English: Diolch, Llywydd. On behalf of the Petitions Committee, I am pleased to open this debate on a petition calling for steps to be taken to help prevent Welsh house names being changed and lost. This was submitted by Robin Aled Davies, having collected more than 18,000 signatures, a fact that I believe demonstrates how many people feel strongly about this issue, and about the protection of Welsh language and heritage more widely. Now, though the petition received signatures from across Wales - as well as further afield - I wanted to note the particularly strong support from the west and north-west of Wales, where this is perhaps seen as an especially important issue. The Petitions Committee considered the petition in November last year, noting some of the previous efforts that have been made to provide protection to Welsh place names in recent years. Those have included a Member's Bill proposal put forward by Dr Dai Lloyd MS in 2017 and an inquiry by the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee into the historic environment, also in 2017. Now, Members who were directly involved in those pieces of work may wish to say more about them, though the Petitions Committee has noted that this inquiry led to a recommendation that the Government should keep the issue under review and introduce further protection if the current approach does not prove effective. I'm also aware that the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee intends to follow this issue up as part of its legacy work. Now, of course, with the end of this Senedd term - it is now rapidly approaching, and the Petitions Committee recognises that there is simply not sufficient time remaining to directly enact the petition's call to introduce new legislation before that time. However, we did not feel that fact should prevent a debate on the issue and I hope the sources of protection that could be provided to historic names, both now and in the longer term. There are roles for a range of bodies in providing those protections, including the Welsh Government, local authorities and Cadw. The approach needed will also depend upon the type of name being considered. Now, this petition itself is very specific, directly concerning only individual house names. However, it is part of a wider issue, including the names of settlements and other larger places, natural features, farms and large buildings, down to individual properties. At the largest scale, measures such as the Welsh language standards do already provide a degree of protection for our cities, towns and villages, with duties on local authorities, for example, in relation to signage. Names of historic places have also been maintained in a register since 2017, with statutory guidance in place for public bodies. Then, at the smallest scale, protecting house names is likely to be more difficult in practice, and the Minister has pointed out some of those difficulties in her written response to our Petitions Committee. Where a property is only known by its name, owners must apply to their local authority to change it. Now, I'm aware that some authorities provide guidance to actually encourage owners to use Welsh names on their properties, though this is not to be considered mandatory. In addition, where a property is known primarily by a number, owners may be able to add or change a name without requiring approval. And, for example, an owner can operate a business from a property, such as a farm, under a different name. So, this is by no means a simple issue, and, as the petition does help to demonstrate, it is one that prompts strong feelings and reactions. This should be expected, given the importance that names can have in reinforcing who we are and the history of the communities that we live in and we wish to identify with. I hope that this debate can help us today to take stock of the situation and to consider what more could be done to protect traditional or historic names. Diolch yn fawr.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd. Ar ran y Pwyllgor Deisebau, mae'n bleser gennyf agor y ddadl hon ar ddeiseb yn galw am gamau gweithredu i helpu i atal newid a cholli enwau Cymraeg tai. Cyflwynwyd y ddeiseb gan Robin Aled Davies, a chasglwyd mwy na 18,000 o lofnodion, ffaith sydd, yn fy marn i, yn dangos faint o bobl sy'n teimlo'n gryf am y mater hwn, ac am ddiogelu'r Gymraeg a threftadaeth Cymru yn ehangach. Nawr, er i'r ddeiseb ddenu llofnodion o bob rhan o Gymru - yn ogystal â thu hwnt - roeddwn eisiau nodi'r gefnogaeth arbennig o gryf yng ngorllewin a gogledd-orllewin Cymru, lle gwelir hyn fel mater arbennig o bwysig. Ystyriodd y Pwyllgor Deisebau y ddeiseb ym mis Tachwedd y llynedd, gan nodi rhai o'r ymdrechion blaenorol a wnaed i ddiogelu enwau Cymraeg lleoedd yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Mae'r rheini wedi cynnwys cynnig Bil Aelodau a gyflwynwyd gan Dr Dai Lloyd AS yn 2017 ac ymchwiliad gan y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu i'r amgylchedd hanesyddol, hefyd yn 2017. Nawr, efallai y bydd yr Aelodau a oedd yn ymwneud yn uniongyrchol â'r gwaith hwnnw yn hoffi dweud mwy amdanynt, er bod y Pwyllgor Deisebau wedi nodi bod yr ymchwiliad hwn wedi arwain at argymhelliad y dylai'r Llywodraeth barhau i adolygu'r mater a chyflwyno gwarchodaeth bellach os nad yw'r dull presennol yn effeithiol. Rwyf hefyd yn ymwybodol fod y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu yn bwriadu mynd ar drywydd y mater hwn fel rhan o'i waith etifeddol. Nawr, wrth gwrs, gyda diwedd tymor y Senedd - mae'n prysur agosáu, ac mae'r Pwyllgor Deisebau'n cydnabod nad oes digon o amser ar ôl ar gyfer gweithredu galwad uniongyrchol y ddeiseb i gyflwyno deddfwriaeth newydd cyn hynny. Fodd bynnag, nid oeddem yn teimlo y dylai'r ffaith honno atal dadl ar y mater na'r ffynonellau gwarchodaeth y gobeithiaf y gellid eu darparu i enwau hanesyddol, yn awr ac yn y tymor hwy. Ceir rolau i amrywiaeth o gyrff ddarparu'r warchodaeth honno, gan gynnwys Llywodraeth Cymru, awdurdodau lleol a Cadw. Bydd y dull sydd ei angen hefyd yn dibynnu ar y math o enw sy'n cael ei ystyried. Nawr, mae'r ddeiseb hon ei hun yn benodol iawn, yn ymwneud yn uniongyrchol ag enwau tai unigol yn unig. Fodd bynnag, mae'n rhan o fater ehangach, gan gynnwys enwau aneddiadau a lleoedd eraill sy'n fwy o ran maint, nodweddion naturiol, ffermydd ac adeiladau mawr, yn ogystal ag eiddo unigol. Ar y raddfa fwyaf, mae mesurau fel safonau'r Gymraeg eisoes yn darparu rhywfaint o warchodaeth i'n dinasoedd, ein trefi a'n pentrefi, gyda dyletswyddau ar awdurdodau lleol, er enghraifft, mewn perthynas ag arwyddion. Mae enwau lleoedd hanesyddol hefyd wedi'u cadw ar gofrestr ers 2017, gyda chanllawiau statudol ar waith ar gyfer cyrff cyhoeddus. Wedyn, ar y raddfa leiaf, mae diogelu enwau tai yn debygol o fod yn anos yn ymarferol, ac mae'r Gweinidog wedi tynnu sylw at rai o'r anawsterau hynny yn ei hymateb ysgrifenedig i'n Pwyllgor Deisebau. Os mai drwy ei enw'n unig y gellir adnabod eiddo, rhaid i berchnogion wneud cais i'w hawdurdod lleol i'w newid. Nawr, rwy'n ymwybodol fod rhai awdurdodau'n darparu canllawiau i annog perchnogion i ddefnyddio enwau Cymraeg ar eu heiddo, er nad ystyrir bod hyn yn orfodol. Yn ogystal, os yw eiddo'n cael ei adnabod yn bennaf drwy rif, efallai y bydd perchnogion yn gallu ychwanegu neu newid enw heb fod angen cymeradwyaeth. Ac er enghraifft, gall perchennog weithredu busnes o eiddo, megis fferm, o dan enw gwahanol. Felly, nid yw hwn yn fater syml o bell ffordd, ac fel y mae'r ddeiseb yn helpu i'w ddangos, mae'n un sy'n ysgogi teimladau ac ymatebion cryf. Dylid disgwyl hyn, o ystyried pa mor bwysig yw enwau i gadarnhau pwy ydym ni a hanes y cymunedau rydym yn byw ynddynt ac rydym am uniaethu â hwy. Gobeithio y gall y ddadl hon heddiw ein helpu i edrych ar y sefyllfa ac i ystyried beth arall y gellid ei wneud i ddiogelu enwau traddodiadol neu hanesyddol. Diolch yn fawr.