Plaid yn datgelu methiannau Canolfan Byd Gwaith yng ngogledd Cymru - Jobcentre Plus failings in north Wales revealed by Plaid

Mae mwy na £275,000 wedi ei dalu i hawlwyr gan Canolfan Byd Gwith mewn taliadau am fethiannau yn ei gwasanaeth ar draws Cymru dros y ddwy flynedd a hanner diwethaf, gyda gogledd Cymru’n gyfrifol am elfen helaeth o hynny yn ôl ffigurau a roddwyd i Blaid Cymru.
Gwnaed y taliadau oherwydd i bobl golli budd-daliadau yn dilyn camgymeriadau, camweinyddiaeth, oedi, anghyfleustra difrifol, achosi cywilydd neu drallod difrifol.

Yn y flwyddyn ariannol 2007-08 roedd y cyfanswm a dalwyd allan yng Nghymru yn £104,537. Cododd hynny i £118,271 yn 2008-09 ac roedd yn £52,718 yn chwe mis cyntaf 2009-10. Mae’r ffigurau diweddaraf hyn yn datgelu bod gogledd Cymru’n gyfrifol am bron i hanner y cyfanswm.

Yn 2007-08 a 2008-09 cael hawl i fudd-daliadau oedd ar frig y rhestr o gwynion, yn cynrychioli 32% o’r holl gwynion yn 2007-08 a 35% yn 2008-09.

Yn ôl Canolfan Byd Gwaith, tra bod nifer y staff yng Nghymru wedi cynyddu o 4,562 i 5,398, roedd y nifer oedd yn hawlio eu bod yn ddiwaith wedi saethu fyny o 45,419 yn Ionawr 2007 i 78,234 yn Hydref 2009.

Dywedodd Phil Edwards, Ymgeisydd seneddol Plaid Cymru dros Aberconwy:

“Tra bod cynnydd wedi bod yn staff Canolfan Byd Gwaith, mae llawer o’r gweithwyr newydd ar gytundebau tymor penodol. Mae’n rhaid mesur hyn yn erbyn cau canolfannau gwaith, megis yn Llanrwst, a’r posibilrwydd o doriadau pellach yn y dyfodol. Mae’r gweithwyr o dan bwysau wrth i’w niferoedd parhaol leihau ac wrth i safleoedd gau ar draws y gogledd.

“Mae’n debyg bod symudiadau ar droed o fewn yr Adran Waith a Phensiynau (DWP) i drosglwyddo staff allan o ganolfannau gwaith i ganolfannau galw mewn ymdrech i wneud i bobl gysylltu â nhw ar y ffôn neu ar y wê. Ond yn amlwg mae’n well gan nifer fawr o bobl wneud cyswllt wyneb yn wyneb mewn amgylchiadau fel hyn, ac mae’r fath ddatblygiad yn annerbyniol.”

Nododd ymgeisydd seneddol y blaid dros Orllewin Clwyd Llyr Huws Gruffydd bod hysbysebion wedi ymddangos am weithwyr clreigol, ond nad oedd hynny o reidrwydd y newyddion da a ymddangosai:

“Mae nhw mewn gwirionedd yn dad-sgilio gwaith ac arbenigeddau mewn meysydd penodol gan ddisgwyl i weithwyr ddelio efo pob math o ymholiadau. Rydym wedi gweld bod disgwyl i staff mewn canolfannau galw masnachol gael pobl oddi ar y linell ffôn mor sydyn a phosib. Dydi hyn ddim yn awyrgylch addas i ddelio â materion cyflogaeth a diweithdra.

“Rwy‘n gofidio y byddai unrhyw doriadau mewn staff yn arwain nid yn unig at golli swyddi ond hefyd at fwy o hawliadau yn erbyn Canolfan byd Gwaith. Mae’n rhaid i’r rheolwyr ystyried yn ofalus holl oblygiadau unrhyw benderfyniad i leihau gwasanaethau a fydd yn effeithio’r cyhoedd.”

Ychwanegodd Phil Edwards:

“Ddylem ni ddim anghofio am funud bod hyn oll yn digwydd yn ystod dirwasgiad, a phan fod ein Llywodraeth Cymru’n Un yn gwneud pob ymdrech i amddiffyn gweithwyr trwy gynlluniau megis ProAct a ReAct.”

“Mae’n ymddangos o’r ffigurau yma bod toriadau swyddi yn yr Adran Waith a Phensiynau’n amlwg yn cael effaith ar ansawdd y gwasanaeth y mae staff sydd eisoes o dan bwysau yn medru ei roi.”

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More than £275,000 has been handed to claimants by Jobcentre Plus in payments for failings in its service across Wales over the last two-and-a-half years, and the north of Wales features prominently in figures obtained by Plaid Cymru.

The pay-outs cover loss of benefit due to benefit errors, maladministration, delay, gross inconvenience and embarrassment and severe distress.

In the 2007-08 financial year the total paid out in Wales was £104,537. That rose to £118,271 in 2008-09 and was £52,718 in the first six months of 2009-10. These latest figures reveal that the north and mid Wales region accounts for almost 50% of the total.

Both in 2007-08 and 2008-09 benefit entitlement was the top area of complaint, representing 32 per cent of all complaints in 2007-08 and 35 per cent in 2008-09.

According to Jobcentre Plus, while the number of staff in Wales have increased from 4,562 to 5,398, unemployment claimants have rocketed from 45,419 in January 2007 to 78,234 in October 2009.

Phil Edwards, Plaid’s Westminster candidate for Aberconwy, said:

“While there has been an increase in Jobcentre Plus staff, many of the new staff are employed on a fixed term basis. This has to be measured against job centre closures, such as Llanrwst, and the possibility of further cuts in the future. Staff are under pressure as their permanent numbers are reduced and sites closed across the north.

“There are apparently moves within the DWP to transfer staff out of job centres into call centres in an attempt to make people deal with issues by telephone or the internet. Quite clearly, there are many people who prefer face to face contact in these circumstances, irrespective of whether they have internet access, and I regard this development as unacceptable.”

Plaid’s Clwyd West candidate Llyr Huws Gruffydd pointed out that whilst there were advertisements for clerical staff at the moment, this was not the good news it seemed:

“They are, in fact, de-skilling work and specialists in certain areas of work will be expected to deal with all types of queries. We’ve seen in commercial call centres that staff are expected to get people off the line as quickly as possible, and that is not the right atmosphere for dealing with employment and unemployment matters.

“I am concerned that any cuts in staff will not only lead to a loss of jobs but also an increase in claims against Jobcentre Plus. Management need to think carefully about the impact of any decision to reduce services which will affect the public.”

Phil Edwards added:

“We should not forget for a moment that all this is happening during a recession, and when our One Wales Government is making strenuous efforts to protect workers through schemes like ProAct and ReAct.

“It seems from these figures that job cuts in the DWP are clearly having an impact on the quality of service which hard-pressed staff are struggling to provide.”

DIWEDD / ENDS

Nodiadau / Notes:

Special Payments: 2007-08
Wales: £104,537 (387 one-off payments)

North/Mid Wales: £29,911

SE Wales: £8,780

South Wales Valleys: £44,618

South West Wales: £20,709

Others: £517

Special Payments: 2008-09
Wales: £118,271 (441 one-off payments)

North/Mid Wales: £39,553

SE Wales: £9,303

South Wales Valleys: £40,078

South West Wales: £24,378

Others: £4,957
Special Payments: 2009-10 (April 1-September 30, 2009

Wales: £52,718 (174 one-off payments)

North/Mid Wales: £24,684

SE Wales: £6,025

South Wales Valleys: £13,850

South West Wales: £6,994

Others: £1,163
REGIONS

North and Mid Wales Includes Bangor, Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Rhyl

South East Wales includes Cardiff, Barry, Penarth, Newport, Cwmbran

South Wales Valleys includes Aberdare, Bargoed, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Llantrisant, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Tonypandy, Treorchy

South West Wales includes Aberystwyth, Llanelli, Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen, Port Talbot