Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is urging Welsh Government to take immediate action to prevent library and leisure centre closures.
Mr Rowlands is a member of the Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee who recently reported that immediate funding was needed to secure the future of libraries and leisure centres.
He said:
Our latest report has found that libraries and leisure centres are facing huge financial pressures and need immediate funding to keep them running.
We all know of the huge benefits from both these services for people’s health and educational well being but with rising energy bills, inflation and historic budget cuts they are seriously under threat.
It is crucial that action is taken as soon as possible. In the Spring Budget the UK Government made a big financial commitment to support leisure centres and swimming pools in England and the Welsh Government should use the additional money they receive as a result to do the same in Wales.
The Committee heard evidence that the ‘social value’ of libraries for providing these services meant that, for every £1 spent, they could deliver £8.75 worth of value in preventing many of the problems that cost society – and the public purse - in other ways.
A Libraries Taskforce is recommended by the Committee as a way of ensuring that the benefit of libraries becomes more widely known, and that libraries themselves could learn from each other about the best way to run services. At present, there is no national body to lead public library development in Wales.
Swim Wales told the Committee that the average swimming lesson pre-COVID cost £6.50, but post-COVID this has ballooned to £12.50; which impacts on children from lower-income families and those living in more deprived areas particularly hard.
The Committee is also calling for the Welsh Government to do more to ensure that all primary schools are able to offer free swimming lessons to pupils so that children do not miss out.
Sam Rowlands AS eisiau gweld mwy o arian ar gael i gadw canolfannau hamdden a llyfrgelloedd ar agor
Mae Sam Rowlands, Aelod o’r Senedd dros Ogledd Cymru, yn annog Llywodraeth Cymru i weithredu ar unwaith i atal cau llyfrgelloedd a chanolfannau hamdden.
Mae Mr Rowlands yn aelod o Bwyllgor Llywodraeth Leol a Thai y Senedd a nododd yn ddiweddar bod angen cyllid ar unwaith i sicrhau dyfodol llyfrgelloedd a chanolfannau hamdden.
Meddai:
Mae’n hadroddiad diweddaraf wedi canfod bod llyfrgelloedd a chanolfannau hamdden yn wynebu pwysau ariannol enfawr ac angen cyllid ar unwaith i'w cadw ar agor.
Rydyn ni i gyd yn gwybod am fanteision enfawr y gwasanaethau hyn i iechyd pobl a’u llesiant addysgol, ond gyda’r cynnydd ym mhris biliau ynni, chwyddiant a thoriadau hanesyddol yn y gyllideb maen nhw dan fygythiad difrifol.
Mae'n hanfodol bod camau'n cael eu cymryd cyn gynted â phosib. Yng Nghyllideb y Gwanwyn gwnaeth Llywodraeth y DU ymrwymiad ariannol mawr i gefnogi canolfannau hamdden a phyllau nofio yn Lloegr a dylai Llywodraeth Cymru ddefnyddio'r arian ychwanegol maen nhw'n ei dderbyn yn sgil hynny i wneud yr un peth yng Nghymru.
Clywodd y Pwyllgor dystiolaeth bod 'gwerth cymdeithasol' llyfrgelloedd wrth ddarparu'r gwasanaethau hyn yn golygu, am bob £1 sy'n cael ei wario, y gallent ddarparu gwerth £8.75 o ffyrdd eraill i atal llawer o'r problemau sy’n wynebu cymdeithas - a'r pwrs cyhoeddus.
Argymhellir Tasglu Llyfrgelloedd gan y Pwyllgor fel ffordd o sicrhau bod pobl yn gwybod mwy am y budd y mae llyfrgelloedd yn ei gynnig, ac y gallai llyfrgelloedd eu hunain ddysgu gan ei gilydd o ran y ffordd orau o redeg gwasanaethau. Ar hyn o bryd, nid oes corff cenedlaethol i arwain datblygiad llyfrgelloedd cyhoeddus yng Nghymru.
Dywedodd Nofio Cymru wrth y Pwyllgor fod y wers nofio gyfartalog cyn COVID yn costio £6.50, ond ar ôl COVID mae hyn wedi cynyddu i £12.50; sy'n effeithio ar blant o deuluoedd incwm is a'r rhai sy'n byw mewn ardaloedd mwy difreintiedig yn arbennig.
Mae'r Pwyllgor hefyd yn galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i wneud mwy i sicrhau bod pob ysgol gynradd yn gallu cynnig gwersi nofio am ddim i ddisgyblion fel nad yw plant yn colli cyfle.
