English: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and I thank colleagues for their contributions to the debate this afternoon. Can I say that I am very proud of how the Welsh Government and local authorities have reacted to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that those who rely on free school meals have not had to go without whilst they are not in school? We have now made available up to £60.5 million in additional funding this financial year for free school meals, and building on this we will provide and additional £23.3 million to extend free school meals in school holidays for the entirety of 2021-22. Free school meal provision remains a key priority, and our aim is to make sure that this support continues to be made available to families who need it the most. In 2019 we estimated that if no earning threshold was put in place by the time that universal credit was fully rolled out, around half of Wales's pupils would be eligible for free school meals in Wales, compared to 16 per cent in 2017. With no additional funding made available to Welsh Government, this would have necessitated some very difficult funding choices elsewhere within the education portfolio and the wider Government, and we are yet to hear what people think should be cut to afford such a change. During the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in families taking up free school meal entitlement because of the economic crisis that COVID has also brought, and the number of pupils who are now in receipt of provision has increased in just a matter of months from around 91,000 to now over 105,000. Members will recall that, in December, we calculated that to provide free school meals to every child whose parents receive universal credit would cost an additional £67 million a year. Further work has been done to update these figures, with the latest calculations now indicating that the additional cost would be between £85 million and £100 million, even before taking account of the impact of the pandemic. But I think it's also important for colleagues in the Chamber not to forget that increasing the eligibility of free school meals also has a knock-on to other policy areas. For example, a rough estimate of extending free school meals to all pupils in families claiming universal credit would result in an additional pupil development grant cost of between £220 million and £250 million. Of course, it may be the intention of Plaid Cymru to do away with the PDG or to cut the worth for each individual pupil of PDG, but the fact remains that a rough estimate is that this policy could cost an additional £350 million a year. In a similar debate in December, Plaid said that this would just be the first step towards their policy of offering universal school meals, and my question today is the question it was then: where do you expect this money to be found? Because I have to say, it simply doesn't wash that this money is found from the additional funding this year's budget contains. What about future years? The money that was referred to is one-off funding. We would still need to find hundreds of millions of pounds for future years. To be clear, that means cuts in other areas. I of course recognise the importance of free school meals in supporting children and families. If I didn't, we wouldn't have taken the steps that the Welsh Government already has. The changes needed when we introduced the threshold were incredibly complex, but we are absolutely committed to undertake a rapid review of the threshold when new data becomes available. With regard to other parts of today's motion, calling for the criteria to include families with no recourse to public funds, I agree that this is really very important. Whilst recognising that not all people with no recourse to public funds are on low incomes, I do recognise that, for many, many of those families with no recourse, without a doubt, they are in need of support. I can therefore confirm that we will consider making formal amendments to this complex piece of legislation once the impact of COVID-19 has eased. In the meantime, we continue to strongly encourage all local authorities to exercise their discretion to allow the children of these families to benefit from free-school-meal provision. I appreciate that local authorities are always worried about their own individual budgets, but let me be absolutely clear to all local authorities this afternoon: they are able to claim from the Welsh Government in respect of additional costs if they take this step forward to support these families. Llywydd, to finish, this is about choices, and where we should target our resources is always a question that we as a Government are constantly challenging and asking ourselves. Only today I am pleased to announce additional funding to extend our PDG access scheme to be now worth over £10 million. This is funding that will support our most disadvantaged learners and help more families meet the costs of school uniform, school equipment and now electronic devices. I can assure Members that, within the limited budget provided to us by the UK Government, we here in this Government will continue to ensure that resources are spent in the best possible and the most targeted way. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lywydd, a diolch i fy nghyd-Aelodau am eu cyfraniadau i'r ddadl y prynhawn yma. A gaf fi ddweud fy mod yn falch iawn o'r ffordd y mae Llywodraeth Cymru ac awdurdodau lleol wedi ymateb i heriau digynsail y pandemig COVID-19, gan sicrhau nad yw'r rhai sy'n dibynnu ar brydau ysgol am ddim wedi gorfod mynd hebddynt pan nad ydynt yn yr ysgol? Rydym bellach wedi darparu hyd at £60.5 miliwn o gyllid ychwanegol y flwyddyn ariannol hon ar gyfer prydau ysgol am ddim, ac i adeiladu ar hyn byddwn yn darparu £23.3 miliwn ychwanegol i ymestyn y ddarpariaeth o brydau ysgol am ddim yn ystod gwyliau ysgol ar gyfer 2021-22 ar ei hyd. Mae darparu prydau ysgol am ddim yn parhau i fod yn flaenoriaeth allweddol, a'n nod yw sicrhau bod y cymorth hwn yn parhau i fod ar gael i deuluoedd sydd ei angen fwyaf. Yn 2019, roeddem yn amcangyfrif, pe na bai trothwy cyflog yn cael ei roi ar waith erbyn i gredyd cynhwysol gael ei gyflwyno'n llawn, y byddai tua hanner disgyblion Cymru yn gymwys i gael prydau ysgol am ddim yng Nghymru, o'i gymharu ag 16 y cant yn 2017. Heb fod arian ychwanegol ar gael i Lywodraeth Cymru, byddai hyn wedi golygu bod angen gwneud dewisiadau ariannu anodd iawn mewn mannau eraill o fewn y portffolio addysg a'r Llywodraeth ehangach, ac nid ydym eto wedi clywed beth y mae pobl yn credu y dylid ei dorri i allu fforddio newid o'r fath. Yn ystod y pandemig, bu cynnydd sylweddol yn nifer y teuluoedd sy'n manteisio ar hawl i brydau ysgol am ddim oherwydd yr argyfwng economaidd y mae COVID wedi'i greu, ac mae nifer y disgyblion sydd bellach yn cael y ddarpariaeth wedi cynyddu mewn ychydig fisoedd yn unig o tua 91,000 i dros 105,000 erbyn hyn. Bydd yr Aelodau'n cofio inni gyfrifo, ym mis Rhagfyr, y byddai darparu prydau ysgol am ddim i bob plentyn y mae eu rhieni'n cael credyd cynhwysol yn costio £67 miliwn ychwanegol y flwyddyn. Mae gwaith pellach wedi'i wneud i ddiweddaru'r ffigurau hyn, gyda'r cyfrifiadau diweddaraf bellach yn dangos y byddai'r gost ychwanegol rhwng £85 miliwn a £100 miliwn, hyd yn oed cyn ystyried effaith y pandemig. Ond rwy'n credu ei bod hefyd yn bwysig i gyd-Aelodau yn y Siambr beidio ag anghofio bod cynyddu cymhwysedd i gael prydau ysgol am ddim hefyd yn cael effaith ganlyniadol ar feysydd polisi eraill. Er enghraifft, byddai amcangyfrif bras o gynnig prydau ysgol am ddim i bob disgybl mewn teuluoedd sy'n hawlio credyd cynhwysol yn arwain at gost ychwanegol i'r grant datblygu disgyblion o rhwng £220 miliwn a £250 miliwn. Wrth gwrs, efallai mai bwriad Plaid Cymru yw dileu'r grant datblygu disgyblion neu dorri gwerth y grant i bob disgybl unigol, ond erys y ffaith mai amcangyfrif bras yw y gallai'r polisi hwn gostio £350 miliwn ychwanegol y flwyddyn. Mewn dadl debyg ym mis Rhagfyr, dywedodd Plaid Cymru mai hwn fyddai'r cam cyntaf tuag at eu polisi o gynnig prydau ysgol am ddim i bawb, a'r cwestiwn sydd gennyf heddiw yw'r cwestiwn oedd gennyf bryd hynny: ble rydych chi'n disgwyl dod o hyd i'r arian hwn? Oherwydd mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud, nid yw'n dal dŵr fod yr arian hwn yn dod o'r cyllid ychwanegol y mae cyllideb eleni yn ei gynnwys. Beth am y blynyddoedd i ddod? Arian untro yw'r arian y cyfeiriwyd ato. Byddai'n dal i fod angen inni ddod o hyd i gannoedd o filiynau o bunnoedd ar gyfer y blynyddoedd i ddod. I fod yn glir, mae hynny'n golygu toriadau mewn mannau eraill. Rwy'n cydnabod pwysigrwydd prydau ysgol am ddim i gefnogi plant a theuluoedd wrth gwrs. Pe na bawn i'n cydnabod hynny, ni fyddem wedi cymryd y camau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru eisoes wedi'u cymryd. Roedd y newidiadau a oedd yn angenrheidiol pan gyflwynwyd y trothwy gennym yn eithriadol o gymhleth, ond rydym wedi ymrwymo'n llwyr i gynnal adolygiad cyflym o'r trothwy pan fydd data newydd ar gael. Mewn perthynas â rhannau eraill o'r cynnig heddiw, yn galw am i'r meini prawf gynnwys teuluoedd nad oes cyllid cyhoeddus ar gael iddynt, rwy'n cytuno bod hyn yn bwysig iawn. Er fy mod yn cydnabod nad yw pawb nad oes cyllid cyhoeddus ar gael iddynt ar incwm isel, i lawer iawn o'r teuluoedd nad oes arian cyhoeddus ar gael iddynt rwy'n cydnabod yn ddi-os fod angen cymorth ar lawer o'r teuluoedd hynny. Gallaf gadarnhau felly y byddwn yn ystyried gwneud gwelliannau ffurfiol i'r ddeddfwriaeth gymhleth hon pan fydd effaith COVID-19 wedi lleddfu. Yn y cyfamser, rydym yn parhau i annog pob awdurdod lleol yn gryf i arfer eu disgresiwn i ganiatáu i blant y teuluoedd hyn elwa o ddarpariaeth prydau ysgol am ddim. Rwy'n derbyn bod awdurdodau lleol bob amser yn poeni am eu cyllidebau unigol eu hunain, ond gadewch imi ddweud yn gwbl glir wrth bob awdurdod lleol y prynhawn yma: gallant hawlio costau ychwanegol gan Lywodraeth Cymru os ydynt yn cymryd y cam hwn ymlaen i gefnogi'r teuluoedd hyn. Lywydd, i orffen, mae hyn yn ymwneud â dewisiadau, ac mae lle dylem dargedu ein hadnoddau bob amser yn gwestiwn rydym ni fel Llywodraeth yn ei herio'n gyson ac yn ei ofyn i ni'n hunain. Heddiw rwy'n falch o gyhoeddi cyllid ychwanegol i ymestyn cynllun mynediad ein grant datblygu disgyblion i fod yn werth dros £10 miliwn erbyn hyn. Dyma gyllid a fydd yn cefnogi ein dysgwyr mwyaf difreintiedig ac yn helpu mwy o deuluoedd gyda chostau gwisg ysgol, offer ysgol, a dyfeisiau electronig erbyn hyn. Gallaf sicrhau'r Aelodau y byddwn ni yma yn y Llywodraeth hon, o fewn y gyllideb gyfyngedig a ddarperir inni gan Lywodraeth y DU, yn parhau i sicrhau bod adnoddau'n cael eu gwario yn y ffordd orau bosibl sy'n targedu yn y modd gorau. Diolch.