English: I'd agree entirely with Helen Mary Jones that many people rely incredibly heavily on taxis and private hire vehicles, particularly people who either don't have access to other forms of public transport in, for example, rural areas, and also, crucially, people who face disabling barriers in society. And yet also, alongside this, we know that, in some local authority areas, there are as few as 5 per cent of taxis and private hire vehicles that can accommodate wheelchair users. And often, we know from the reports back that have been commissioned by Welsh Government, people who face disabling barriers in society often face additional challenges in terms of being overcharged, and the customer service experience can sometimes not be what we would certainly expect. And so there are many barriers that we have to either bring down or overcome in order to make sure that the taxi and private hire vehicle industry is meeting the needs of disabled people. In terms of the sector itself and our engagement, as I said a little earlier, I met with the Wales TUC, with Unite, with the GMB last week to discuss the challenges that taxi drivers are facing right now during the pandemic. And, as a result of that meeting, I asked for a number of pieces of urgent work to be undertaken - one to gather the data concerning the third phase of the economic resilience fund, because the third phase was developed very much with taxi drivers in mind. That's why we developed that £25 million discretionary grant element. And so I've asked for feedback from local authorities as to how many grants have been applied for by taxi drivers, and for the unions themselves to ensure that their members are getting information about the various support schemes that are on offer - those discretionary schemes, the discretionary assistance fund scheme, for example, the self-employment support scheme, which is still not being accessed by thousands and thousands of self-employed people in Wales. So that data is going to be gathered. I've also asked for various other pieces of work to be undertaken, including of course how we may be able to supply valuable PPE to taxi drivers. The big challenge in regard to PPE is not so much how we go about securing sufficient PPE for the industry and drivers, but actually how we make sure we get it to the drivers - how they're receiving that PPE, that it's being utilised by taxi operators. And it's an interesting point that Helen Mary Jones makes about the difference and the distinction between private hire vehicles and taxis. I think Helen Mary Jones makes an important point - that some people will obviously know what the distinctions are and that standards for taxis are considered higher than for private hire vehicles, and in particular around public safety. There are serious concerns that flow from some of the reports that were commissioned regarding the way that certain people have been treated. For example, both the Jay and the Casey reports on child sex exploitation in Rotherham highlighted that there were examples of taxi drivers being directly linked with children that were being abused, including instances where children were picked up from schools, children's homes or from family homes and abused or sexually exploited in exchange for free taxi rides. And so I can assure Helen Mary Jones and every Member today that the standards are only going to go one way - they will be improved. And that is absolutely essential in the interests of public safety, especially for the most vulnerable people in our society. Helen Mary Jones also raised the question about the national database and national standards. I think it's absolutely vital that standards are maintained at the highest possible level on a national basis so that we don't get the sort of cross-border issues that we experience now. And I think there will be a very strong local element to the operation of the regime as we propose it, particularly at a local authority but also at a corporate joint committee level. And local authorities are fully engaged in our consultations and in shaping the legislation, and of course they've been fully involved. They've been co-writing the recommendations, those quick wins that I outlined. And I think that, in terms of maintaining taxi and private hire operations in rural areas, well there is of course already, right now, some market failure in many parts of rural Wales, and that's why community transport schemes have proven to be so important in those areas. And we will go on with our commitment to community transport in rural areas as a vital means of enabling people to access work and access vital services.
Welsh: Byddwn yn cytuno'n llwyr â Helen Mary Jones fod llawer o bobl yn dibynnu'n eithriadol o drwm ar dacsis a cherbydau hurio preifat, yn enwedig pobl nad oes mathau eraill o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus ar gael iddyn nhw mewn ardaloedd gwledig, er enghraifft, a hefyd, yn hollbwysig, pobl sy'n wynebu rhwystrau anablu mewn cymdeithas. Ac eto hefyd, ochr yn ochr â hyn, gwyddom, mewn rhai ardaloedd awdurdodau lleol, fod cyn lleied â 5 y cant o dacsis a cherbydau hurio preifat sy'n gallu cynnig mynediad i ddefnyddwyr cadeiriau olwyn. Ac yn aml, gwyddom o'r adroddiadau a gomisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru, fod pobl sy'n wynebu rhwystrau oherwydd anableddau mewn cymdeithas yn aml yn wynebu heriau ychwanegol o ran gordalu, ac weithiau nid yw'r profiad gwasanaeth cwsmeriaid yr hyn y byddem yn sicr yn ei ddisgwyl. Ac felly mae llawer o rwystrau y mae'n rhaid i ni naill ai eu dileu neu eu goresgyn er mwyn sicrhau bod y diwydiant tacsis a cherbydau hurio preifat yn diwallu anghenion pobl anabl. O ran y sector ei hun a'n hymgysylltiad ni, fel y dywedais ychydig yn gynharach, cyfarfûm â TUC Cymru, ag Unite, â'r GMB yr wythnos diwethaf i drafod yr heriau y mae gyrwyr tacsis yn eu hwynebu ar hyn o bryd yn ystod y pandemig. Ac, o ganlyniad i'r cyfarfod hwnnw, gofynnais i nifer o ddarnau o waith brys gael eu gwneud - un i gasglu'r data ynghylch trydydd cam y gronfa cadernid economaidd, oherwydd datblygwyd y trydydd cam gyda gyrwyr tacsis mewn golwg yn fwy na dim. Dyna pam wnaethom ni ddatblygu'r elfen grant dewisol honno o £25 miliwn. Ac felly rwyf wedi gofyn am adborth gan awdurdodau lleol ynghylch faint o grantiau y gwnaed cais amdanyn nhw gan yrwyr tacsis, ac i'r undebau eu hunain sicrhau bod eu haelodau'n cael gwybodaeth am y gwahanol gynlluniau cymorth sydd ar gael - y cynlluniau dewisol hynny, cynllun y gronfa cymorth dewisol, er enghraifft, y cynllun cymorth hunangyflogaeth, nad yw miloedd a miloedd o bobl hunangyflogedig yng Nghymru yn ei ddefnyddio o hyd. Felly fe gaiff y data hynny ei gasglu. Rwyf hefyd wedi gofyn i wahanol ddarnau eraill o waith gael eu gwneud, gan gynnwys wrth gwrs sut y gallwn ni gyflenwi cyfarpar diogelu personol gwerthfawr i yrwyr tacsi. Yr her fawr o ran cyfarpar diogelu personol yw nid yn gymaint sut yr awn ati i sicrhau digon ohono i'r diwydiant a gyrwyr, ond mewn gwirionedd sut ydym ni'n sicrhau bod y gyrwyr yn derbyn y cyfarpar yna - sut y maen nhw yn cael y cyfarpar diogelu personol hwnnw, y caiff ei ddefnyddio gan weithredwyr tacsis. Ac mae'n bwynt diddorol y mae Helen Mary Jones yn ei wneud am y gwahaniaeth rhwng cerbydau hurio preifat a thacsis. Credaf fod Helen Mary Jones yn gwneud pwynt pwysig - y bydd rhai pobl yn amlwg yn gwybod beth yw'r gwahaniaethau ac y caiff safonau ar gyfer tacsis eu hystyried yn uwch nag ar gyfer cerbydau hurio preifat, ac yn enwedig o ran diogelwch y cyhoedd. Mae pryderon difrifol sy'n deillio o rai o'r adroddiadau a gomisiynwyd ynglŷn â'r ffordd y mae rhai pobl wedi cael eu trin. Er enghraifft, amlygodd adroddiadau Jay a Casey ar gamfanteisio ar blant yn rhywiol yn Rotherham bod enghreifftiau o yrwyr tacsis yn cael eu cysylltu'n uniongyrchol â phlant a oedd yn cael eu cam-drin, gan gynnwys achosion lle yr oedd plant yn cael eu casglu o ysgolion, cartrefi plant neu o gartrefi teuluol a'u cam-drin neu eu hecsbloetio'n rhywiol yn gyfnewid am deithiau tacsis am ddim. Ac felly gallaf sicrhau Helen Mary Jones a phob Aelod heddiw mai dim ond un ffordd y bydd y safonau'n mynd - cânt eu gwella. Ac mae hynny'n gwbl hanfodol er budd diogelwch y cyhoedd, yn enwedig y bobl fwyaf agored i niwed yn ein cymdeithas. Cododd Helen Mary Jones y cwestiwn hefyd am y gronfa ddata genedlaethol a'r safonau cenedlaethol. Rwy'n credu ei bod yn gwbl hanfodol y caiff safonau eu cynnal ar y lefel uchaf bosibl ar sail genedlaethol fel nad ydym yn cael y math o broblemau trawsffiniol a brofwn yn awr. A chredaf y bydd elfen leol gref iawn i weithrediad y gyfundrefn fel yr ydym yn ei chynnig, yn enwedig ar lefel awdurdod lleol ond hefyd ar lefel cydbwyllgor corfforaethol. Ac mae awdurdodau lleol yn ymgysylltu'n llawn â'n hymgynghoriadau ac wrth lunio'r ddeddfwriaeth, ac wrth gwrs maen nhw wedi cymryd rhan lawn. Maen nhw wedi bod yn cyd-ysgrifennu'r argymhellion, yr enillion cyflym hynny a amlinellais. A chredaf, o ran cynnal gweithrediadau tacsis a hurio preifat mewn ardaloedd gwledig, fod rhywfaint o fethiant yn y farchnad eisoes mewn sawl rhan o'r Gymru wledig, a dyna pam mae cynlluniau trafnidiaeth gymunedol yn sicr wedi bod mor bwysig yn yr ardaloedd hynny. A byddwn yn parhau â'n hymrwymiad i drafnidiaeth gymunedol mewn ardaloedd gwledig fel ffordd hanfodol o alluogi pobl i gael gwaith a chael mynediad at wasanaethau hanfodol.