also provided an additional £1.4 million to boost services that support people in Wales to manage problem debt and improve their household income. Looking beyond the pandemic, we are continuing with our Bill to amend the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to increase security of tenure. The Bill extends the no-fault notice period from two to six months, and landlords will be prevented from issuing a no-fault notice until at least six months from the date of occupancy. This means those renting their homes will have a minimum of 12 months' security of tenure from the outset of their contract, meaning security of tenure in Wales will be greater than elsewhere in the UK. The consequences of the pandemic are far reaching, and, sadly, the economic impact of COVID-19 will mean a significant rise in poverty levels. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, I commissioned a child poverty review, which sought to explore what more could be done to improve outcomes for children and young people. The pandemic has had such far-reaching consequences for the lives of people in Wales and our economy, we believe the findings of that review do not now fully reflect the current landscape. Practical actions to help mitigate the impact of the crisis for families living in poverty is urgent and necessary right now. Our focus is on action to maximise income and provide support to families to build financial resilience. We are working in collaboration with our stakeholders to progress this work over the coming months. We are working with local authorities to ensure that local authority benefits such as free school meals and council tax reduction are more accessible, as well as helping to make the administration more streamlined and less resource intensive for local authorities. We're also developing a 'no wrong door' approach through a more integrated system of support, limiting the number of contacts families and individuals have to make and the number of times they have to tell their story in order to access support. And we will ensure that third sector and other front-line workers have the training, tools and information they need to support individuals and families to maximise their incomes. I want to finish, Llywydd, by mentioning some other areas that underpinned our response to the pandemic and will continue to be priorities as we move forward. Thanks to local authorities maintaining essential services during lockdown, we've been able to continue to deliver on recycling aims and actions on decarbonisation. We are continuing to support communities and want to rejuvenate town centres and expand on the growth in repair cafes and zero-waste shops. To that end, we have awarded funding to Repair Cafe Wales and made additional funding available for FareShare Cymru to expand their food surplus redistribution provision. And finally, we have expanded the circular economy fund so that it could support the post-COVID response and contribute to a green recovery. These are very difficult times, but we have worked well together. These collaborations will provide clear lessons and a great deal of good practice that we can and should adopt going forward. Diolch yn fawr.
Welsh: Diolch, Llywydd. Mae pandemig y coronafeirws yn parhau i gael effaith sylweddol ar fywyd bob dydd. Fel y gwelsom ni yn ddiweddar, mae'n dal i achosi heriau mawr i bob un ohonom ni ac yn arbennig i'n hawdurdodau lleol. Hoffwn ddiolch iddyn nhw ac i Gymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru sydd wedi gweithio mor galed ac wedi bod mor ymatebol wrth dorchi llewys i fynd i'r afael â'r sefyllfa. Rydym ni wedi gweld ymgysylltu a chyd-gynhyrchu fel na welsom ni erioed o'r blaen; y llywodraeth genedlaethol a llywodraeth leol yn gweithio law yn llaw i gefnogi ein dinasyddion a'n cymunedau, yn enwedig y rhai a oedd fwyaf agored i niwed - dull unigryw Gymreig lle gallai arweinwyr llywodraeth leol fynd at y Gweinidogion ynghylch y materion a oedd o bwys gwirioneddol, pan roedd hynny'n bwysig. Rydym ni wedi ymrwymo cyllid sylweddol i lywodraeth leol. Mae cronfa galedi llywodraeth leol yn darparu bron iawn £0.5 biliwn i gefnogi awdurdodau i ymateb i effeithiau'r pandemig. Hoffwn ddiolch i CLlLC, y cyngor partneriaeth a Chymdeithas Trysoryddion Cymru am eu gwaith parhaus gyda ni i alluogi gwasanaethau i barhau i redeg, addasu a diwallu anghenion poblogaethau lleol. Ar gyfer y dyfodol, bwriadwn roi ein system a'n strwythurau partneriaeth gymdeithasol sefydledig ar sail statudol, cryfhau trefniadau ymhellach a chefnogi trafodaethau adeiladol gyda'n partneriaid cymdeithasol ar gyfer y dyfodol y mae ar Gymru ei eisiau ar ôl COVID-19. Un o flaenoriaethau'r dyfodol hwnnw yw atal digartrefedd a rhoi terfyn ar ddigartrefedd o bob math. Ar ddechrau'r pandemig, aethom ati ar unwaith i amddiffyn y rhai a oedd yn ddigartref, gan ddarparu £10 miliwn o gyllid ychwanegol, i sicrhau na adawyd neb heb lety. Rhoddwyd cymorth i dros 2,200 o bobl gael llety dros dro neu mewn argyfwng - cyflawniad enfawr. Ond mae heriau o'n blaenau. Rwyf wedi'i gwneud hi'n gwbl glir nad wyf eisiau gweld neb yn cael ei orfodi'n ôl ar y strydoedd. I'r perwyl hwn, ym mis Mai, cyhoeddais gam nesaf ein hymateb i ddigartrefedd. Cyflwynodd pob un o'r 22 awdurdod lleol yng Nghymru geisiadau, yn nodi sut y byddant yn sicrhau nad oes angen i neb ddychwelyd i'r strydoedd, gan ganolbwyntio ar arloesi, adeiladu ac ailfodelu, i drawsnewid y llety a gynigir ledled Cymru. Roedd gor-alw sylweddol am gymorth o'r gronfa arian cyfalaf wreiddiol yn adlewyrchu maint yr uchelgais i sicrhau newid hirdymor, cynaliadwy a sylfaenol i wasanaethau digartrefedd yng Nghymru. Dangosodd yn eithaf amlwg hefyd nad oedd y gronfa gychwynnol o £10.5 miliwn o gyfalaf yn cyd-fynd â'r uchelgais yr ydym ni i gyd yn ei rhannu. Felly, cynyddais yn sylweddol yr arian cyfalaf cyffredinol sydd ar gael i £50 miliwn, gan ddangos ein hymrwymiad i wneud newid sylweddol a gwirioneddol drawsffurfiol o ran cyflawni ein nod o roi terfyn ar ddigartrefedd yng Nghymru. Rydym ni wedi dyrannu cyllid dros dro i 70 o brosiectau cyfalaf, gan gefnogi pobl i gael llety sefydlog neu drawsnewid gwasanaethau ar gyfer y tymor hir. Eto o ran tai, rwy'n croesawu atal troi pobl allan tan 20 Medi, ac rwy'n hapus iawn fod y llys wedi rhoi mesurau ar waith i sicrhau bod effeithiau'r pandemig yn cael eu hystyried. Gan ddefnyddio'r pwerau sydd ar gael imi dan Ddeddf Coronafeirws 2020, rwyf wedi gweithredu i roi amddiffyniad ychwanegol i bobl sy'n rhentu drwy gynyddu cyfnodau rhybudd ar gyfer troi allan i chwe mis, ac eithrio o ran ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol. Roeddwn yn falch o weld bod Llywodraeth y DU wedi gwneud newidiadau tebyg ers hynny. Rwyf wedi ymrwymo i sicrhau ein bod yn parhau i amddiffyn rhentwyr gan liniaru effeithiau ar landlordiaid ar yr un pryd. Felly, bwriadaf wneud rheoliadau sy'n ymestyn yr amddiffyniadau presennol tan ddiwedd mis Mawrth y flwyddyn nesaf. Ar yr un pryd, ac i gydnabod yr angen i fynd i'r afael ag effaith ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol ar gymunedau ac ymddygiad negyddol arall mewn modd amserol, bwriadaf leihau'r cyfnodau rhybudd lle mae sail i feddiannu eiddo oherwydd ymddygiad gwrthgymdeithasol a cham-drin domestig i'r sefyllfa oedd yn bodoli cyn COVID. Lle mae ôl-ddyledion rhent wedi cronni oherwydd COVID-19, bydd tenantiaid y sector rhentu preifat yn gallu gwneud cais am fenthyciad drwy'r cynllun benthyciadau arbed tenantiaeth cyn bo hir pan fydd yn agor ar gyfer ceisiadau yn ddiweddarach y mis hwn. Rydym ni hefyd wedi darparu £1.4 miliwn ychwanegol i hybu gwasanaethau sy'n helpu pobl yng Nghymru i reoli dyledion problemus a gwella incwm eu haelwydydd. Gan edrych y tu hwnt i'r pandemig, rydym yn parhau â'n Bil i ddiwygio Deddf Rhentu Cartrefi (Cymru) 2016 i gynyddu sicrwydd deiliadaeth. Mae'r Bil yn ymestyn y cyfnod rhybudd dim bai o ddau i chwe mis, a bydd landlordiaid yn cael eu hatal rhag cyflwyno hysbysiad dim bai tan o leiaf chwe mis o'r dyddiad meddiannaeth. Mae hyn yn golygu y bydd gan y rhai sy'n rhentu eu cartrefi o leiaf 12 mis o sicrwydd deiliadaeth o ddechrau eu contract, sy'n golygu y bydd sicrwydd deiliadaeth yng Nghymru yn fwy nag mewn rhannau eraill o'r DU. Mae canlyniadau'r pandemig yn bellgyrhaeddol, ac, yn anffodus, bydd effaith economaidd COVID-19 yn golygu cynnydd sylweddol mewn tlodi. Cyn argyfwng COVID-19, comisiynais adolygiad tlodi plant, a oedd yn ceisio archwilio beth arall y gellid ei wneud i wella amgylchiadau i blant a phobl ifanc. Mae'r pandemig wedi cael effeithiau mor bellgyrhaeddol ar fywydau pobl yng Nghymru a'n heconomi, credwn nad yw canfyddiadau'r adolygiad hwnnw bellach yn adlewyrchu'r sefyllfa bresennol yn llawn. Mae camau ymarferol i helpu i liniaru effaith yr argyfwng ar deuluoedd sy'n byw mewn tlodi yn fater brys ac angenrheidiol ar hyn o bryd. Rydym yn canolbwyntio ar weithredu i sicrhau'r incwm mwyaf posibl a rhoi cymorth i deuluoedd i feithrin cydnerthedd ariannol. Rydym yn cydweithio â'n rhanddeiliaid i ddatblygu'r gwaith hwn dros y misoedd nesaf. Rydym yn gweithio gydag awdurdodau lleol i sicrhau bod rhai o'r buddion y mae awdurdodau lleol yn eu cynnig megis prydau ysgol am ddim a gostyngiad yn y dreth gyngor yn fwy hygyrch, yn ogystal â helpu i wneud y weinyddiaeth yn symlach ac yn llai dwys o ran adnoddau i awdurdodau lleol. Rydym hefyd yn datblygu dull 'dim ffordd anghywir' drwy system gymorth fwy integredig, gan gyfyngu ar sawl gwaith y mae'n rhaid i deuluoedd ac unigolion gysylltu a sawl gwaith y mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw ddweud eu stori er mwyn cael cymorth. A byddwn yn sicrhau bod gan y trydydd sector a gweithwyr rheng flaen eraill yr hyfforddiant, yr offer a'r wybodaeth sydd eu hangen arnynt i gefnogi unigolion a theuluoedd i gynyddu eu hincwm i'r eithaf. Hoffwn orffen, Llywydd, drwy sôn am rai meysydd eraill a oedd yn sail i'n hymateb i'r pandemig ac a fydd yn parhau i fod yn flaenoriaethau wrth inni symud ymlaen. Diolch i awdurdodau lleol yn cynnal gwasanaethau hanfodol yn ystod y cyfyngiadau symud, rydym ni wedi gallu parhau i gyflawni amcanion ailgylchu a chamau gweithredu ar ddatgarboneiddio. Rydym yn parhau i gefnogi cymunedau ac eisiau adfywio canol trefi ac ehangu ar y twf mewn caffis trwsio a siopau diwastraff. I'r perwyl hwnnw, rydym ni wedi dyfarnu cyllid i Gaffi Trwsio Cymru ac wedi darparu cyllid ychwanegol i FareShare Cymru ehangu eu darpariaeth ailddosbarthu bwyd dros ben. Ac yn olaf, rydym ni wedi ehangu'r gronfa economi gylchol fel y gall gefnogi'r ymateb i'r amgylchiadau ar ôl COVID, a chyfrannu at adferiad gwyrdd. Mae hwn yn gyfnod anodd iawn, ond rydym ni wedi gweithio'n dda gyda'n gilydd. Bydd y cydweithio hwn yn darparu gwersi clir a llawer iawn o arferion da y gallwn ni ac y dylem ni eu mabwysiadu wrth symud ymlaen. Diolch yn fawr.