English: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Before I respond to the debate, may I just say that during the course of this debate, Members may have seen news emerging concerning the future of the Ford Bridgend engine plant? It is pure speculation at the moment and Ford are not commenting on the matter. I can tell Members that I have been in regular contact with the First Minister today. I've also spoken with the general secretary of Unite, with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark, and also with the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, and I am seeking urgent talks with Ford. I will keep Members updated on the matter accordingly as soon as I have more information. Dirprwy Lywydd, can I start my response to this debate with a sincere thanks to Members for their excellent contributions in this particular debate? I'd like to thank specifically those that brought forward this very important motion today. I'm pleased to be able to have the chance to respond on behalf of the Welsh Government. It's fair to say that when we talk in the Chamber about the things that matter to our communities - the creation of jobs, the importance of fair work, which has been mentioned by so many today, the need for high-quality education or the construction of good-quality housing - what we are really saying, whether it's explicitly stated or not, is that we want everybody to have the opportunity to live a full life, a life free of the shackles and the restrictions that poverty imposes. And as someone who grew up in north-east Wales, the son of a steelworker, who grew up in a working-class community and attended state schools, the elimination of poverty was the very reason why I got into elected politics. It's informed everything that I have done in each of my ministerial roles that I have been privileged to hold - the desire to stop a child's destiny from being determined by what they were born into. I think the role that I have now is particularly important in this regard. It is the Minister for Economy and Transport that is standing up to respond to this debate today because it's that role that encapsulates the approach this Welsh Government takes to the fight against poverty. Namely, that it is only through a strong, resilient and dynamic economy that all people across all parts of Wales can benefit, and, in turn, doing so, can help in the eradication of poverty. Our economic action plan has been designed with that explicit purpose. Dirprwy Lywydd, I am proud, as we look back over 20 years of devolution, of what the Welsh Government has done across that time to support individuals and families who find their lives constrained by poverty. We've developed a progressive model of support for people in Wales that, over the course of devolution, has been added to and indeed enhanced. It's focused on the small things, the bread and butter things, that have demonstrated in an intensely practical way that the concerns of working families are concerns. It's a social wage, comprising free prescriptions, the education maintenance allowance, free swimming, the free bus pass, the school holiday nourishment scheme that my colleague Kirsty Williams is expanding, and of course free school meals, on which we are spending £7 million more this year than last year. For some families in Wales, this social wage can be as much as £2,000, taking pressure off household budgets. And that approach has focused on making the best possible use of the powers available to us here in the Welsh Government in the toughest of circumstances. But after the 2016 Assembly elections, what became abundantly clear was that as a Welsh Labour Government we needed an approach that more effectively harnessed the power that we had right across Government, and that as an economy Minister I was effectively placed to lead that work. As Minister for Economy and Infrastructure, I was very clear that resilient communities and resilient economies are underpinned by good-quality local employment, connected infrastructure, and skills for work. I'm incredibly proud of the stronger economy that the Welsh Labour Government has delivered over the last few years. There are now 300,000 more people in work in Wales since 1999, and the proportion of working-age people with no qualifications has more than halved. Perhaps most encouraging of all, economic inactivity rates in Wales are now broadly comparable or below the UK average for the first time ever. But of course we recognise that the next five years will present huge challenges for our communities. Withdrawal from the European Union and the full impact of welfare reform will be compounded by the increasing pace of technological change and its impact on work and the labour market. Using all the economic levers that are at our disposal to ensure communities and the individuals living in them are more resilient to the challenges they will face over the next few years will be vital to our approach to tackling poverty, and that's why we have developed a cross-Government approach to support fairer, stronger economies across all our regions. For individuals needing skills for work, a promise of a new employability programme that brings together our existing programmes into one single support system built around the individual, tailored for the individual, and better designed to tackle inactivity. For individuals wanting higher skills, a promise to create at least 100,000 all-age apprenticeships. For businesses wanting to grow and take on people, a new economic contract to drive up the availability of fair work and deliver the sort of inclusive growth that Huw Irranca-Davies talked about the need for. For working parents of three and four-year-olds, a pledge of 30 hours free childcare, 48 weeks of the year, to help more people back into the labour market. And for communities, investment in stronger, more integrated infrastructure, to ensure that major projects such as the metro schemes bring truly transformational change to local economies and local communities. We've developed this because we believe this to be the best strategy to tackle poverty in Wales in the long term. But, Dirprwy Lywydd, as Rhianon Passmore - [ Interruption.] Yes, indeed.
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Cyn imi ymateb i'r ddadl, a gaf fi ddweud y gallai Aelodau fod wedi gweld newyddion yn ystod y ddadl hon ynglŷn â dyfodol ffatri geir Ford Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr? Dyfalu pur ydyw ar hyn o bryd, ac nid yw Ford yn gwneud sylwadau am y mater. Gallaf ddweud wrth yr Aelodau fy mod wedi bod mewn cysylltiad rheolaidd â'r Prif Weinidog heddiw. Rwyf hefyd wedi siarad ag Ysgrifennydd Cyffredinol Unite, gyda'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol dros Fusnes, Ynni a Strategaeth Ddiwydiannol, Greg Clark, a hefyd gydag Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru, Alun Cairns, ac rwy'n gofyn am drafodaethau brys gyda Ford. Byddaf yn rhoi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf i'r Aelodau am y mater cyn gynted ag y bydd gennyf ragor o fanylion. Ddirprwy Lywydd, a gaf fi ddechrau fy ymateb i'r ddadl hon drwy ddiolch yn ddiffuant i'r Aelodau am eu cyfraniadau rhagorol yn y ddadl? Hoffwn ddiolch yn benodol i'r rhai a gyflwynodd y cynnig pwysig hwn heddiw. Rwy'n falch o allu cael y cyfle i ymateb ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru. Mae'n deg dweud, pan siaradwn yn y Siambr am y pethau sy'n bwysig i'n cymunedau - creu swyddi, pwysigrwydd gwaith teg, a grybwyllwyd gan gynifer heddiw, yr angen am addysg o safon uchel neu adeiladu tai o ansawdd da - yr hyn a ddywedwn mewn gwirionedd, boed yn glir ai peidio, yw ein bod am i bawb gael cyfle i fyw bywyd llawn, bywyd yn rhydd o'r hualau a'r cyfyngiadau y mae tlodi'n eu creu. Ac fel rhywun a fagwyd yng ngogledd-ddwyrain Cymru yn fab i weithiwr dur, ac a fagwyd mewn cymuned ddosbarth gweithiol ac a fynychodd ysgolion y wladwriaeth, dileu tlodi oedd yr union reswm pam y dechreuais i mewn i gwleidyddiaeth etholedig. Mae wedi llywio popeth a wneuthum ym mhob un o'r rolau gweinidogol y bu'n fraint gennyf eu cyflawni - yr awydd i atal tynged plentyn rhag cael ei bennu gan yr hyn y cawsant eu geni iddo. Rwy'n credu bod y rôl sydd gennyf yn awr yn arbennig o bwysig yn hyn o beth. Gweinidog yr Economi a Thrafnidiaeth sy'n codi i ymateb i'r ddadl hon heddiw gan mai'r rôl honno sy'n crynhoi dull gweithredu Llywodraeth Cymru o frwydro yn erbyn tlodi. Sef, mai dim ond drwy economi gref, wydn a deinamig y gall pawb ym mhob rhan o Gymru elwa, ac yn ei dro, bydd gwneud hynny'n gallu helpu i ddileu tlodi. Mae ein cynllun gweithredu economaidd wedi'i lunio i'r diben penodol hwnnw. Ddirprwy Lywydd, wrth inni edrych yn ôl dros 20 mlynedd o ddatganoli, rwy'n falch o'r hyn y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i wneud dros yr amser hwnnw i gefnogi unigolion a theuluoedd sy'n gweld bod tlodi'n cyfyngu ar eu bywydau. Rydym wedi datblygu model blaengar o gymorth i bobl yng Nghymru ac wedi ychwanegu ato a'i wella dros gyfnod datganoli. Mae'n canolbwyntio ar y pethau bach, y pethau bara menyn, sydd wedi dangos mewn ffordd hynod ymarferol fod pryderon teuluoedd sy'n gweithio yn bryderon go iawn. Cyflog cymdeithasol ydyw, sy'n cynnwys presgripsiynau am ddim, y lwfans cynhaliaeth addysg, nofio am ddim, y tocyn bws am ddim, cynllun maeth gwyliau ysgol y mae fy nghyd-Aelod Kirsty Williams yn ei ehangu, ac wrth gwrs y prydau ysgol am ddim yr ydym yn gwario £7 miliwn yn fwy arnynt eleni na'r llynedd. I rai teuluoedd yng Nghymru, gall y cyflog cymdeithasol hwn fod yn gymaint â £2,000, gan godi pwysau oddi ar gyllidebau cartrefi. Ac mae'r dull hwnnw wedi canolbwyntio ar wneud y defnydd gorau posibl o'r pwerau sydd ar gael i ni yma yn Llywodraeth Cymru yn yr amgylchiadau anoddaf. Ond ar ôl etholiadau'r Cynulliad 2016, yr hyn a ddaeth yn glir iawn oedd bod angen dull o weithredu arnom, fel Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru, a fyddai'n harneisio'r pŵer a oedd gennym ar draws y Llywodraeth yn fwy effeithiol, ac fel Gweinidog yr economi, roeddwn i mewn sefyllfa effeithiol i arwain y gwaith hwnnw. Fel Gweinidog yr Economi a Seilwaith, roeddwn yn glir iawn fod cymunedau cydnerth ac economïau cydnerth yn cael eu tanategu gan gyflogaeth leol o ansawdd da, seilwaith cysylltiedig, a sgiliau ar gyfer gwaith. Rwy'n hynod falch o'r economi gryfach y mae Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru wedi'i sicrhau dros yr ychydig flynyddoedd diwethaf. Erbyn hyn mae 300,000 yn fwy o bobl mewn gwaith yng Nghymru ers 1999, ac mae cyfran y bobl o oedran gweithio heb unrhyw gymwysterau wedi mwy na haneru. Yn fwyaf calonogol efallai, mae'r cyfraddau anweithgarwch economaidd yng Nghymru bellach yn cymharu'n fras neu'n is na chyfartaledd y DU am y tro cyntaf erioed. Ond wrth gwrs, rydym yn cydnabod y bydd y pum mlynedd nesaf yn creu heriau enfawr i'n cymunedau. Bydd gadael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd ac effaith lawn diwygio lles yn cael ei ddwysáu gan gyflymder cynyddol newid technolegol a'i effaith ar waith a'r farchnad lafur. Bydd defnyddio'r holl ysgogiadau economaidd sydd ar gael inni i sicrhau bod cymunedau a'r unigolion sy'n byw ynddynt yn fwy gwydn yn wyneb yr heriau y byddant yn eu hwynebu dros y blynyddoedd nesaf yn allweddol i'n dull o drechu tlodi, a dyna pam ein bod wedi datblygu dull trawslywodraethol o gefnogi economïau tecach a chryfach ar draws pob un o'n rhanbarthau. Ar gyfer unigolion sydd angen sgiliau ar gyfer gwaith, addewid o raglen gyflogadwyedd newydd sy'n dwyn ynghyd ein rhaglenni presennol mewn un system gymorth wedi'i hadeiladu o amgylch yr unigolyn, a'i theilwra ar gyfer yr unigolyn, ac wedi'i chynllunio'n well i fynd i'r afael ag anweithgarwch. Ar gyfer unigolion sydd eisiau sgiliau uwch, addewid i greu o leiaf 100,000 o brentisiaethau i bob oed. Ar gyfer busnesau sydd am dyfu a chyflogi pobl, contract economaidd newydd i gynyddu'r gwaith teg sydd ar gael a darparu'r math o dwf cynhwysol y soniodd Huw Irranca-Davies am yr angen amdano. Ar gyfer rhieni sy'n gweithio, i blant tair a phedair oed, addewid o 30 awr o ofal plant am ddim, 48 wythnos o'r flwyddyn, i helpu mwy o bobl i ddychwelyd i'r farchnad lafur. Ac ar gyfer cymunedau, buddsoddi mewn seilwaith cryfach a mwy integredig, er mwyn sicrhau bod prosiectau mawr fel y cynlluniau metro'n dod â newidiadau gwirioneddol drawsnewidiol i economïau lleol a chymunedau lleol. Rydym wedi datblygu hyn oherwydd ein bod o'r farn mai hon yw'r strategaeth orau ar gyfer trechu tlodi yng Nghymru yn hirdymor. Ond Ddirprwy Lywydd, fel y soniodd Rhianon Passmore - [ T orri ar draws.] Cewch, yn wir.