Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, said:

 ”Incredibly sad news – my thoughts go out to the families of those workers. It demonstrates that towns like Pencoed and Bridgend are not safe from the ongoing crisis in banking.
 
“We’ve yet to hear from Lloyd’s, but I am hoping to ask an urgent question on the issue during First Minister’s questions next week. Only a few days ago, I was in the town centre of Bridgend, hearing from shop owners how economically tough it remains for them. This closure will only put further pressure on them and the wider community.
 
“I’ve said before that we have to be cautious rather than welcome large, supposedly blue chip companies to Wales. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ is a mentality all too prevalent in Wales. Yet these companies can come and go as they see fit. We have to remember we want businesses that will commit to a responsibility to the Welsh communities from where they draw their workforces.”

‘ I have received a letter from the Business Minister today which says that the company are providing staff the opportunity for jobs at the Cardiff, Swansea and Newport bases. I hope that staff will be supported through this process.  I am also seeking a meeting with Lloyd’s to discuss this matter.’

Ddoe  yn ystod cwestiynnau i’r Prif Weinidog fe wnaeth Carwyn Jones rhoi’r gorau i frwydro dros ddyfodol darlledu Cymru. Dywedodd wrth Aelodau’r Cynulliad na fyddai Llywodraeth y DU yn roi cyllid ar gyfer system ddarlledu ddatganoledig, yna cyfaddefodd yn ddiweddarach ei fod yn erbyn datganoli darlledu beth bynnag.

Felly, i bob pwrpas, mae Carwyn Jones wedi hwyluso parhad rheolaeth ein cyfryngau gan Dorïaidd dan arweiniad Llywodraeth y DU nad sydd a ddiddordeb o gwbl yng Ngymru na chwaith mewn diogelu swyddi yn y sector penodol yma. Does ond angen edrych ar yr hyn sy’n digwydd gyda dyfodol S4C a’r ddogfen a ddatgelwyd yn ymwneud â’r toriadau arfaethedig yn y BBC Cymru, i ddeall na ddylai’r sefyllfa hon cael ei drin ysgafn, a bod angen i ni gymryd ein neges yn glir i San Steffan am ein pryder ynglŷn â dyfodol y cyfryngau yng Nghymru.

Os oedd Cameron neu Jeremy Hunt wedi gwylio ein Prif Weinidog yn ystod y sesiwn holi ddoe, bydden nhw’n iawn i feddwl bod y Prif Weinidog yn ymddangos  fel ei bod wedi rhoi’r ffidil yn  y to cyn i’r frwydr dechrau hyd yn oed. Yr wythnos diwethaf dywedodd Carwyn Jones i’r cyhoedd y byddai’n ysgrifennu i Lywodraeth y DU am y cynlluniau sy’n peri pryder o fewn y BBC, a ymddangosodd mewn dogfen a ddatgelwyd yn y Western Mail, ac rwy’n aros yn eiddgar am ei ymateb.

A wnaeth Carwyn codi’r mater yn y Cyd-Bwyllgor Gweinidogol yn Llundain ddoe, tybed? Mae’n cyfaddef ei bod am weld rhaglennu o safon yng Nghymru, ond ar yr un pryd, maen’ benderfynol o danseilio Plaid Cymru am geisio gwthio i ddatganoli darlledu. Am y record, nid wyf yn credu ein bod ni erioed wedi galw iddo gael ei ddatganoli heb ffrwd ariannol- rhywbeth mae’r Prif Weinidiog wedi cyfeirio ato ar fwy nag un achlysur.

Pan drafodwyd datganoli’r system o bobl ifanc yn y system troseddol yn y Cynulliad diwethaf ar y Pwyllgor Cymunedau a Diwylliant, (yr oedd yn un o ymrwymiadau Llywodraeth Cymru’n Un) ni trafodwyd datganoli cyfrifoldeb heb cydnabyddiaeth glir o’r angen am gyllid i ddilyn ar gyfer datblygiadau megis adeiladau diogel newydd neu canolfannau adferol. Oni fyddai yn gyfrifoldeb i Weinidog negodi cytundebau o’r fath gyda’r Trysorlys, ac i sicrhau bod gan Gymru lais cryf wrth benderfynu sut y byddai dyfodol cyfrifoldeb datganoledig yn gweithio yn ymarferol, a sut y byddai’n cael ei gweithredu? Yn amlwg, heb bwysau o’r gwrthbleidiau, bydd Carwyn Jones yn digon fodlon i eistedd ar ymylon trafodaethau, tra bod arweinwyr y Cenhedloedd datganoledig eraill yn gwneud eu hachos yn glir am ddyfodol setliad eu cenhedloedd eu hun.

Ac felly mae’r BBC yn dweud wrthaf fod y dogfennau a ddatgelwyd yn drafftiau cyntaf yn unig, a bod rhaid i’r holl opsiynau cael eu hystyried os ydyw arbedion i ddigwydd. Mae’n ymddangos nad oedd unrhyw ‘red lines‘, a’r briff oedd, mae unrhyw beth yn bosib, neu, dylai unrhywbeth cael eu hystyried o ran toriadau-gan gynnwys diswyddiadau gorfodol i staff. Pa mor gadarnhaol mae nhw’n teimlo ar hyn o bryd?!

Deallaf y bydd argymhellion yr arbedion yn cael ei roi i Ymddiriedolaeth y BBC, y bydd yr Ymddiriedolaeth wedyn yn trafod ac yn digwygio’r newidiadau. Bydd hyn wedyn yn arwain at ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus yn yr Hydref. Byddai rhai yn dadlau bod yr ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus yn rhy hwyr-bod ffurf a natur y toriadau  mwy neu lai yn cael ei benderfynnu erbyn hynny. Byddai eraill yn anghytuno, gan ddweud ei fod yn ymgynghoriad agored ac atebol. Amser a ddengys, ond beth bynnag sy’n digwydd, mae’n ymddangos bod arbedion / toriadau ar y gweill. Bydd hyn yn cael effaith anochel ar raglennu a swyddi yn y BBC yng Nghymru.

Cawn weld beth fydd gan Carwyn i ddweud yr wythnos nesaf. A fydd e’n sylweddoli bod  sefyll i fyny dros Gymru yn cymryd mwy nag un daith i Lundain ac yn ôl?

Yesterday’s First Minister’s questions saw Carwyn Jones give up on the future of Welsh Broadcasting. He told AMs that the UK Government would never give us the funding for a devolved broadcasting system, then later admitted that he did not want broadcasting to be devolved anyway.

So, effectively, Carwyn Jones has facilitated the continuation of the oversight of our media by a UK Tory-led Government that has no interest at all in protecting Welsh jobs in this sector. We only need to look at what is happening with the future of S4/C and the leaked document relating to the proposed cuts in BBC Wales to know that this situation should not be dealt with lightly, and that we need to take our message loud and clear to Westminster about our concern regarding the future of media in Wales.

If Cameron or Jeremy Hunt bothered to watch our First Minister’s questions yesterday, they would be right in thinking that he appears to have given up before the fight has even started. Last week Carwyn Jones told the public that he would write to the UK Government about the worrying plans within the BBC, which appeared in a leaked document in the Western Mail, and I’m eagerly awaiting a response.

Did he raise it at the Joint Ministerial Committee that he attended yesterday in London, I wonder? He admits that he wants to see quality programming in Wales, but in the same breath, he bashes Plaid for seeking to push to devolve broadcasting. And for the record, I don’t think we have ever called for it to be devolved devoid of funding streams, as the Fist Minister has alluded to now on more than one occasion.

When we discussed devolving the youth secure estate to Wales in the previous Assembly, on the Communities and Culture Committee ( it was a One Wales Government commitment, too), we did not discuss devolving the responsibility without a clear recognition of the need for funding to follow this for developments such as new secure buildings or rehabilitation centres. Surely it would be the responsibility of a Minister to be allocated the role of negotiating such deals with the Treasury, and to ensure that Wales has a strong voice in determining how a future devolved responsibility would work in practise, and how it would be driven?  Clearly, without pressure from opposition parties, Carwyn Jones will be content with sitting on the sidelines while the leaders of the other devolved Nations make their case loud and clear on the future settlements of their nations.

And so the BBC tell me that the leaked documents that we saw were merely first drafts and that all options must be considered if savings are to be made. It seems that there were no red lines, and that the brief was: anything is possible – or anything should be considered in terms of cuts, including compulsory redundancies to staff. How positive they must feel at this moment in time?

I understand that recommendations of savings will be given to the BBC Trust, that the Trust will then discuss and amend as it sees fit, and this will then be followed by a public consultation in the Autumn. Some will argue that by the time it gets to the public consultation stage it will be too late, and that the shape and nature of the cuts will be more or less decided upon. Others would disagree, and say that this will be an open and accountable consultation. Time will tell, but whatever happens it seems that savings/cuts will definitely have to be made, and this will have an inevitable knock on affect on programming and jobs at the BBC in Wales.

Let’s see what Carwyn has to say for himself next week, and whether or not he will realise that standing up for Wales will take more than one trip down to London and back.