Diolch, Llywydd, ac mae’n bleser mawr gen i gyflwyno’r gwelliannau yma yn ffurfiol heddiw i ddechrau ein trafodion ni ar Gyfnod 3 Bil iechyd y cyhoedd. Rydym ni wedi bod yma o’r blaen, wrth gwrs. Ond, wrth i’r Bil gyrraedd y cyfnod yma y tro diwethaf, ac wrth iddo fo gael ei ailgyflwyno yn y Cynulliad yma, nid oedd yna ddim cyfeiriad ynddo fo at y brif broblem iechyd gyhoeddus, o bosibl, rydym ni yn ei hwynebu fel cenedl. Rŵan, mae yna gyfle, drwy ein gwelliannau ni, i newid hynny, i roi taclo gordewdra ar wyneb y Bil yma, ac i sicrhau bod strategaeth yn cael ei pharatoi, a’i gweithredu, i fynd i’r afael â’r argyfwng yma, achos mae o yn argyfwng.

Rydw i’n ddiolchgar am y gefnogaeth eang sydd wedi ei dangos i’r gwelliannau heddiw. Rydw i’n ddiolchgar i Cancer Research UK, er enghraifft, sydd, rydw i’n gwybod, wedi bod yn annog Aelodau’r Cynulliad i gefnogi’r gwelliant yma. Mae’r cyswllt rhwng gordewdra a chanser yn glir, medden nhw, ond mae yna ormod o bobl sydd ddim yn sylweddoli hynny. Hefo eu ffigurau nhw’n dangos bod 59 y cant o oedolion Cymru dros eu pwysau yn 2015, a thros chwarter o blant Cymru dros eu pwysau neu’n ordew, mae Cancer Research UK yn argyhoeddedig y bydd cael strategaeth genedlaethol yn fodd i ddechrau mynd i’r afael â’r sefyllfa yma.

I am delighted to be tabling the amendments today, in the context of having had positive discussions with Government on this, the most acute, perhaps, of public health problems facing us in Wales. And I am grateful to the Minister for agreeing with me that this is the place, on the face of this Bill, to put measures in place to try to address this national crisis.

This is a matter that I feel very strongly about personally. But there’s one man in my constituency who has been very influential in strengthening my resolve to ensure the Assembly, and Welsh Government, take action in this area. Ray Williams was the featherweight weightlifting gold medallist for Wales at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, but he’s still very much a champion—a champion of getting his town of Holyhead, getting Anglesey, and our nation, fitter and healthier. I spoke with Ray this morning and he is delighted that we are now in a position where, today, hopefully, we can win Assembly support for this vital amendment where what he sees as something that has blighted our nation’s well-being for decades is now going to be the focus of a clear Government strategy. Get the strategy right and he believes that not only can we be a healthier and a fitter nation, but a happier one too—and it’ll save money, he says. And he’s right, of course. Cancer Research UK estimates that obesity costs the NHS £73 million a year. When you add to that illnesses like diabetes type 2, largely caused by obesity, then the figure rises to hundreds of millions of pounds annually.

Now, with the amendments, hopefully, passed and the Bill enacted, then the work begins, of course, of making sure that there is a strong, a focused, ambitious, and deliverable strategy. Ray—I know—and many like him will only be too pleased to contribute to the formulation of that strategy. It is in the interests of all of us here, all of us in Wales, but first I ask you to support our amendments today.