English: There is a lack of resource at the front line, but it's not just a question of money; it's how the money is spent. Let's look at children in care. There are roughly 6,000 children in care in Wales. In the last nine years, the number of children in care has gone up 36 per cent. So, there are 1,700 more children in care. The rate of children in care in Wales now stands at 102 per 10,000 - significantly higher than the rate in England, which is 64 per 10,000. If we go back further and look at the number of children in care in 1991, it's more than doubled since. Why is this? Children in care account for over half the total budgeted expenditure on children's and family social services in 2018-19. Public care applications in the last 10 years have more than doubled. An enormous amount of money is spent on fighting cases against parents in the most aggressive way. It's a real David and Goliath situation, except, in most cases, David doesn't even have a sling. Again, the cost to the public purse is enormous - enormous. A system of parental advocacy with teeth should be brought in to reduce the amount of children put into care. Such a system could support families, reduce costs and, crucially, bring about better outcomes for children. According to the Welsh Government, the average cost of a local authority placement is £23,000, compared to an independent agency costing £43,000 per year. Some of the most complex young people, on average, cost about £6,500 per week. In February 2018, Caerphilly had the highest cost placement at £16,500 a week. Cardiff spent £64,000 per child - per looked-after child - in 2016-17. Now, it would be cheaper for a child to go to boarding school and to go on holiday during the holidays and have that paid for by the public purse than to be put into care. It's an incredible situation. Taking children into care has become a lucrative business, so, Minister, you have an industry to confront. Let's touch on anonymous examples. Now, family A - I won't say where - reports conclude that the parents love the children. There's no physical threat to the children. Children's services admits that the children love the parents, but, according to the lead councillor of that council, the skills of the parents are not up to scratch. The parents actually approached children's services for support with one child. The child had a very difficult birth, there was a lack of oxygen to the brain, and the child spent a lot of time with mother in hospital. It would have been logical to look at the medical reasons for behaviour of the child, but children's services refused to do this and they blamed mother. On the basis of the behaviour of one child, all four children were taken into care. The resulting emotional collapse of those children was not taken into account. Errors were made in assessment - factual errors. Mother was blamed for not attending medical appointments, and that was used as evidence of neglect. On those dates, mother was in hospital with the child. Those serious errors are still uncorrected, and what a shock: in 10 years of experience in dealing with such cases, it is almost impossible - impossible - to get factual errors in reports corrected, many of which end up before the courts. So, judges make judgments on cases in which they are misinformed - they're given bad information. All interviews between parents and children's services should be digitally recorded. The data can be kept securely on a cloud and, crucially, there would be evidence to iron out sometimes really serious errors - really serious.
Welsh: Ceir diffyg adnoddau yn y rheng flaen, ond nid mater o arian yn unig ydyw; mae'n ymwneud â sut y caiff yr arian ei wario. Gadewch inni edrych ar blant mewn gofal. Ceir tua 6,000 o blant mewn gofal yng Nghymru. Yn y naw mlynedd diwethaf, mae nifer y plant mewn gofal wedi codi 36 y cant. Felly, ceir 1,700 yn fwy o blant mewn gofal. Mae cyfradd y plant mewn gofal yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd yn 102 o bob 10,000 - nifer gryn dipyn yn uwch na'r gyfradd yn Lloegr, ef 64 o bob 10,000. Os awn yn ôl ymhellach ac edrych ar nifer y plant mewn gofal yn 1991, mae wedi mwy na dyblu ers hynny. Pam y mae hyn wedi digwydd? Plant mewn gofal sydd i gyfrif am dros hanner y gwariant a gyllidebwyd ar gyfer gwasanaethau cymdeithasol i blant a theuluoedd yn 2018-19. Mae ceisiadau gofal cyhoeddus yn ystod y 10 mlynedd diwethaf wedi mwy na dyblu. Gwerir swm enfawr o arian ar ymladd achosion yn erbyn rhieni yn y modd mwyaf ymosodol. Mae'n sefyllfa Dafydd a Goliath go iawn, ond yn y rhan fwyaf o achosion, nid oes gan Dafydd ffon dafl hyd yn oed. Unwaith eto, mae'r gost i bwrs y wlad yn enfawr - enfawr. Dylid cyflwyno system eiriolaeth rhieni gyda dannedd er mwyn lleihau nifer y plant sy'n cael eu rhoi mewn gofal. Gallai system o'r fath gefnogi teuluoedd, lleihau costau ac yn allweddol, sicrhau gwell canlyniadau i blant. Yn ôl Llywodraeth Cymru, mae cost gyfartalog lleoliad awdurdod lleol yn £23,000, o'i gymharu ag asiantaeth annibynnol sy'n costio £43,000 y flwyddyn. Mae rhai o'r bobl ifanc fwyaf cymhleth, ar gyfartaledd, yn costio tua £6,500 yr wythnos. Ym mis Chwefror 2018, yng Nghaerffili roedd y lleoliad a gostiai fwyaf, sef £16,500 yr wythnos. Gwariodd Caerdydd £64,000 y plentyn - pob plentyn sy'n derbyn gofal - yn 2016-17. Nawr, byddai'n rhatach i blentyn fynd i ysgol breswyl ac i fynd ar wyliau yn ystod y gwyliau a chael hynny wedi'i dalu amdano o'r pwrs cyhoeddus na chael eu rhoi mewn gofal. Mae'n sefyllfa anhygoel. Mae rhoi plant mewn gofal wedi dod yn fusnes proffidiol, felly, Weinidog, mae gennych ddiwydiant i'w wynebu. Gadewch i ni grybwyll enghreifftiau dienw. Nawr, mae adroddiadau teulu A - ni ddywedaf ble - wedi dod i'r casgliad fod y rhieni'n caru'r plant. Nid oes unrhyw fygythiad corfforol i'r plant. Mae gwasanaethau plant yn cyfaddef bod y plant yn caru'r rhieni, ond yn ôl cynghorydd arweiniol y cyngor hwnnw, nid yw sgiliau'r rhieni'n ddigon da. Aeth y rhieni at y gwasanaethau i ofyn am gymorth gydag un plentyn. Cafwyd anawsterau yn ystod genedigaeth y plentyn, dioddefodd yn sgil diffyg ocsigen i'r ymennydd, a threuliodd y plentyn lawer o amser gyda'r fam yn yr ysbyty. Byddai wedi bod yn rhesymegol edrych ar y rhesymau meddygol dros ymddygiad y plentyn, ond gwrthododd y gwasanaethau plant wneud hyn ac roeddent yn beio'r fam. Ar sail ymddygiad un plentyn, cafodd y pedwar plentyn eu rhoi mewn gofal. Ni roddwyd ystyriaeth i'r chwalfa emosiynol a brofodd y plant yn sgil hynny. Gwnaed camgymeriadau wrth asesu - camgymeriadau ffeithiol. Cafodd y fam ei beio am beidio â mynychu apwyntiadau meddygol, a defnyddiwyd hynny fel tystiolaeth o esgeulustod. Ar y dyddiadau hynny, roedd y fam yn yr ysbyty gyda'r plentyn. Mae'r camgymeriadau difrifol hynny yn dal heb eu cywiro, ac am syndod: mewn 10 mlynedd o brofiad o ymdrin ag achosion o'r fath, mae bron yn amhosibl - amhosibl - cael camgymeriadau ffeithiol mewn adroddiadau wedi'u cywiro, ac mae llawer ohonynt yn mynd gerbron y llysoedd yn y pen draw. Felly, mae barnwyr yn gwneud penderfyniadau ar achosion lle maent wedi cael gwybodaeth anghywir - rhoddir gwybodaeth wael iddynt. Dylid cofnodi pob cyfweliad rhwng rhieni a gwasanaethau plant yn ddigidol. Gellir cadw'r data'n ddiogel ar gwmwl ac yn hollbwysig, byddai tystiolaeth ar gael i ddatrys camgymeriadau gwirionedd ddifrifol weithiau - gwirioneddol ddifrifol.