English: Thanks to the co-operation agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government, more pupils are in receipt of free school meals since the beginning of this month, as part of the roll-out of free school meals to all primary school children by 2024. But we should be striving to expand this free school meals scheme to every secondary school pupil too, as a matter of urgency, to help to tackle the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on our children and young people, and to tackle child poverty, which is increasingly a problem here in Wales. And as I mentioned yesterday, we must now look at expanding eligibility for free school meals to a wider range of children and young people. As the Welsh Government's child poverty review found, not all of those who need free school meals receive them. The Welsh Government has been trying to tackle high levels of poverty in Wales for years, and indeed, it could be argued, since the beginning of this Senedd, and yet the situation is getting worse. I'm sure that a number of us remember the ambition to eradicate child poverty by 2020, after the Welsh Government commissioned in 2003 the child poverty task and finish group to investigate the impacts of severe child poverty in Wales, at a time when one in three children were living in poverty. Almost two decades later, this figure has hardly changed at all. No council ward anywhere in Wales has a child poverty rate below 12 per cent. And even before the pandemic, around 195,000 children were living in a household below the poverty line. Due to these high rates of child poverty, our children are being disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis. We know that child poverty is causing serious and lifelong harm to children's outcomes, which worsen the longer a child lives in poverty. Growing up in poverty and experiencing the related stress and strain leads to adverse childhood experiences, and this will affect an individual throughout their life. It is traumatic for a child to grow up without their needs being met. This is likely to have a negative impact on their mental health, their self-image, self-worth, physical health, education and ensuing career path, as well as the ability to socialise normally and to engage with their contemporaries, and the likelihood that they will be involved in crime, either as a victim or as a perpetrator. Food prices rose at the fastest rate in August for 27 years. The proportion of people living in households with one or two children that are having to cut back on food has almost doubled since November 2021 - since we were elected to this sixth Senedd. Bearing in mind the fact that there is a significant body of evidence demonstrating the effect of poor nutrition during childhood on a child's long-term health outlook, the fact that one in five households with two children is cutting back on food for those children is particularly worrying. We have to do more in this regard. But, alongside expanding the free school meal provision and support to provide the very best start to every child, we must also look at the education maintenance allowance. This sum has remained at the same level, namely £30 a week, since it was introduced in 2004. For a little under 20 years, it hasn't increased at all, despite costs continuing to increase. We know how vital this payment is, and the difference it makes in terms of young people being able to continue in education or not; for the parents to be able to keep their children in education. We have to increase the EMA now to £45 per week as part of this emergency package of cost-of-living measures, to ensure that this crisis doesn't have a negative impact on our young people and learners, along with their ambitions and the opportunities available to them. There is more that we could and should be doing, if we are serious about giving the very best start in life to every child in Wales.
Welsh: Diolch i'r cytundeb cydweithio rhwng Plaid Cymru a Llywodraeth Cymru, mae mwy o ddisgyblion yn derbyn prydau ysgol am ddim ers dechrau'r mis hwn, fel rhan o'r broses o gyflwyno prydau ysgol am ddim i holl blant ysgolion cynradd erbyn 2024. Ond fe ddylen ni fod yn ymdrechu i ehangu'r cynllun prydau ysgol am ddim i bob disgybl ysgol uwchradd hefyd, fel mater o frys, i helpu i fynd i'r afael ag effaith yr argyfwng costau byw hwn ar ein plant a'n pobl ifanc, a hefyd i fynd i'r afael â thlodi plant, sydd yn broblem gynyddol yma yng Nghymru. Ac fel y soniais ddoe hefyd, mae'n rhaid edrych rŵan ar ymestyn cymhwysedd ar gyfer prydau ysgol am ddim i ystod ehangach o blant a phobl ifanc. Fel y canfu adolygiad tlodi plant Llywodraeth Cymru, nid yw pawb sydd angen prydau ysgol am ddim yn eu derbyn. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi bod yn ceisio mynd i'r afael â'r lefelau uchel o dlodi yng Nghymru ers blynyddoedd, a gellir dadlau ers dechrau'r Senedd hon, ac eto mae'r mater yn gwaethygu. Dwi'n siŵr bod nifer ohonom yn cofio'r uchelgais i ddiddymu tlodi plant erbyn 2020 yn sgil y ffaith bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi comisiynu yn 2003 y grŵp gorchwyl tlodi plant i ymchwilio i effeithiau tlodi plant difrifol yng Nghymru, ar adeg pan oedd un o bob tri o blant yn byw mewn tlodi. Bron i ddau ddegawd yn ddiweddarach, nid yw'r ffigwr hwn wedi newid fawr ddim. Nid oes un ward cyngor yn unman yng Nghymru gyda chyfradd tlodi plant o dan 12 y cant. Hyd yn oed cyn y pandemig, roedd tua 195,000 o blant yn byw mewn cartrefi o dan y llinell dlodi. Oherwydd y cyfraddau tlodi plant uchel hyn, mae ein plant yn cael eu heffeithio'n anghymesur gan yr argyfwng costau byw. Rydyn ni'n gwybod bod tlodi plant yn achosi niwed dwfn a gydol oes i ganlyniadau plant, sy'n gwaethygu po hiraf y bydd plentyn yn parhau mewn tlodi. Mae tyfu i fyny mewn tlodi a phrofi'r straen a ddaw yn ei sgil yn golygu profiad plentyndod andwyol, a fydd yn effeithio ar yr unigolion hynny drwy gydol eu hoes. Mae'n drawmatig fel plentyn i dyfu i fyny heb i'ch anghenion gael eu diwallu. Mae'n debygol o gael effaith negyddol ar eu hiechyd meddwl, hunanddelwedd a hunan-werth, iechyd corfforol, addysg a llwybr gyrfa dilynol, y gallu i gymdeithasu'n normal a rhyngweithio â'u cyfoedion, a'r tebygolrwydd y byddant yn ymwneud â throsedd, naill ai fel dioddefwr neu droseddwr. Cododd prisiau bwyd ar y gyfradd gyflymaf ym mis Awst ers 27 mlynedd. Mae cyfran y bobl sy'n byw ar aelwydydd ag un neu ddau o blant sy'n gorfod torri yn ôl ar fwyd i blant bron wedi dyblu ers mis Tachwedd 2021 - ers inni gael ein hethol i'r chweched Senedd hon. O ystyried y ffaith bod corff sylweddol o dystiolaeth yn dangos effaith maeth gwael yn ystod plentyndod ar ragolygon iechyd tymor hir plentyn, mae'r ffaith bod un o bob pump cartref gyda dau o blant yn torri yn ôl ar fwyd i'r plant yn arbennig o bryderus. Mae'n rhaid gwneud mwy o ran hyn. Ond, ochr yn ochr ag ehangu prydau ysgol am ddim a chefnogaeth o ran sicrhau y dechrau gorau i bob plentyn, rhaid inni hefyd edrych ar y cynllun lwfans cynhaliaeth addysg. Mae'r swm yma wedi aros ar £30 yr wythnos ers ei gyflwyno yn 2004. Ers ychydig llai nag 20 mlynedd, dydy o ddim wedi cynyddu o gwbl, er bod costau yn parhau i gynyddu. Rydyn ni'n gwybod pa mor hanfodol ydy'r taliad hwn, ac yn gwneud y gwahaniaeth i berson ifanc allu parhau gydag addysg neu beidio; i'w rhieni allu gwneud y dewis i'w cadw nhw mewn addysg. Mae'n rhaid cynyddu hwn rŵan i £45 yr wythnos fel rhan o'r pecyn o fesurau costau byw brys, i sicrhau nad yw'r argyfwng hwn yn effeithio'n negyddol ar ein pobl ifanc na'n dysgwyr, na'u huchelgeisiau a'r cyfleoedd sydd ar gael iddynt. Mae mwy y gallwn ni ei wneud ac y dylem ni ei wneud, os ydym o ddifrif ynglŷn â rhoi'r dechrau gorau posibl i bob plentyn yng Nghymru.