English: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement today. Today's decision to reject the Circuit of Wales will clearly be disappointing to the people of Blaenau Gwent. It is, I think, incredibly disappointing that it has taken six years and in excess of £9 million of public money for the Cabinet Secretary to reject this project, which of course could have been as significant an investment in the south Wales Valleys as has ever been seen. And, of course, it would have been transformational for the region and an investment of that scale would have signalled, most certainly, that Wales is open for business, providing investment in an area of Wales that desperately requires inward investment. It is therefore, of course, a huge blow for the region. What is confusing is the disconnect, I think, between the Cabinet Secretary's statement and evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee by a senior civil servant in the department who claimed that the money spent to date on the Circuit of Wales had represented good value for money and provided a significant project that is ready for delivery. You can't both be right in that regard, so can I ask you for your views on that in particular? Second, in your statement you suggest that there is a risk that the full debt of the entire project would be classified against Welsh Government capital spending, but advice that has been received from the firm whose job it is to advise on the balance sheet has suggested that it would be a package of funding that was underpinned by a new sort of risk-based support, in the form of a Government guarantee. So, what I would ask is that - . And that there would be no additional borrowing to the Government. So, I would be grateful for some comments on that. My understanding was that the project would be classified to private sector because the Welsh Government would not have enough influence over the Circuit of Wales to call it a public body, and would not be providing enough financial support so that it becomes publicly funded, because total public sector support would have made up about 50 per cent of the overall funding. So, I would therefore be grateful if you could explore in more detail why the Treasury and ONS came to a different conclusion and suggested it would be classified against Welsh Government capital spending. Can I ask what intention does the Welsh Government have to claw back the funding that has been invested in companies directly associated with the holding company? The project estimated that there would be the creation of 6,000 full-time jobs, in areas ranging from research and development to hospitality, with a further 3,000 construction jobs. Can I ask why you feel that the assessment was so wide off the mark? What is your assessment of the consequences that the rejection will have on the confidence that private investors have in investing in Wales in general in the future? I'll give one example here: the Welsh Government has previously announced that the next TVR series will be built in Wales, and the Welsh site was expected to be announced imminently. Given that this had been planned to be the centrepiece manufacturing site in the Circuit of Wales development, can you confirm that today's announcement will not affect that? The reason I ask that is that a TVR spokesperson is now refusing to confirm that this car will be built in Wales at all. So, can you confirm that the project will go ahead here in Wales, and will you confirm what talks you've had with TVR about locating them here in the new automotive development that you announced today? I do have to say that this decision will - I hope not, but I think it will possibly threaten inward investment opportunities and potentially destroy confidence in the Welsh economy. I hope that is shown to be wrong.
Welsh: Diolch i chi, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, am eich datganiad heddiw. Bydd penderfyniad heddiw i wrthod Cylchdaith Cymru yn siomi pobl Blaenau Gwent, mae'n amlwg. Peth hynod siomedig, yn fy marn i, yw ei bod wedi cymryd chwe blynedd a mwy na £9 miliwn o arian cyhoeddus i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet wrthod y prosiect hwn, a allasai, wrth gwrs, fod yn un o'r buddsoddiadau mwyaf arwyddocaol yng Nghymoedd y de ag a welwyd erioed. Ac, wrth gwrs, byddai wedi bod yn drawsnewidiol ar gyfer y rhanbarth. Yn sicr, byddai buddsoddiad ar y raddfa honno wedi datgan bod Cymru ar agor i fusnes, gan fuddsoddi mewn ardal o Gymru lle mae'r angen yn fawr am fewnfuddsoddiad. Felly mae hyn, wrth gwrs, yn ergyd ofnadwy i'r rhanbarth. Yr hyn sy'n ddryslyd yw'r datgysylltu, yn fy marn i, rhwng datganiad Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet a'r dystiolaeth a roddwyd i'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus gan uwch was sifil yn yr adran oedd yn honni bod yr arian a wariwyd hyd yma ar Gylchdaith Cymru wedi cynrychioli gwerth da am arian ac yn golygu prosiect sylweddol sy'n barod i'w gyflwyno. Ni all y ddau ohonoch chi fod yn gywir yn hynny o beth, felly a gaf i ofyn i chi am eich barn ar hynny yn benodol? Yn ail, yn eich datganiad rydych yn awgrymu bod yna risg y byddai dyled lawn y prosiect cyfan yn cael ei dosbarthu yn erbyn gwariant cyfalaf Llywodraeth Cymru. Ond mae cyngor a gafwyd gan y cwmni sydd â swyddogaeth i roi cyngor ar y fantolen wedi awgrymu mai pecyn o arian fyddai hwn wedi ei ategu gan ryw fath newydd o gymorth yn seiliedig ar risg, ar ffurf gwarant gan y Llywodraeth. Felly, yr hyn y byddwn i yn ei ofyn yw - . Ac na fyddai unrhyw fenthyca ychwanegol o du'r Llywodraeth. Felly, byddwn yn ddiolchgar am rai sylwadau ar hynny. Fy nealltwriaeth i oedd y byddai'r prosiect yn cael ei ddosbarthu i'r sector preifat oherwydd na fyddai gan Lywodraeth Cymru ddigon o ddylanwad dros Gylchdaith Cymru i'w alw yn gorff cyhoeddus, ac na fyddai'n rhoi digon o gefnogaeth ariannol iddo fod wedi ei ariannu'n gyhoeddus, oherwydd byddai cyfanswm cefnogaeth y sector cyhoeddus wedi cynnwys tua 50 y cant o'r cyllid cyffredinol. Felly, byddwn i'n ddiolchgar pe gallech roi rhagor o fanylion am y rheswm pam y daeth y Trysorlys a'r Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol i gasgliad gwahanol ac awgrymu y byddai'n cael ei ddosbarthu yn erbyn gwariant cyfalaf Llywodraeth Cymru. A gaf i ofyn pa fwriad sydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru i adennill yr arian sydd wedi ei fuddsoddi mewn cwmnïau sydd wedi eu cysylltu yn uniongyrchol â'r cwmni daliannol? Roedd y prosiect yn amcangyfrif y byddai 6,000 o swyddi llaw amser yn cael eu creu, mewn meysydd sy'n amrywio o waith ymchwil a datblygu i letygarwch, gyda 3,000 o swyddi adeiladu ar ben hynny. A gaf i ofyn pam yr ydych yn teimlo bod yr asesiad mor bell oddi wrth y marc? Beth yw eich asesiad o ganlyniadau'r gwrthodiad hwn ar yr hyder fydd gan fuddsoddwyr preifat wrth fuddsoddi yng Nghymru yn gyffredinol yn y dyfodol? Rhoddaf un enghraifft yn y fan hon: mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cyhoeddi eisoes y bydd y gyfres nesaf o gerbydau TVR yn cael ei hadeiladu yng Nghymru, ac roedd disgwyl i'r safle yng Nghymru gael ei gyhoeddi yn fuan. O ystyried fod hyn wedi cael ei fwriadu i fod yn brif gonglfaen safle gweithgynhyrchu datblygiad Cylchdaith Cymru, a wnewch chi gadarnhau na fydd y cyhoeddiad heddiw yn effeithio ar hynny? Y rheswm yr wyf yn gofyn hynny yw fod llefarydd TVR yn gwrthod cadarnhau ar hyn o bryd y bydd y cerbyd hwn yn cael ei adeiladu yng Nghymru o gwbl. Felly, a wnewch chi gadarnhau y bydd y prosiect yn mynd rhagddo yma yng Nghymru, ac a wnewch chi gadarnhau pa drafodaethau yr ydych wedi eu cael gyda TVR am leoli yma yn y datblygiad modurol newydd a gyhoeddwyd gennych chi heddiw? Mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud y bydd y penderfyniad hwn - gobeithio na fydd hi felly, ond rwy'n credu y bydd o bosibl yn bygwth cyfleoedd i fewnfuddsoddi ac o bosibl yn andwyo hyder yn economi Cymru. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd hynny'n cael ei brofi'n anghywir.