English: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. It is pleasing to note that progress has been made in reducing child poverty. However, we still have an awful long way to go if we are to meet the goal we all share of eradicating child poverty once and for all. I note from your statement today that you will be unable to meet your target to eradicate child poverty by 2020, and to a degree you have blamed the UK Government's welfare reform. Does this mean that you have abandoned the target altogether? The UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission's annual state of the nation report was critical of the Welsh Government's policies, stating that they were not having the right level of impact. Therefore, do you take any of the blame here for not perhaps acknowledging this sooner rather than later, and maybe changing something to eradicate the poverty sooner in Wales than we are doing at present? We also note that people in less affluent areas have a lower life expectancy. Therefore, this brings inequality all round. My region, in particular, has some of the highest levels of child poverty in the UK - between 26 and 28 per cent; it fluctuates across the region - and while the levels are reducing, we are not making progress fast enough. Obviously, with child poverty comes inequality in so many ways - in education, less pursuit of recreational activities due to lower finances, stunting, therefore, the emotional growth and well-being of the child. A poor diet also doesn't enable children's bones, for example, to develop as effectively as people with a good diet. So, do you think, Cabinet Secretary, do you agree, that it may now be time for a revised child poverty strategy that has a clear road map and a timeline for eradicating, or attempting to eradicate, in regions like mine and throughout Wales altogether? Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch i chi am eich datganiad, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet. Mae'n braf nodi bod cynnydd wedi'i wneud o ran lleihau tlodi plant. Fodd bynnag, mae gennym ffordd hir ofnadwy i fynd os ydym i gyflawni'r nod yr ydym i gyd yn ei rannu o ddileu tlodi plant unwaith ac am byth. Sylwaf o'ch datganiad heddiw na fyddwch yn gallu cyrraedd eich targed i ddileu tlodi plant erbyn 2020, ac i raddau yr ydych wedi beio diwygio lles Llywodraeth y DU. Ydy hyn yn golygu eich bod wedi rhoi'r gorau i'r targed yn gyfan gwbl? Roedd yr adroddiad blynyddol ar gyflwr y genedl gan Gomisiwn Symudedd Cymdeithasol a Thlodi Plant y DU yn feirniadol o bolisïau Llywodraeth Cymru, gan nodi nad oeddent yn cael yr effaith gywir. Felly, a ydych yn cymryd rhywfaint o'r bai yma efallai am beidio â chydnabod hyn yn gynt yn hytrach nag yn hwyrach, ac efallai newid rhywbeth i ddileu'r tlodi yn gynt yng Nghymru nag yr ydym yn ei wneud ar hyn o bryd? Nodwn hefyd fod gan bobl mewn ardaloedd llai cefnog ddisgwyliad oes is. Felly, mae hyn yn golygu anghydraddoldeb i bawb. Mae gan fy rhanbarth i, yn benodol, rai o'r lefelau uchaf o dlodi plant yn y DU - rhwng 26 a 28 y cant; mae'n amrywio ar draws y rhanbarth - ac er bod y lefelau yn gostwng, nid ydym yn gwneud cynnydd yn ddigon cyflym. Yn amlwg, gyda thlodi plant daw anghydraddoldeb mewn cymaint o ffyrdd - mewn addysg, llai o fynd ar drywydd gweithgareddau hamdden oherwydd cyllid is, gan arafu, felly, dwf emosiynol a lles y plentyn. Nid yw deiet gwael chwaith yn galluogi esgyrn plant, er enghraifft, i ddatblygu mor effeithiol â phobl sydd ar ddeiet da. Felly, yn eich barn chi, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, a ydych yn cytuno mai nawr yw'r amser i gael strategaeth tlodi plant ddiwygiedig sydd â thrywydd ac amserlen glir ar gyfer dileu, neu geisio dileu tlodi, mewn rhanbarthau fel fy un i a ledled Cymru yn gyfan gwbl ? Diolch.