English: Thank you, Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I'd like to take the opportunity to speak on what has been described by some operators as the 'forgotten sector', that being Wales's residential outdoor education centres. The industry is worth roughly £40 million to the economy, with more than 1,700 people employed. Pre-COVID, there were 44 centres in Wales, and figures in March showed that at least five have closed over the last 12 months. In my constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, I have Morfa Bay Adventure, who I visited at the end of last month. They showed real concerns over the fact that the reopening of the sector here in Wales did not mirror that of the rest of the UK, putting their businesses at a legitimate disadvantage, as my colleague Russell mentioned earlier. In an e-mail following my visit to Morfa Bay, they wrote: 'I spoke to a school in Swindon yesterday due to visit in two weeks. They are praying they can visit, for their children, it will be their only holiday, probably, until they are old enough to leave home as adults. Some have never seen the sea or walked on the sand, and yet the Welsh Government continues to deny these children this opportunity.' This shows the importance of these facilities and these locations to children's education, because what we learn in life is more than just what's taught to us in a classroom. I raised this issue with the education Minister following my visit, and was told that these businesses would not reopen until Wales moves fully to alert level 1. The last COVID regulation review saw Wales move not fully to alert level 1, but a bit-part move, with relaxations over certain areas. Consequently, outdoor education was not part of this review, and their continued closure at this time saw them disadvantaged still against their English counterparts. These Welsh businesses lost visits and may never claw them back, as schools decided to take their pupils to English outdoor education centres. This was despite Welsh schools being open, despite these businesses putting in safety measures to aid social distancing and allow bubbling of school groups, and despite the science and data showing the risk for our young people is incredibly low. It felt, said these businesses, that common sense was missing when the Welsh Government brought forward these COVID regulations. While the Welsh Government provided clarification a full fortnight after the initial move to level 1 that allowed primary schools to visit these residential outdoor centres on the twenty-first of this month, this decision has been called woolly and seemingly out of sync with the rest of the UK by the industry. While it may be easy to think that these issues for this sector are now resolved, as they've been able to reopen to primary schools, that really is not the case. Minister, I urge you, please, to work further to clarify the rules for these businesses to bring them in sync with other businesses across the UK so they are no longer disadvantaged, and also, as these businesses have been shut for longer than their English counterparts, that you work with your Cabinet colleagues to ensure that they are properly financially supported. Diolch.
Welsh: Diolch, Gweinidog, am eich datganiad y prynhawn yma. Hoffwn i fanteisio ar y cyfle i siarad ynghylch yr hyn y mae rhai gweithredwyr yn ei ddisgrifio fel y 'sector anghofiedig', sef canolfannau addysg awyr agored preswyl Cymru. Mae'r diwydiant werth tua £40 miliwn i'r economi, gyda mwy na 1,700 o bobl yn cael eu cyflogi. Cyn COVID, roedd 44 o ganolfannau yng Nghymru, a dangosodd ffigurau ym mis Mawrth fod o leiaf pump wedi cau yn ystod y 12 mis diwethaf. Yn fy etholaeth i, sef Gorllewin Caerfyrddin a De Sir Benfro, mae gennyf Antur Bae Morfa, y gwnes i ymweld â hi ddiwedd y mis diwethaf. Gwnaethon nhw ddangos pryderon gwirioneddol ynglŷn â'r ffaith nad oedd ailagor y sector yma yng Nghymru yn adlewyrchu'r ffaith bod gweddill y DU wedi ailagor, gan roi eu busnesau dan anfantais ddilys, fel yr oedd fy nghyd-Aelod Russell wedi sôn yn gynharach. Mewn e-bost yn dilyn fy ymweliad â Bae Morfa, fe wnaethon nhw ysgrifennu: 'Siaradais i ag ysgol yn Swindon ddoe a oedd i fod i ymweld mewn pythefnos. Maen nhw'n gweddïo y gallan nhw ymweld, i'w plant nhw, dyma fydd eu hunig wyliau, mae'n debyg, tan eu bod yn ddigon hen i adael eu cartrefi yn oedolion. Nid yw rhai wedi gweld y môr erioed nac wedi cerdded ar y tywod, ac eto mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn parhau i wrthod y cyfle hwn i'r plant hyn.' Mae hyn yn dangos pwysigrwydd y cyfleusterau hyn a'r lleoliadau hyn i addysg plant, oherwydd mae'r hyn yr ydym ni'n ei ddysgu mewn bywyd yn fwy na'r hyn a gaiff ei addysgu i ni mewn ystafell ddosbarth yn unig. Codais i'r mater hwn gyda'r Gweinidog addysg yn dilyn fy ymweliad, a chefais wybod na fyddai'r busnesau hyn yn ailagor nes i Gymru symud yn llwyr i lefel rhybudd 1. Yn yr adolygiad diwethaf o reoleiddiad COVID, symudodd Cymru nid yn llwyr i lefel rhybudd 1, ond yn hytrach symudiad rhannol, gydag ymlacio mewn rhai meysydd. O ganlyniad, nid oedd addysg awyr agored yn rhan o'r adolygiad hwn, ac roedd y ffaith eu bod yn parhau ar gau yr adeg yma yn eu rhoi o dan anfantais o'u cymharu â disgyblion cyfatebol yn Lloegr. Collodd y busnesau hyn yng Nghymru ymweliadau ac efallai na fyddan nhw byth yn eu cael yn ôl, wrth i ysgolion benderfynu mynd â'u disgyblion i ganolfannau addysg awyr agored yn Lloegr. Roedd hyn er gwaethaf y ffaith bod ysgolion Cymru ar agor, er gwaethaf y ffaith bod y busnesau hyn yn cyflwyno mesurau diogelwch i gynorthwyo ymbellhau cymdeithasol a chaniatáu swigod grwpiau ysgol, ac er gwaethaf yr wyddoniaeth a'r data sy'n dangos bod y risg i'n pobl ifanc yn anhygoel o isel. Roedd yn teimlo, meddai'r busnesau hyn, fod synnwyr cyffredin ar goll pan gyflwynodd Llywodraeth Cymru y rheoliadau COVID hyn. Er i Lywodraeth Cymru roi eglurhad bythefnos lawn ar ôl y symudiad cychwynnol i lefel 1 a oedd yn caniatáu i ysgolion cynradd ymweld â'r canolfannau awyr agored preswyl hyn ar yr unfed ar hugain o'r mis hwn, mae'r penderfyniad hwn wedi'i alw'n niwlog gan y diwydiant, ac yn ôl pob golwg nid yw'n cyd-fynd â gweddill y DU. Er y gallai fod yn hawdd meddwl bod y materion hyn ar gyfer y sector hwn bellach wedi'u datrys, gan eu bod wedi gallu ailagor i ysgolion cynradd, nid yw hynny'n wir. Gweinidog, rwy'n eich annog chi, os gwelwch yn dda, i wneud mwy o waith i egluro'r rheolau ar gyfer y busnesau hyn i sicrhau eu bod yn cyd-fynd â busnesau eraill ledled y DU fel nad ydyn nhw o dan anfantais mwyach, a hefyd, gan fod y busnesau hyn wedi'u cau am fwy o amser na busnesau cyfatebol yn Lloegr, eich bod chi'n gweithio gyda'ch cyd-Weinidogion yn y Cabinet i sicrhau eu bod nhw'n cael cymorth ariannol priodol. Diolch.