English: The Welsh Government have not covered themselves in glory on the issue of free school meals in the past year, and provision has been ad hoc, without a clear enough path of leadership. Since the start of the pandemic, my team have campaigned to ensure that children in South Wales West are given parity of access to the free school meal allowance, and all but three local authorities across Wales have opted to provide cash or vouchers to the value of £19.50 to cover five breakfasts and lunches. This is the right approach. In Wales, a very small number of authorities have continued to stick with a parcel delivery service, such as Bridgend, justifying this in a number of ways that have not been supported by other authorities here in Wales. In England, as we all know, there was, rightly, an outcry about the variance of quality and value for money of food parcels, which led to a Government response to ensure access to cash or vouchers. In Wales, this was not the case. Over the past year, we have shared images of food parcel deliveries and the varying levels of quality. There's been particular criticism of the parcels being delivered to families in Bridgend from the Bristol-based supplier, The Real Wrap Company. Money is being profited on the back of poverty and hunger, as these parcels, on average, amount to £10 or £11 when compared to a supermarket purchase price. In response to my letter outlining my concerns, the Minister for Education referenced images of food being delivered to families in Caerphilly and compared those to those being delivered in England. Well, here is an image of a food parcel that has been sent out to those in Bridgend. An image not included in the correspondence from the education Minister. I wonder why that is. It doesn't suit their spin, because it simply isn't good enough. Surely, parents are better placed to shop for their families and meet their child's nutritional needs within the budget of cash or vouchers. These packages don't either reflect the diversity of food that families may choose to cook with, or reflect varying dietary requirements. Or how about at least giving people the option available to them? The fact is, Welsh Government should have mandated cash or vouchers being an option for all in Wales from the very beginning. Welsh Government advise local authorities to use a number of systems in parallel, however, the Labour-led council in Bridgend have committed to food parcels as their only option. In the meantime, I have seen many Labour councillors, MSs and MPs berating the UK Government on social media for the way they are treating children in poverty in England, when Bridgend are offering the same thing. Families have told us that they are being treated like children, handed individual portions of jam to feed their children, and, on occasion, even out-of-date fruit and vegetables, as you can see from this picture here: out-of-date oranges. Responses from the local authority have impacted the mental health of constituents. The stereotyping of families in poverty as neglectful must stop. One councillor even suggested to me that they didn't want to introduce vouchers or money in case the parents didn't actually spend the money on food. Are they that disrespectful of the intentions of parents that they wouldn't spend the money or vouchers on food for their own children? Almost a quarter of Wales is living in poverty, and research from the Child Poverty Action Group has shown that, of the four nations in the UK, Wales has the least generous provision of free school meals. This debate is no political stunt. What we have is a first-world country where children are going hungry, and a Government that have the power to make sure all children are fed, but are not using that power. We need to ensure that this issue is dealt with for the future benefit of all our children. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Welsh: Nid yw Llywodraeth Cymru wedi ennill bri mawr ar fater prydau ysgol am ddim yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, ac mae'r ddarpariaeth wedi bod yn ad hoc, heb arweinyddiaeth ddigon clir. Ers dechrau'r pandemig, mae fy nhîm wedi ymgyrchu i sicrhau bod plant yng Ngorllewin De Cymru yn cael mynediad cyfartal at y lwfans prydau ysgol am ddim, ac mae pob awdurdod lleol ond tri ledled Cymru wedi dewis darparu arian parod neu dalebau gwerth £19.50 i dalu am bum brecwast a chinio. Dyma'r dull cywir o weithredu. Yng Nghymru, mae nifer fach iawn o awdurdodau wedi parhau i lynu at wasanaeth dosbarthu parseli bwyd, megis Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, gan gyfiawnhau hyn mewn nifer o ffyrdd nad ydynt wedi cael eu cefnogi gan awdurdodau eraill yma yng Nghymru. Yn Lloegr, fel y gwyddom i gyd, cafwyd protest, a hynny'n briodol, am yr amrywio o ran ansawdd a gwerth am arian parseli bwyd, a arweiniodd at ymateb gan y Llywodraeth i sicrhau mynediad at arian parod neu dalebau. Ni ddigwyddodd hyn yng Nghymru. Dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, rydym wedi rhannu lluniau o barseli bwyd yn cael eu dosbarthu a'r lefelau amrywiol o ansawdd. Cafodd y parseli sy'n cael eu dosbarthu i deuluoedd ym Mhen-y-bont ar Ogwr gan y cyflenwr ym Mryste, The Real Wrap Company, eu beirniadu'n fawr. Mae arian yn cael ei wneud o dlodi a newyn, gan fod y parseli hyn, ar gyfartaledd, yn £10 neu £11 o'u cymharu â phris prynu mewn archfarchnad. Mewn ymateb i fy llythyr yn amlinellu fy mhryderon, cyfeiriodd y Gweinidog Addysg at luniau o fwyd yn cael ei ddosbarthu i deuluoedd yng Nghaerffili a'i gymharu â'r hyn sy'n cael eu darparu yn Lloegr. Wel, dyma lun o barsel bwyd a ddosbarthwyd i'r rhai ym Mhen-y-bont ar Ogwr. Llun nad yw wedi'i gynnwys yn yr ohebiaeth gan y Gweinidog Addysg. Tybed pam? Nid yw'n cyd-fynd â'u sbin, oherwydd nid yw'n ddigon da. Does bosibl nad yw rhieni mewn gwell sefyllfa i siopa dros eu teuluoedd a diwallu anghenion maethol eu plentyn o fewn cyllideb arian parod neu dalebau. Nid yw'r pecynnau hyn yn adlewyrchu'r amrywiaeth o fwyd y gall teuluoedd ddewis coginio ag ef, nac yn adlewyrchu gofynion dietegol amrywiol. Neu beth am roi'r dewis i bobl o leiaf? Y gwir amdani yw y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru fod wedi mandadu arian parod neu dalebau fel opsiwn i bawb yng Nghymru o'r cychwyn cyntaf. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn cynghori awdurdodau lleol i ddefnyddio nifer o systemau ochr yn ochr, ond mae'r cyngor dan arweiniad Llafur ym Mhen-y-bont ar Ogwr wedi ymrwymo i barseli bwyd fel eu hunig ddewis. Yn y cyfamser, gwelais lawer o gynghorwyr, AoSau ac ASau Llafur yn beirniadu Llywodraeth y DU ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol am y ffordd y maent yn trin plant sy'n byw mewn tlodi yn Lloegr, pan fo Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr yn cynnig yr un peth. Dywedodd teuluoedd wrthym eu bod yn cael eu trin fel plant, yn cael dognau unigol o jam i'w fwydo i'w plant, ac ar adegau, yn cael ffrwythau a llysiau sy'n pydru hyd yn oed, fel y gwelwch o'r llun yma: orennau wedi pydru. Mae ymatebion gan yr awdurdod lleol wedi effeithio ar iechyd meddwl etholwyr. Rhaid rhoi diwedd ar y ffordd y caiff teuluoedd sy'n byw mewn tlodi eu stereoteipio fel rhai esgeulus. Awgrymodd un cynghorydd wrthyf hyd yn oed nad oeddent am gyflwyno talebau nac arian rhag ofn nad oedd y rhieni'n gwario'r arian ar fwyd mewn gwirionedd. A ydynt mor amharchus â hynny o fwriadau rhieni, na fyddent yn gwario'r arian neu'r talebau ar fwyd i'w plant eu hunain? Mae bron i chwarter Cymru'n byw mewn tlodi, ac mae ymchwil gan y Grŵp Gweithredu ar Dlodi Plant wedi dangos mai Cymru, o'r pedair gwlad yn y DU, sydd â'r ddarpariaeth leiaf hael o brydau ysgol am ddim. Nid ystryw wleidyddol yw'r ddadl hon. Yr hyn sydd gennym yw gwlad yn y byd datblygedig lle mae plant yn mynd heb fwyd, a Llywodraeth sydd â'r pŵer i sicrhau bod pob plentyn yn cael ei fwydo, ond nad ydynt yn defnyddio'r pŵer hwnnw. Mae angen inni sicrhau y caiff y mater hwn sylw er budd ein holl blant yn y dyfodol. Diolch yn fawr iawn.