English: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you for calling me to speak in this very important debate about the report from the Children, Young People and Education Committee into youth work. I found it very concerning indeed to hear from people in the youth work field about how the provisions for young people have diminished so much. I personally believe, and I think it was the belief of all the committee, that youth work is absolutely vital because it does reach people outside the formal school setting. I think we all know that, particularly, the teenage years are very stressful and difficult times for young people. I was reminded of that when we noted that this week is Children's Mental Health Week. There have been figures from the NSPCC that show the growth of mental health problems amongst young people, which have been shown in the number of calls to Childline. It seems children and teenagers aged 12 to 15 make up a third of the calls that are received, and girls are almost seven times more likely to seek help than boys. I think we've all heard about the great concerns that many girls have about body image in particular. Those are just illustrative of the difficult issues that children and young people have to grapple with at this time. So, it's absolutely and vitally important that they have the opportunity to have contact with skilled professionals, really, because that's what youth workers are, in an informal setting, where these issues can be raised in a non-threatening way. So, I think it's absolutely essential that we put more impetus into the youth services. In my own area, I can bear witness to the reduction in services. At one time, there was a full-scale, five-day-a-week youth club operating in the youth buildings in the grounds of Whitchurch High School. This has now been reduced to one evening a week, run by the YMCA in the Ararat church. I'm very grateful to the voluntary sector and to the Ararat church for providing this service, but it's only one night a week and it's hugely oversubscribed. There's no doubt - you have to accept the fact that the service for our young people actually has diminished. When the proposals came to change the service, I had quite a number of meetings with the young people involved and they said they just wanted somewhere where they could go, somewhere where there was no pressure on them and somewhere where they could have fun. I am very concerned, as several Members have mentioned, about the diminishing services for open access, because I think it is the entitlement of every child and every young person to have the opportunity to go somewhere where they aren't going because they have a particular issue or problem, but is open for everyone to go. Hopefully, in those circumstances, if they do have particular issues or problems, those can be helped to be addressed. I wanted to mention in particular the Scouts and the Guides, because in the inquiry the Scouts and the Guides were mentioned as providing youth work. I'd like at this point, really, to use the opportunity to pay tribute to the Second Llandaff Scout group who are very strong operators in Cardiff North. They've been the occupants of a church hall in Llandaff North for many years. They're actually under threat of losing their premises because the land is being sold. They've just had another three-month extension to try to raise the extra £100,000 to buy the premises. They've already - it's a small group - raised a staggering £150,000 through the efforts of dedicated volunteers, which I think is absolutely amazing. So, I wanted to pay tribute to them during this debate today, but I can say that the work they do with the young people in the area, many of whom come from disadvantaged homes, is really absolutely tremendous. I think it's absolutely vital that the Welsh Government gives more direction to the youth service. Looking at the evidence that we received, I do feel that there is a danger that it is withering away in the way that we've always known it. I hope that the Minister, as a result of our report, will give a renewed impetus to this service. We certainly need that in this area. I think that the other very important issue is to give young people a voice in the service. Several speakers have already mentioned that. But I hope with the new shaping of the service, if that is what will happen, that young people will be consulted about how the service should turn out and that they should be a pivotal part of developing the service. In conclusion, I think we all felt it was an absolutely vital service. We can't let it wither away. We know that there are pressures on all the services within the local authority, but we have got a lot of goodwill in the voluntary sector and it's absolutely essential that we get the voluntary sector and the statutory sector working together effectively.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Diolch i chi am alw arnaf i siarad yn y ddadl bwysig hon am yr adroddiad gan y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar waith ieuenctid. Roedd yn destun pryder mawr i mi glywed gan bobl yn y maes gwaith ieuenctid ynglŷn â sut y mae darpariaethau ar gyfer pobl ifanc wedi lleihau i'r fath raddau. Yn bersonol rwyf o'r farn, ac rwy'n meddwl mai dyma oedd barn y pwyllgor cyfan, fod gwaith ieuenctid yn gwbl hanfodol gan ei fod yn cyrraedd pobl y tu allan i leoliad ffurfiol yr ysgol. Rwy'n meddwl ein bod i gyd yn gwybod bod blynyddoedd yr arddegau yn arbennig yn adegau o straen ac yn anodd iawn i bobl ifanc. Cefais fy atgoffa o hynny wrth i ni nodi ei bod yn Wythnos Iechyd Meddwl Plant yr wythnos hon. Cafwyd ffigurau gan yr NSPCC sy'n dangos cynnydd problemau iechyd meddwl ymysg pobl ifanc, a welwyd yn y nifer o alwadau i Childline. Mae'n ymddangos mai plant a phobl ifanc rhwng 12 a 15 sy'n gwneud traean o'r galwadau a wneir, ac mae merched bron saith gwaith yn fwy tebygol o ofyn am gymorth na bechgyn. Rwy'n credu bod pawb ohonom wedi clywed am y pryderon mawr sydd gan lawer o ferched ynglŷn â delwedd y corff yn arbennig. Dyna rai o'r pethau sy'n dangos y materion anodd y mae'n rhaid i blant a phobl ifanc ymdopi â hwy ar hyn o bryd. Felly, mae'n hanfodol bwysig eu bod yn cael cyfle i ddod i gysylltiad â gweithwyr proffesiynol medrus, mewn gwirionedd, oherwydd dyna yw'r gweithwyr ieuenctid hyn, mewn lleoliad anffurfiol, lle y gallant dynnu sylw at y problemau hyn mewn ffordd nad yw'n fygythiol. Felly, rwy'n credu ei bod yn gwbl hanfodol ein bod yn rhoi mwy o hwb i'r gwasanaethau ieuenctid. Yn fy ardal fy hun, gallaf dystio i'r lleihad yn y gwasanaethau. Ar un adeg, roedd clwb ieuenctid yn gweithredu ar raddfa lawn bum diwrnod yr wythnos yn yr adeiladau ieuenctid ar dir Ysgol Uwchradd yr Eglwys Newydd. Mae hwn bellach wedi'i gyfyngu i un noson yr wythnos, ac yn cael ei weithredu gan yr YMCA yn eglwys Ararat. Rwy'n ddiolchgar iawn i'r sector gwirfoddol ac i eglwys Ararat am ddarparu'r gwasanaeth hwn, ond un noson yr wythnos yn unig ydyw ac mae dan ei sang. Nid oes amheuaeth - rhaid i chi dderbyn y ffaith fod y gwasanaeth ar gyfer ein pobl ifanc wedi lleihau mewn gwirionedd. Pan ddaeth cynigion i newid y gwasanaeth, cefais nifer o gyfarfodydd gyda'r bobl ifanc sy'n cymryd rhan ac roeddent yn dweud eu bod eisiau rhywle i fynd, dyna i gyd, rhywle lle nad oedd pwysau arnynt a rhywle lle y gallent gael hwyl. Fel y mae nifer o'r Aelodau wedi sôn, rwy'n bryderus iawn am y lleihad yn y gwasanaethau mynediad agored, gan fy mod yn credu bod gan bob plentyn a phob person ifanc hawl i gael cyfle i fynd i rywle, nid oherwydd bod ganddynt fater i'w godi neu broblem benodol, ond lle sy'n agored i bawb fynd iddo. Yn yr amgylchiadau hynny, os oes ganddynt fater i'w godi neu broblem benodol, y gobaith yw y gellir eu helpu i fynd i'r afael â hynny. Roeddwn i eisiau sôn yn arbennig am y Sgowtiaid a'r Geidiaid, oherwydd yn yr ymchwiliad soniwyd am y Sgowtiaid a'r Geidiaid fel gwasanaethau sy'n darparu gwaith ieuenctid. Yn y fan hon, mewn gwirionedd, hoffwn ddefnyddio'r cyfle i dalu teyrnged i grŵp Ail Sgowtiaid Llandaf sy'n weithredol iawn yng Ngogledd Caerdydd. Maent wedi bod yn ddeiliaid neuadd eglwys yn Ystum Taf ers blynyddoedd lawer. Mewn gwirionedd maent dan fygythiad o golli eu safle am fod y tir yn cael ei werthu. Maent newydd gael estyniad arall o dri mis i geisio codi'r £100,000 ychwanegol i brynu'r eiddo. Maent eisoes wedi codi - grŵp bach yw hwn - y swm syfrdanol o £150,000 drwy ymdrechion gwirfoddolwyr ymroddedig, a chredaf fod hynny'n hollol anhygoel. Felly, roeddwn i eisiau talu teyrnged iddynt yn ystod y ddadl hon heddiw, ond gallaf ddweud bod y gwaith y maent yn ei wneud gyda'r bobl ifanc yn yr ardal, a llawer ohonynt yn dod o gartrefi difreintiedig, yn hollol wych mewn gwirionedd. Rwy'n credu ei bod gwbl hanfodol fod Llywodraeth Cymru yn rhoi mwy o gyfarwyddyd i'r gwasanaeth ieuenctid. O edrych ar y dystiolaeth a gawsom, rwy'n teimlo bod yna berygl ei fod yn graddol ddiflannu o ran y ffordd yr ydym bob amser wedi ei adnabod. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y Gweinidog, yn sgil ein hadroddiad, yn rhoi hwb o'r newydd i'r gwasanaeth hwn. Yn sicr, rydym angen hynny yn y maes hwn. Credaf mai mater pwysig iawn arall yw rhoi llais i bobl ifanc yn y gwasanaeth. Mae nifer o siaradwyr wedi sôn am hyn eisoes. Ond rwy'n gobeithio, gyda ffurfio'r gwasanaeth o'r newydd os mai dyna fydd yn digwydd, y bydd gan bobl ifanc lais o ran sut y dylai'r gwasanaeth fod, a dylent fod yn rhan ganolog o ddatblygu'r gwasanaeth. I gloi, rwy'n meddwl ein bod i gyd yn teimlo ei fod yn wasanaeth cwbl hanfodol. Ni allwn adael iddo ddiflannu'n ddim. Gwyddom fod yna bwysau ar holl wasanaethau awdurdodau lleol, ond mae gennym lawer o ewyllys da yn y sector gwirfoddol ac mae'n gwbl hanfodol ein bod yn sicrhau bod y sector gwirfoddol a'r sector statudol yn gweithio gyda'i gilydd yn effeithiol.