English: The well-being and education of our pupils in schools across Wales should be at the forefront of our minds in this Assembly. Now, schools in Wales have faced a challenging financial situation for a number of years, and have already made great savings. The leaders and the staff in schools have done their best and made the best of a very difficult situation to safeguard the education and well-being of pupils, but the situation has reached a point where the effect on the profession and on the pupils is so damaging that we have to consider the situation as one of a crisis. The situation does stem from the financial settlements that local authorities have received from the Welsh Government, which, in turn, arises from the settlement from the Westminster Government. We know that, but the Welsh Government does need to accept responsibility for trying to tackle the crisis facing the field of education today. In a letter to the Plaid Cymru shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, the Cabinet Secretary says that it's local authorities that are responsible for school funding, and that the Welsh Government expects local authorities to ensure that sufficient provision is available for the needs of every learner. In order to ensure that, of course, we also need to ensure that the councils receive sufficient funding. In a report by Wales Public Services 2025, the budgets of councils were considered between 2009-10 and 2016-17. Over this period, there was an increase of 48 per cent on expenditure on health services, and a commitment by the Welsh Government to safeguard funding for schools and social care. In the field of education, there was a specific commitment to increase expenditure on schools over 1 per cent above the change in the Welsh block grant, a block that was shrinking. There was no commitment to safeguard funding for councils, and by 2016-17 grants from the Welsh Government had decreased 17.1 per cent, a decrease of almost a third of all the expenditure on schools by councils in Wales. Although councils have used council tax and other measures to make up for this in part, there was still £529 million less funding in 2016-17 as compared to 2009-10. This is almost the same as the total funding spent by councils in Wales on social services for older people. As a result, local government expenditure across Wales decreased almost £223 per head, and, despite the efforts of councils in Wales to avoid salami-slicing and to safeguard schools and care, expenditure on school budgets decreased 4.4 per cent, or £254 per head. Funding reserves were used in schools and the reserved funds of schools decreased 41.3 per cent in the period that we're talking about. This is a clear sign of the financial crisis that's facing our schools. According to the same report, the previous Government's commitment to safeguard budgets for schools made some difference, but there is no such commitment in place from this current Government, and so it's understandable that unions, the education workforce, parents and pupils are extremely concerned about their schools. In the short term, the Welsh Government and local authorities need to take steps to ensure that the information that is available to schools is as comprehensive and transparent as possible, that the information is complete, and they need to receive that information as early as possible so that schools know what the budget is going to be. UCAC, for example, has called for the possibility of setting budgets every three years to be considered, and some local authorities are able to plan ahead on that basis. The Welsh Government also needs to undertake a full review of the financial situation of schools in Wales, along with stakeholders, as a first step towards trying to solve the financial crisis in our schools.
Welsh: Fe ddylai lles ac addysg ein disgyblion mewn ysgolion ar draws Cymru fod ar flaen ein meddyliau ni yn y Cynulliad yma. Mae ysgolion Cymru wedi wynebu sefyllfa ariannol heriol ers nifer o flynyddoedd, ac yn barod wedi gwneud arbedion mawr. Mae'r arweinwyr a staff yr ysgolion wedi gwneud eu gorau o sefyllfa anodd dros ben er mwyn diogelu addysg a lles disgyblion, ond mae'r sefyllfa wedi cyrraedd pwynt ble mae'r effaith ar y proffesiwn a'r disgyblion fel ei gilydd mor niweidiol fel bod yn rhaid ystyried y sefyllfa fel un o argyfwng erbyn hyn. Mae'r sefyllfa yn deillio o'r setliad ariannol mae awdurdodau lleol wedi'i dderbyn gan Lywodraeth Cymru, sydd, yn ei dro, yn deillio o'r setliad gan Lywodraeth San Steffan. Rydym ni'n gwybod hynny, ond mae angen i Lywodraeth Cymru dderbyn cyfrifoldeb dros geisio taclo'r argyfwng sy'n wynebu'r byd addysg heddiw. Mewn llythyr at Ysgrifennydd Cabinet cysgodol Plaid Cymru dros addysg, mae'r Ysgrifennydd Cabinet yn dweud mai awdurdodau lleol sy'n gyfrifol am gyllido ysgolion, ac mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn disgwyl i awdurdodau lleol wneud yn siŵr bod darpariaeth ddigonol ar gael ar gyfer anghenion pob dysgwr. Er mwyn sicrhau hynny, wrth gwrs, mae angen sicrhau bod y cynghorau yn derbyn digon o arian. Mewn adroddiad gan Wasanaethau Cyhoeddus Cymru 2025, fe edrychwyd ar gyllidebau cynghorau rhwng 2009-10 a 2016-17. Dros y cyfnod yma, roedd cynnydd o 48 y cant ar wariant y gwasanaeth iechyd, ac roedd ymrwymiad gan Lywodraeth Cymru i amddiffyn gwariant ar ysgolion a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol. Ym maes addysg, roedd ymrwymiad penodol i gynyddu gwariant ar ysgolion dros 1 y cant uwchben y newid yng nghyllideb bloc Cymru, bloc a oedd yn crebachu. Nid oedd dim ymrwymiad i amddiffyn cyllidebau cynghorau, ac erbyn 2016-17 roedd grantiau gan Lywodraeth Cymru wedi gostwng 17.1 y cant, gostyngiad o bron i draean yr holl wariant ar ysgolion gan gynghorau Cymru. Er i gynghorau ddefnyddio trethi cyngor a mesurau eraill i wneud i fyny am hyn yn rhannol, roedd yn dal i fod £529 miliwn yn llai o arian yn 2016-17 o'i gymharu â 2009-10. Mae hyn bron gymaint â'r holl wariant gan gynghorau yng Nghymru ar wasanaethau cymdeithasol i bobl hŷn. O ganlyniad, fe ddisgynnodd gwariant llywodraeth leol ledled Cymru tua £223 y pen, ac, er gwaethaf ymdrech cynghorau Cymru i osgoi salami-slicing a diogelu ysgolion a gofal, fe ddisgynnodd gwariant ar gyllidebau ysgolion 4.4 y cant, neu £254 y pen. Fe ddefnyddiwyd arian wrth gefn yn yr ysgolion, ac fe ddisgynnodd cronfeydd wrth gefn ysgolion 41.3 y cant yn y cyfnod dan sylw. Mae hyn i gyd yn arwydd clir o'r argyfwng ariannol sy'n wynebu ein hysgolion ni. Yn ôl yr un un adroddiad, fe wnaeth ymrwymiad y Llywodraeth flaenorol i warchod cyllidebau ysgolion rywfaint o wahaniaeth, ond nid oes ymrwymiad o'r math mewn lle gan y Llywodraeth bresennol, ac felly mae'n ddealladwy bod undebau, y gweithlu addysg, rhieni a disgyblion yn bryderus iawn ynglŷn â'u hysgolion. Yn y tymor byr, mae angen i Lywodraeth Cymru ac awdurdodau lleol gymryd camau i sicrhau bod y wybodaeth sydd ar gael i ysgolion mor llawn â phosib, mor dryloyw â phosib, fod y wybodaeth yna yn gyflawn, ac maen nhw angen cael y wybodaeth yna mor gynnar â phosib fel bod ysgolion yn gwybod beth ydy'r gyllideb yn mynd i fod. Mae UCAC, er enghraifft, wedi galw am ystyried y posibilrwydd o osod cyllidebau bob tair blynedd, ac mae rhai awdurdodau lleol yn llwyddo i fedru cynllunio ymlaen ar hyd y graddau yna. Mae angen hefyd i Lywodraeth Cymru gynnal archwiliad llawn o sefyllfa ariannol ysgolion Cymru, ar y cyd â rhanddeiliaid, a hynny fel y cam cyntaf tuag at geisio datrys yr argyfwng ariannol yn ein hysgolion ni.