English: Annual reports are always retrospective, but this annual report is even more retrospective than usual, because, of course, this year, the current commissioner is reporting on the work of her predecessor. With that in mind, I'd like to thank Sally Holland, once again, for everything that she did for children and young people in Wales throughout her tenure, and congratulations, once again, to Rocio Cifuentes on her appointment. I hope you've settled in well, commissioner. Back in December 2021, the Children, Young People and Education Committee held a pre-appointment hearing with Ms Cifuentes. We urged her and her office to reflect on a few things as they plan and deliver their work, including how they ensure that they engage with children and young people across the whole of Wales, and how they evaluate the impact of their work so that it's clear how it is making a real difference to the day-to-day lives of children and young people. We will come back to those themes when we scrutinise the commissioner on her annual report on 17 November. Outside annual report scrutiny, we draw upon the commissioner's expertise to inform our scrutiny work. So, I pay particular interest to the commissioner's report card in her annual report. The report card sets out the commissioner's view of the Welsh Government's progress against key policy issues. The following policy issues resonate particularly strongly with our work. The first is tackling child poverty. I agree, we are entering a cost-of-living crisis and, as a committee, we have agreed to focus on the negative impact of disadvantage on outcomes for children and young people. It's been little over a year since our committee was formed, but it is already painfully clear just how many of the challenges our children face stem from poverty. As the commissioner advises, we will pay close attention to the Welsh Government's child poverty strategy, due to be published by the end of the year. The second is care-experienced young people. Like the commissioner, we were encouraged by the programme for government's commitment to: 'Explore radical reform of current services for children looked after and care leavers.' Unfortunately, we also agree with the commissioner that progress on this important work has been too slow. We need transparency about what this commitment means in practice. We have recently launched a consultation asking care-experienced children and young people, birth parents, stakeholders and academics what they think radical reform should look like. What will make the biggest difference to care-experienced young people's lives? We hope that this inquiry will support the Government's welcome commitment to explore and implement the radical reform that children and young people need. And finally, whole-school mental health: we have heard concerns about the mental health of our learners time and time again throughout our work, as an impact of sexual harassment among learners, as a cause of pupil absence, and beyond statutory education into higher education. We agree with the commissioner that schools are an ideal setting to support children with their mental health, and welcome Welsh Government's progress that the commissioner has recognised in her report. We will continue to do what we can to ensure that the Government builds on that progress to provide the mental health support that our children deserve. There are many more critically important policy areas in this report, and not enough time to discuss them all. But I urge all Members of the Senedd, both those in and outside Government, to read this report and use the commissioner's findings to inform their work. Whether or not children are an explicit part of your committee's remit or ministerial portfolio, the Welsh Government has a legal duty to consider their rights in all decisions it makes. This report is relevant to all of us. And to the commissioner herself, I look forward to discussing her report in more detail on 17 November, and to building on the positive relationship between her predecessor commissioners and our predecessor committees in pursuit of our common purpose: to improve the lives of children and young people in Wales. Diolch.
Welsh: Mae adroddiadau blynyddol bob amser yn ôl-weithredol, ond mae'r adroddiad blynyddol hwn hyd yn oed yn fwy ôl-weithredol nag arfer, oherwydd, wrth gwrs, eleni, mae'r comisiynydd presennol yn adrodd ar waith ei rhagflaenydd. Gyda hynny mewn golwg, hoffwn ddiolch i Sally Holland, unwaith eto, am bopeth a wnaeth i blant a phobl ifanc yng Nghymru drwy gydol ei chyfnod, a llongyfarchiadau, unwaith eto, i Rocio Cifuentes ar ei phenodiad. Gobeithio eich bod chi wedi ymgartrefu yn dda, comisiynydd. Nôl ym mis Rhagfyr 2021, cynhaliodd y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg wrandawiad cyn penodi gyda Ms Cifuentes. Fe wnaethom ei hannog hi a'i swyddfa i fyfyrio ar ambell beth wrth iddyn nhw gynllunio a chyflawni eu gwaith, gan gynnwys sut maen nhw'n sicrhau eu bod nhw'n ymgysylltu â phlant a phobl ifanc ledled Cymru gyfan, a sut maen nhw'n gwerthuso effaith eu gwaith fel ei bod hi'n glir sut mae'n gwneud gwahaniaeth gwirioneddol i fywydau plant a phobl ifanc o ddydd i ddydd. Fe ddown ni'n ôl at y themâu hynny pan fyddwn ni'n craffu ar y comisiynydd ar ei hadroddiad blynyddol ar 17 Tachwedd. Y tu allan i graffu ar yr adroddiad blynyddol, rydym ni'n manteisio ar arbenigedd y comisiynydd i lywio ein gwaith craffu. Felly, mae gen i ddiddordeb arbennig yng ngherdyn adroddiad y comisiynydd yn ei hadroddiad blynyddol. Mae'r cerdyn adroddiad yn nodi barn y comisiynydd am gynnydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn erbyn materion polisi allweddol. Mae'r materion polisi canlynol yn atseinio'n arbennig o gryf gyda'n gwaith ni. Y cyntaf yw mynd i'r afael â thlodi plant. Rwy'n cytuno, rydym ni ar fin profi argyfwng costau byw ac, fel pwyllgor, rydym ni wedi cytuno i ganolbwyntio ar effaith negyddol anfantais ar ganlyniadau i blant a phobl ifanc. Ychydig dros flwyddyn sydd wedi bod ers i'n pwyllgor gael ei ffurfio, ond mae eisoes yn boenus o glir faint o'r heriau mae ein plant yn eu hwynebu sy'n deillio o dlodi. Fel mae'r comisiynydd yn ei gynghori, byddwn yn rhoi sylw manwl i strategaeth tlodi plant Llywodraeth Cymru, sydd i fod i gael ei chyhoeddi erbyn diwedd y flwyddyn. Yr ail yw pobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal. Fel y comisiynydd, cawsom ein hannog gan yr ymrwymiad yn rhaglen lywodraethu i: 'Ystyried cyfleoedd radical i ddiwygio'r gwasanaethau presennol ar gyfer plant sy'n derbyn gofal ac yn gadael gofal.' Yn anffodus, rydym ni hefyd yn cytuno â'r comisiynydd bod cynnydd ar y gwaith pwysig hwn wedi bod yn rhy araf. Mae angen tryloywder ynglŷn â beth mae'r ymrwymiad hwn yn ei olygu yn ymarferol. Yn ddiweddar rydym ni wedi lansio ymgynghoriad yn gofyn i blant a phobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal, rhieni biolegol, rhanddeiliaid ac academyddion sut maen nhw'n credu y dylai diwygiadau radical edrych. Beth fydd yn gwneud y gwahaniaeth mwyaf i fywydau pobl ifanc sydd â phrofiad o ofal? Ein gobaith yw y bydd yr ymchwiliad hwn yn cefnogi ymrwymiad y Llywodraeth, sydd i'w groesawu, i archwilio a gweithredu'r diwygiad radical mae plant a phobl ifanc ei angen. Ac yn olaf, iechyd meddwl ysgol gyfan: rydym ni wedi clywed pryderon am iechyd meddwl ein dysgwyr dro ar ôl tro drwy gydol ein gwaith, fel effaith o aflonyddu rhywiol ymysg dysgwyr, fel achos o absenoldeb disgyblion, a thu hwnt i addysg statudol i addysg uwch. Rydym ni'n cytuno â'r comisiynydd bod ysgolion yn lleoliad delfrydol i gefnogi plant gyda'u hiechyd meddwl, ac yn croesawu cynnydd Llywodraeth Cymru y mae'r comisiynydd wedi ei gydnabod yn ei hadroddiad. Byddwn yn parhau i wneud yr hyn y gallwn ni i sicrhau bod y Llywodraeth yn adeiladu ar y cynnydd hwnnw i ddarparu'r cymorth iechyd meddwl mae ein plant yn ei haeddu. Mae llawer mwy o feysydd polisi hanfodol bwysig yn yr adroddiad hwn, a dim digon o amser i'w trafod i gyd. Ond rwy'n annog holl Aelodau'r Senedd, y rhai sydd yn y Llywodraeth a'r tu allan iddi, i ddarllen yr adroddiad hwn a defnyddio canfyddiadau'r comisiynydd i lywio eu gwaith. P'un a yw plant yn rhan benodol o bortffolio cylch gwaith neu weinidogaethol eich pwyllgor ai peidio, mae dyletswydd gyfreithiol ar Lywodraeth Cymru i ystyried eu hawliau ym mhob penderfyniad mae'n ei wneud. Mae'r adroddiad hwn yn berthnasol i bob un ohonom ni. Ac i'r comisiynydd ei hun, rwy'n edrych ymlaen at drafod ei hadroddiad yn fanylach ar 17 Tachwedd, ac adeiladu ar y berthynas gadarnhaol rhwng ei chomisiynwyr rhagflaenol a'n pwyllgorau rhagflaenol wrth fynd ar drywydd ein pwrpas cyffredin: gwella bywydau plant a phobl ifanc Cymru. Diolch.