English: Can I begin by thanking the committee for conducting this inquiry? I think it's a very valuable examination of progress and obstacles identified to date. As Members in the Swansea bay city region will know, we've had an absolute devil of a time trying to get the shadow board to meet with us for a briefing session on progress. I tend to agree with Jenny and Vikki Howells, bearing in mind the comments made about transparency in this report; it's worth all city deal leaders remembering that they can only gain from engagement with all parties collectively. Being open and candid with us now, particularly with those of us who will be interested in scrutinising this as it goes along, can only be of help in building trust. I was struck by the report's findings on the opacity of the governance structures generally. As a relative newcomer to the world of these deals, I would have hoped to see some evidence of the Welsh bodies learning lessons from those who have gone before. I have no problem at all with each deal and its structures being different. Attempts at unified approaches in the name of consistency or an all-Wales identity have seen many a promising policy flounder in delivery as the best local outcome has been sacrificed on the altar of homogenous processes. Even so, some or maybe all of these deals, as they stand now, have really tested the conclusion that I've drawn over my years as an Assembly Member. In terms of accountability and contrary to received wisdom, I've often found it easier to get answers from arm's length bodies - separate, independent bodies, anyway - than I have from Government itself, and so far, these deals don't fit that conclusion. So, I'm pleased to see that recommendations 2, 3, 6 and 8 all speak to scrutiny, understanding, assessment and monitoring, not in a way that is about ensuring that boards stick to a Government-determined process, but in a way that allows us to see clearly what a board is hoping to achieve, and that their chosen way of getting there is effective and fair. And I think that's going to be especially important when these deals are approaching their fifth anniversary. Knowing what good enough progress against agreed key performance indicators looks like at this milestone has to be a priority, I think. The risk of central Government funding, from both sides, not being forthcoming at this five-year point could be high, and it worries me that almost a fifth of the time, at least in the case of Swansea bay, has slipped by and we haven't even pinned down the governance structure. The gateway assessment phase has 'political football' written all over it if progress is dilatory, and I for one would rather be singing the praises about how the lives of my constituents are starting to improve as a result of economic growth, than kicking that ball around in the predictable and traditional blame game. There are two findings I'd particularly like to look at, as they're especially relevant to my region, and they're touched upon in a number of recommendations, and the first is the alignment - I'm a bit worried about the word 'alignment', but let's use that - with Welsh and UK strategies. I start from the point that the intrinsic autonomy of these deals offers the chance to actually outstrip these various strategies in terms of outcomes, but there is little sense in working at complete cross purposes and ending up in a spaghetti bowl of competing initiatives. The Valleys taskforce, for example, needs to be in harmony but not necessarily clamped to the city deals in terms of vision and mutual leverage. I think the structures embodied in the future generations Act could facilitate some common objectives, or they could be more spaghetti in a bowl; I really don't know. But where I think the Act's influence must come to bear is on bringing some flexibility on this issue of well-being being an outcome of the deal, as well as GDP, because the latter really is not of huge significance if it doesn't actually improve the former. I'd also like to see, as a core ambition, a demonstrable move towards co-production, where the beneficiaries of economic growth, namely our constituents, are active participants in the process. It's a real opportunity for a better balanced approach to achieving common goals. Secondly and finally, recommendation 10. I also urge you, Cabinet Secretary, to reconsider your view on this. The harmony of vision is not about markers on maps, and I'm really concerned that the boundary between these two city deals runs right through South Wales West with an artificiality that clashes with local identity and local potential workflow. And the worry is not that Bridgend will get the best of both worlds but that it will benefit from neither, at the same time as the council carrying financial risk of failure to get past the gateway assessment. By all means suggest mechanisms to protect from abuse of accountability, Cabinet Secretary, but please let the deals take responsibility for managing fuzzy boundaries instead of obliging them to bang their heads on solid walls. Thank you.
Welsh: A gaf fi ddechrau drwy ddiolch i'r pwyllgor am gynnal yr ymchwiliad hwn? Rwy'n credu ei fod yn archwiliad gwerthfawr iawn o'r cynnydd a'r rhwystrau a nodwyd hyd yma. Fel y bydd Aelodau yn ninas-ranbarth bae Abertawe yn gwybod, rydym wedi cael amser ofnadwy yn ceisio cael y bwrdd cysgodol i gyfarfod â ni mewn sesiwn friffio ar y cynnydd a wnaed. Tueddaf i gytuno gyda Jenny a Vikki Howells, gan gadw mewn cof y sylwadau a wnaed am dryloywder yn yr adroddiad hwn; mae'n werth i'r holl arweinwyr bargeinion dinesig gofio mai elwa'n unig a wnânt o ymgysylltu â'r holl bartïon ar y cyd. Bydd bod yn agored ac yn onest gyda ni yn awr, yn enwedig gyda'r rhai ohonom a fydd â diddordeb mewn craffu ar hyn wrth iddo fynd rhagddo, yn help i adeiladu ymddiriedaeth. Cefais fy nharo gan ganfyddiadau'r adroddiad ar anhryloywder y strwythurau llywodraethu yn gyffredinol. Fel rhywun sy'n gymharol newydd i fyd y bargeinion hyn, buaswn wedi gobeithio gweld rhywfaint o dystiolaeth o gyrff Cymru'n dysgu gwersi gan y rhai a aeth o'u blaenau. Nid yw'r ffaith fod pob bargen â strwythurau gwahanol yn broblem i mi o gwbl. Mae ymdrechion i sicrhau dulliau unedig yn enw cysondeb neu hunaniaeth Cymru gyfan wedi arwain at fethiant sawl polisi addawol wrth iddo gael ei gyflawni ac wrth i ganlyniadau gorau yn lleol gael eu haberthu ar allor prosesau unffurf. Er hynny, mae rhai, neu efallai bob un o'r bargeinion hyn fel y maent yn awr wedi profi'r casgliad y deuthum iddo dros fy mlynyddoedd fel Aelod Cynulliad. O ran atebolrwydd ac yn groes i'r ddoethineb gyffredin, rwy'n aml wedi'i chael hi'n haws cael atebion gan gyrff hyd braich - cyrff annibynnol ar wahân, beth bynnag - na chan y Llywodraeth ei hun, a hyd yma, nid yw'r bargeinion hyn yn cyd-fynd â'r casgliad hwnnw. Felly, rwy'n falch o weld bod argymhellion 2, 3, 6 ac 8 yn trafod craffu, deall, asesu a monitro, nid mewn ffordd sy'n ymwneud â sicrhau bod byrddau'n cadw at broses a bennir gan Lywodraeth, ond mewn ffordd sy'n ein galluogi i weld yn glir beth y mae bwrdd yn gobeithio ei gyflawni, a bod y ffordd a ddewisant o gyrraedd yno yn effeithiol a theg. Ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n mynd i fod yn arbennig o bwysig pan fydd y bargeinion hyn yn nesu at eu pumed pen-blwydd. Mae gwybod sut beth yw cynnydd digon da yn erbyn dangosyddion perfformiad allweddol y cytunwyd arnynt ar y garreg filltir hon yn gorfod bod yn flaenoriaeth, rwy'n credu. Gallai'r risg na fydd arian yn dod gan y Llywodraeth ganolog, o'r ddwy ochr, ar y pwynt pum mlynedd hwn fod yn uchel, ac mae'n peri pryder i mi fod bron un rhan o bump o'r amser, yn achos bae Abertawe o leiaf, wedi llithro heibio ac nid ydym wedi sefydlu strwythur llywodraethu hyd yn oed. Mae 'pêl-droed wleidyddol' wedi ei ysgrifennu ar hyd cyfnod yr asesiad porth os yw'r cynnydd yn araf, a byddai'n well gennyf fi, yn sicr, fod yn canmol y ffordd y mae bywydau fy etholwyr yn dechrau gwella o ganlyniad i dwf economaidd, na chicio'r bêl honno o gwmpas mewn gêm ystrydebol a thraddodiadol o fwrw bai. Ceir dau ganfyddiad yr hoffwn edrych arnynt yn benodol, gan eu bod yn arbennig o berthnasol i fy rhanbarth i, ac maent yn cael eu crybwyll mewn nifer o argymhellion, a'r cyntaf yw aliniad - rwy'n poeni braidd am y gair 'alinio', ond gadewch i ni ddefnyddio hwnnw - gyda strategaethau Cymru a'r DU. Rwy'n dechrau o'r pwynt fod ymreolaeth gynhenid y bargeinion hyn yn cynnig cyfle i ragori ar y strategaethau amrywiol hyn o ran canlyniadau mewn gwirionedd, ond nid oes fawr o synnwyr mewn gweithio ar ddibenion cwbl groes i'w gilydd a glanio mewn powlen sbageti o fentrau sy'n cystadlu. Mae angen i dasglu'r Cymoedd, er enghraifft, fod mewn cytgord ond nid o reidrwydd wedi'i glymu'n sownd wrth y bargeinion dinesig o ran gweledigaeth a throsoledd cydfuddiannol. Credaf y gallai'r strwythurau a ymgorfforir yn Neddf cenedlaethau'r dyfodol hwyluso rhai amcanion cyffredin, neu gallent fod yn fwy o sbageti mewn powlen; nid wyf yn gwybod. Ond credaf fod yn rhaid i'r Ddeddf ddylanwadu ar greu rhywfaint o hyblygrwydd o ran llesiant fel canlyniad i'r fargen, yn ogystal â chynnyrch domestig gros, oherwydd nid yw'r olaf o bwys enfawr mewn gwirionedd os nad yw'n gwella'r cyntaf. Hefyd, hoffwn weld, fel uchelgais craidd, symudiad amlwg tuag at gydgynhyrchu, lle mae buddiolwyr twf economaidd, sef ein hetholwyr, yn cymryd rhan weithredol yn y broses. Mae'n gyfle gwirioneddol i sicrhau ymagwedd fwy cytbwys tuag at gyflawni nodau cyffredin. Yn ail ac yn olaf, argymhelliad 10. Rwyf innau yn eich annog hefyd, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, i ailystyried eich safbwynt ar hyn. Nid yw cytgord gweledigaeth yn ymwneud â marcwyr ar fapiau, ac rwy'n wirioneddol bryderus fod y ffin rhwng y ddwy fargen ddinesig yn rhedeg drwy ganol Gorllewin De Cymru mewn modd artiffisial sy'n gwrthdaro yn erbyn hunaniaeth leol a llif gwaith posibl yn lleol. Ac nid y gofid yw y bydd Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr yn cael y gorau o ddau fyd, ond na fydd yn elwa o'r naill na'r llall, ar yr un pryd ag y bydd y cyngor yn ysgwyddo risg ariannol o fethiant i gyrraedd heibio i'r asesiad porth. Ar bob cyfrif awgrymwch systemau i ddiogelu rhag diffyg atebolrwydd, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, ond gadewch i'r bargeinion fabwysiadu cyfrifoldeb dros reoli ffiniau aneglur yn hytrach na mynnu eu bod yn taro eu pennau ar waliau solet. Diolch i chi.