English: The committee heard from a range of stakeholders about the accessibility and quality of care home provision, including oral evidence received from the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Age Cymru, Care Forum Wales, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Social Services, and the Welsh Government itself. The committee also received written submissions from a range of regional partnership boards, the Royal College of Nursing Wales and others, and I thank everyone who contributed to what was an important inquiry. The committee notes that, while the Welsh Government has accepted most of our recommendations, its response appears to raise questions about their understanding of some of the issues, despite these being spelled out in existing Welsh law and guidance. It is, therefore, concerning that the response is indicative of the slow pace of policy reform in those areas and, specifically, the implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. We recommended that the Welsh Government should consider the voices of service users when considering policy reform in this area, where the lived experiences of residents are essential evidence as part of any reform process. Their voices should be central to the work of the Welsh Government's task and finish group and the independent group that is developing the new national framework for social care national care service respectively. The Welsh Government accepted this recommendation and noted that the independent expert group included individuals from a range of diverse backgrounds. The committee were told that the recommendations of the independent group should have been received by Ministers at the end of April, but that there had been a delay. It is unclear from the Welsh Government's response the current status of the group's work and when it will actually report. I'd, therefore, welcome clarity from the Minister on this, given the important role the group has in moving policy reform forward in this area. Unfortunately, the narrative accompanying the acceptance of these recommendations falls some way short of the committee's recommendation and the provisions of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act itself, which mandates a co-productive approach, whereby, and I quote: 'Individuals and their families must be able to participate fully in the process of determining and meeting their identified care and support needs through a process that is accessible to them.' This is in contrast with the consultative approach described in the Welsh Government's response. The Social Care Institute for Excellence, for example, describes co-production as 'not just a word, it's not just a concept, it is a meeting of minds coming together to find a shared solution.' As they state: 'There is a difference between co-production and involvement: involvement means being consulted, while co-production means being equal partners and co-creators.' Genuine co-production of public services with users and communities is about better delivery of health, social services and other services - in this case, to an ageing population. It is not about consultation with stakeholders after a policy has been developed, regardless of who was involved in developing that policy. I seek assurances from the Minister as to how the Welsh Government will ensure that its expert group reaches those to whom it is most relevant and involves them in the process of creating and delivering a service that works for all, not just consulting them afterwards. It's concerning that the Welsh Government does not appear to be taking a lead on this approach, despite the intent of the co-production provisions of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, which I worked with the then Deputy Minister at the time, Gwenda Thomas, on developing, and particularly not just the Act itself but the relevant codes of practice, which are quite clear in this respect. So, I urge the Welsh Government to implement the committee's recommendation in all its future work in this area and to implement the unambiguous co-production provisions of the Act and its codes of practice. The committee also concluded that more should be done to support and encourage volunteer participation in the care home sector, to offer quality-of-life services to service users. However, the role of volunteers must not be in place of full-time, professional paid care. The Welsh Government accepted this recommendation and provided more information about a recent pilot project, which sought to recruit volunteers to support safe visiting between residents and relatives during the pandemic. The committee is encouraged to learn that this initial pilot project's aims are to be broadened, and we'd be grateful if the Minister could agree to keep us updated on this.
Welsh: Clywodd y pwyllgor gan amrywiaeth o randdeiliaid ynghylch hygyrchedd ac ansawdd y ddarpariaeth cartrefi gofal, gan gynnwys tystiolaeth lafar gan Gomisiynydd Pobl Hŷn Cymru, Age Cymru, Fforwm Gofal Cymru, Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru, Cymdeithas Cyfarwyddwyr Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol, a Llywodraeth Cymru ei hun. Cafodd y pwyllgor gyflwyniadau ysgrifenedig hefyd gan amrywiaeth o fyrddau partneriaeth rhanbarthol, Coleg Nyrsio Brenhinol Cymru ac eraill, a diolch i bawb a gyfrannodd at yr ymchwiliad pwysig hwn. Er bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi derbyn y rhan fwyaf o'n hargymhellion, mae'r pwyllgor yn nodi bod ei hymateb i'w weld yn codi cwestiynau ynglŷn â'u dealltwriaeth o rai o'r materion, er bod y rhain wedi'u nodi'n glir yng nghyfraith gyfredol Cymru a'r canllawiau. Pryder, felly, yw'r ffaith bod yr ymateb yn arwydd o arafwch y broses o ddiwygio polisi yn y meysydd hynny ac yn benodol, arafwch y broses o weithredu Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) 2014. Argymhellwyd y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru ystyried lleisiau defnyddwyr gwasanaethau wrth ystyried diwygio polisi yn y maes, lle mae profiadau byw trigolion yn dystiolaeth hanfodol fel rhan o unrhyw broses ddiwygio. Dylai eu lleisiau fod yn ganolog i waith grŵp gorchwyl a gorffen Llywodraeth Cymru a'r grŵp annibynnol sy'n datblygu'r fframwaith cenedlaethol newydd ar gyfer gofal cymdeithasol a gwasanaeth gofal cenedlaethol. Derbyniodd Llywodraeth Cymru yr argymhelliad hwn gan nodi bod y grŵp arbenigol annibynnol yn cynnwys unigolion o ystod o gefndiroedd amrywiol. Clywodd y pwyllgor y dylai argymhellion y grŵp annibynnol fod wedi dod i law Gweinidogion ddiwedd Ebrill, ond bod oedi wedi bod. Nid yw'n eglur o ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru beth yw statws cyfredol gwaith y grŵp a phryd y bydd yn cyflwyno'i adroddiad. Felly, byddwn yn croesawu eglurder gan y Gweinidog ar hyn, o ystyried y rôl bwysig sydd gan y grŵp yn hyrwyddo diwygio polisi yn y maes hwn. Yn anffodus, nid yw'r naratif sy'n cyd-fynd â derbyn yr argymhellion hyn yn ddigon i gyflawni argymhelliad y pwyllgor a darpariaethau Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) ei hun, sy'n mandadu dull cydgynhyrchiol, ac rwy'n dyfynnu: 'Rhaid i unigolion a'u teuluoedd allu cymryd rhan lawn yn y broses o ddewis a chyflawni eu canlyniadau llesiant drwy broses sy'n hygyrch iddyn nhw.' Mae hyn yn wahanol i'r dull ymgynghorol a ddisgrifir yn ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru. Mae Sefydliad Gofal Cymdeithasol er Rhagoriaeth, er enghraifft, yn disgrifio cydgynhyrchu fel hyn 'Nid gair yn unig, nid cysyniad yn unig mohono, ond meddyliau'n dod ynghyd i ganfod ateb ar y cyd.' Fel y dywedant: 'Mae gwahaniaeth rhwng cydgynhyrchu a chymryd rhan: mae cymryd rhan yn golygu ymgynghori, tra bod cydgynhyrchu yn golygu bod yn bartneriaid cyfartal a chyd-grewyr.' Mae cydgynhyrchu gwasanaethau cyhoeddus go iawn gyda defnyddwyr a chymunedau yn ymwneud â darparu gwasanaethau iechyd, gwasanaethau cymdeithasol a gwasanaethau eraill yn well - yn yr achos hwn, i boblogaeth sy'n heneiddio. Nid yw'n ymwneud ag ymgynghori â rhanddeiliaid ar ôl i bolisi gael ei ddatblygu, ni waeth pwy oedd yn rhan o ddatblygu'r polisi hwnnw. Rwy'n gofyn am sicrwydd gan y Gweinidog ynglŷn â sut y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru'n sicrhau bod ei grŵp arbenigol yn cyrraedd y rhai y mae'n fwyaf perthnasol iddynt ac yn eu cynnwys yn y broses o greu a darparu gwasanaeth sy'n gweithio i bawb, nid dim ond ymgynghori â hwy wedyn. Mae'n destun pryder nad yw'n ymddangos bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn arwain ar y dull hwn, er gwaethaf bwriad darpariaethau cydgynhyrchu Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) 2014, y bûm yn gweithio gyda'r Dirprwy Weinidog ar y pryd, Gwenda Thomas, ar ei ddatblygu, ac yn fwyaf arbennig, nid yn unig y Ddeddf ei hun ond y codau ymarfer perthnasol, sy'n gwbl glir yn hyn o beth. Felly, rwy'n annog Llywodraeth Cymru i weithredu argymhelliad y pwyllgor yn ei holl waith yn y maes hwn yn y dyfodol ac i weithredu darpariaethau cydgynhyrchu diamwys y Ddeddf a'i chodau ymarfer. Daeth y pwyllgor i'r casgliad hefyd y dylid gwneud mwy i gefnogi ac annog cyfranogiad gwirfoddolwyr yn y sector cartrefi gofal, i gynnig gwasanaethau ansawdd bywyd i ddefnyddwyr gwasanaethau. Fodd bynnag, rhaid i rôl gwirfoddolwyr beidio â bodoli yn lle gofal cyflogedig proffesiynol, amser llawn. Derbyniodd Llywodraeth Cymru yr argymhelliad hwn a darparodd fwy o wybodaeth am brosiect peilot diweddar i geisio recriwtio gwirfoddolwyr i gefnogi darpariaethau ymweld diogel rhwng preswylwyr a pherthnasau yn ystod y pandemig. Caiff y pwyllgor ei galonogi o glywed bod nodau'r prosiect peilot cychwynnol hwn i'w hehangu, a byddem yn ddiolchgar pe bai'r Gweinidog yn gallu cytuno i barhau i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf ar hyn.