techiaith/cofnodycynulliad_en-cy huggingface dataset:
English: Members, we'll move - [ Interruption.] Thank you very much to witnesses. Thank you for joining us. We'll move now to item 4, papers to note. We have a letter to the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport and Chief Whip regarding the briefing session that we received this morning. There's a letter to the Business Committee regarding the timetable for the Northern Ireland protocol legislative consent memorandum; a letter from the Countryside Alliance regarding an urgent inquiry into the sale and purchase of agricultural land. And, finally, a letter from the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee on the second additional protocol on the Council of Europe convention on cyber crime. Are we happy to note those papers? Yes. I don't see any comments, so we will note the papers.
Welsh: Aelodau, gwnawn ni symud - [ Torri ar draws.] Diolch i'r tystion. Diolch yn fawr iawn am fod gyda ni. Fe wnawn ni symud at eitem 4, sef papurau i'w nodi. Mae llythyr at Ddirprwy Weinidog y Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon a'r Prif Chwip am y sesiwn briffio roedden ni wedi'i gael y bore yma. Mae llythyr at y Pwyllgor Busnes ynghylch yr amserlen ar gyfer memorandwm cydsyniad deddfwriaethol protocol Gogledd Iwerddon; llythyr at y Gynghrair Cefn Gwlad - gan y Gynghrair Cefn Gwlad, mae'n flin gen i - ynghylch ymchwiliad brys i werthu a phrynu tir amaethyddol. Ac wedyn, yn olaf, llythyr gan Gadeirydd y Pwyllgor Deddfwriaeth, Cyfiawnder a'r Cyfansoddiad am yr ail brotocol ychwanegol i gonfensiwn Cyngor Ewrop ar seibr droseddu. Ydy Aelodau'n hapus i nodi'r papurau yna? Ie. Dwi ddim yn gweld bod unrhyw un eisiau dweud unrhyw beth, so rŷn ni'n hapus i nodi'r rheini.
English: I therefore propose that, under Standing Order 17.42, the committee resolves to exclude the public from the remainder of today's meeting. Are Members content? I see that Members are content. We'll just wait to hear that we are in private session.
Welsh: Felly, dwi'n cynnig, o dan Reol Sefydlog 17.42, fod y pwyllgor yn gwahardd y cyhoedd o weddill y cyfarfod heddiw. Ydy Aelodau'n fodlon derbyn hynny? Dwi'n gweld eich bod chi. Ocê, fe wnawn ni aros nawr i glywed ein bod ni'n breifat.
English: Thank you very much. If I can continue on the points about the WCCIS, is it fair to say that this is one of the biggest projects that you have?
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn. Os caf fi gario mlaen efo'r pwyntiau ar WCCIS, ydy o'n deg dweud bod hwn yn un o'r prosiectau mwyaf sydd gennych chi?
English: Around £30 million has been put into it, and another £12 million has been allocated or earmarked for it. Do the steps that have been taken on it so far represent value for money, do you think?
Welsh: Mae yna ryw £30 miliwn wedi mynd i mewn iddo fe, dwi'n meddwl, a £12 miliwn arall, dwi'n meddwl, wedi cael ei adnabod. Ydy'r camau sydd wedi cael eu cymryd arno fo hyd yma yn cynrychioli gwerth am arian, fyddech chi'n dweud?
English: Good afternoon and welcome to this Plenary session. The first item this afternoon is questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government, and the first question this afternoon is from Peredur Owen Griffiths.
Welsh: Prynhawn da a chroeso i'r Cyfarfod Llawn. Yr eitem gyntaf y prynhawn yma yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Cyllid a Llywodraeth Leol, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf y prynhawn yma gan Peredur Owen Griffiths.
English: At the spending review, we maximised the use of all of our available funding. I prioritised funding for local government in the Welsh budget so that every authority in Wales received an increase in funding of more than 8.4 per cent.
Welsh: Yn yr adolygiad o wariant, gwnaethom y defnydd mwyaf posibl o'r holl gyllid a oedd ar gael i ni. Blaenoriaethais gyllid ar gyfer llywodraeth leol yng nghyllideb Cymru fel bod pob awdurdod yng Nghymru yn cael cynnydd o fwy nag 8.4 y cant yn eu cyllid.
English: People are petrified at the prospect of being unable to afford the basics this winter and they have little faith in a super-rich Prime Minister doing anything for them. In the absence of adequate help from Westminster, reserves that local authorities hold for rainy days need to be deployed. Unfortunately, you have local authorities like the Labour-run Caerphilly County Borough Council holding an astronomical reserve of £180 million. This stack of cash, which is bigger than the reserves held by the largest local authority in Wales, increased by £16 million in the last financial year alone. This is why my Plaid Cymru colleague Councillor Greg Ead has called for the Caerphilly county council cost-of-living hardship fund to be increased from £3 million to £10 million. Should the Government mandate a limit on how big cash reserves can get to prevent Scrooge-like local authorities sitting on huge pots of cash?
Welsh: Mae pobl yn ofni'r posibilrwydd o fethu fforddio'r pethau sylfaenol y gaeaf hwn, ac nid oes ganddynt lawer o ffydd y bydd Prif Weinidog hynod gyfoethog yn gwneud unrhyw beth drostynt. Yn absenoldeb cymorth digonol gan San Steffan, mae angen defnyddio'r cronfeydd sydd gan awdurdodau lleol wrth gefn ar gyfer diwrnodau glawog. Yn anffodus, mae gennych awdurdodau lleol fel Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili, sy'n cael ei redeg gan Lafur, yn cadw cronfeydd enfawr gwerth £180 miliwn wrth gefn. Cynyddodd y pentwr hwn o arian, sy'n fwy na chronfeydd wrth gefn yr awdurdod lleol mwyaf yng Nghymru, £16 miliwn yn y flwyddyn ariannol ddiwethaf yn unig. Dyma pam fod fy nghyd-aelod o Blaid Cymru, y cynghorydd Greg Ead, wedi galw am gynyddu cronfa galedi costau byw cyngor sir Caerffili o £3 miliwn i £10 miliwn. A ddylai'r Llywodraeth osod terfyn ar feintiau cronfeydd wrth gefn er mwyn atal awdurdodau lleol Scrooge-aidd rhag eistedd ar gronfeydd enfawr o arian?
English: I'm not sure that's a fair characterisation of local authorities and the way that they look towards their reserves. But, to be perfectly frank, I am glad that local authorities generally are in a much better position than they otherwise would have been, and that's partly thanks to the additional £50 million that we provided to local government at the end of the last financial year. And that was to help them manage their budget in response to the emerging inflationary and service pressures, which they were identifying and experiencing at that point. But, I think that we do need to think about reserves in relation to the overall budget of local government. And certainly, at an all-Wales level, the widest interpretation of usable reserves - and I think that that is an important point - is 26 per cent of the total annual expenditure. So, that's just three months provision for all of the costs of local government. So, I'm pleased that local authorities are in a better place than they otherwise would have been thanks to the additional funding we were able to provide. But, at the same time, I do have to say that usable reserves are different to the general reserves position because, of course, local authorities will have earmarked funding for various things, not least our investment in the sustainable communities for learning programme and the new schools and so on.
Welsh: Nid wyf yn siŵr a yw hynny'n ddisgrifiad teg o awdurdodau lleol a'r ffordd y maent yn ymdrin â'u cronfeydd wrth gefn. Ond a bod yn gwbl onest, rwy'n falch fod awdurdodau lleol, yn gyffredinol, mewn sefyllfa well o lawer nag y byddent wedi bod fel arall, ac mae hynny'n rhannol oherwydd y £50 miliwn ychwanegol a ddarparwyd gennym i lywodraeth leol ar ddiwedd y flwyddyn ariannol ddiwethaf. Ac roedd hynny i'w helpu i reoli eu cyllideb mewn ymateb i bwysau cynyddol chwyddiant a phwysau ar wasanaethau roeddent yn ei nodi ac yn ei deimlo bryd hynny. Ond credaf fod angen inni feddwl am gronfeydd wrth gefn mewn perthynas â chyllideb gyffredinol llywodraeth leol. Ac yn sicr, ar lefel Cymru gyfan, y dehongliad ehangaf o gronfeydd wrth gefn defnyddiadwy - a chredaf fod hwnnw'n bwynt pwysig - yw 26 y cant o gyfanswm y gwariant blynyddol. Felly, dim ond tri mis o ddarpariaeth ar gyfer holl gostau llywodraeth leol yw hynny. Felly, rwy'n falch fod awdurdodau lleol mewn lle gwell nag y byddent wedi bod fel arall diolch i'r cyllid ychwanegol y bu modd i ni ei ddarparu. Ond ar yr un pryd, mae'n rhaid imi ddweud bod cronfeydd wrth gefn defnyddiadwy yn wahanol i sefyllfa cronfeydd wrth gefn cyffredinol, oherwydd, wrth gwrs, bydd awdurdodau lleol wedi clustnodi cyllid ar gyfer gwahanol bethau, yn enwedig ein buddsoddiad yn y rhaglen cymunedau dysgu cynaliadwy a'r rhaglen ysgolion newydd ac ati.
English: I thank Peredur Owen Griffiths for tabling this question. I just wanted to follow up as well on the point about reserves, because I think it is important, and you're right - people don't necessarily understand the definition of usable reserves, particularly those councils that call them usable reserves and then never use them. So, in my region of South Wales West, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea councils, in 2019-20, had a combined £288 million in reserves. In 2021, that went to £400 million. Can you explain why those three councils, two of them run by your party, have added £110 million to their usable reserves in a year and do you back it?
Welsh: Diolch i Peredur Owen Griffiths am gyflwyno'r cwestiwn hwn. Roeddwn yn awyddus i sôn hefyd am y pwynt ynglŷn â chronfeydd wrth gefn, gan y credaf ei fod yn bwysig, ac rydych yn llygad eich lle - nid yw pobl o reidrwydd yn deall y diffiniad o gronfeydd wrth gefn defnyddiadwy, yn enwedig y cynghorau sy'n eu galw'n gronfeydd wrth gefn defnyddiadwy ac yna byth yn eu defnyddio. Felly, yn fy rhanbarth i, Gorllewin De Cymru, roedd gan gynghorau Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, Castell-nedd Port Talbot ac Abertawe, yn 2019-20, gyfanswm o £288 miliwn mewn cronfeydd wrth gefn. Yn 2021, cynyddodd y ffigur hwnnw i £400 miliwn. A wnewch chi egluro pam fod y tri chyngor hynny, dau ohonynt yn cael eu rhedeg gan eich plaid, wedi ychwanegu £110 miliwn at eu cronfeydd defnyddiadwy mewn blwyddyn, ac a ydych chi'n cefnogi hynny?
English: Absolutely I can explain that, Llywydd, and it's called 'the pandemic', and that is one of the reasons why local government was provided with significant additional funding through the pandemic. And I have no doubt that local authorities, given the huge gap in funding that they've identified not only for this year, but into future years as well, will be looking at those reserves. But, let's remember, you can only spend those reserves once, so when I'm hearing calls, for example, for increases in pay and other pressures, you can only use those reserves once, and I know that local authorities will be looking to use those reserves very carefully. But, I make no apology whatsoever for providing significant additional funding to local authorities through the pandemic, and, frankly, I'm glad that they're in a better position than they otherwise would have been had we decided not to.
Welsh: Yn sicr, gallaf egluro hynny, Lywydd, a'r rheswm yw 'y pandemig', a dyna un o'r rhesymau pam y darparwyd cyllid ychwanegol sylweddol i lywodraeth leol drwy'r pandemig. Ac nid oes gennyf unrhyw amheuaeth y bydd awdurdodau lleol, o ystyried y bwlch enfawr yn y cyllid y maent wedi'i nodi, nid yn unig ar gyfer eleni, ond ar gyfer y blynyddoedd i ddod hefyd, yn edrych ar y cronfeydd wrth gefn hynny. Ond gadewch inni gofio, dim ond unwaith y gallwch wario'r cronfeydd wrth gefn hynny, felly pan fyddaf yn clywed galwadau, er enghraifft, am gynyddu cyflogau a phwysau eraill, dim ond unwaith y gallwch ddefnyddio'r cronfeydd wrth gefn hynny, a gwn y bydd awdurdodau lleol yn awyddus i ddefnyddio'r cronfeydd hynny'n ofalus iawn. Ond nid wyf yn ymddiheuro o gwbl am ddarparu cyllid ychwanegol sylweddol i awdurdodau lleol drwy'r pandemig, ac a dweud y gwir, rwy'n falch eu bod mewn sefyllfa well nag y byddent wedi bod fel arall pe baem wedi penderfynu peidio â gwneud hynny.
English: Tom Giffard and I were at a briefing only in the last two weeks with Welsh local government leaders from our area, but also at a national level in Wales, having quite a frank assessment about the perilous state of local authority finances. And, of course, we also know this spreads right across the voluntary and third sector as well, at the time when the need for those public services and the reach of the third sector into communities has never been so acute. So, could I ask you, away from froth over reserves, which, frankly, if they are available and there's a bit in there, are going to be used pretty damn rapidly now - pardon my French, Presiding Officer - how can we actually target resources from Welsh Government to ensure that, right across the sectors, local authorities and local, regional and also third sector organisations are really tackling the cost-of-living crisis and collaborating together to do so, because we know we're going to have to stretch this money, reserves or not, a hell of a lot further than we've ever done before?
Welsh: Yn y pythefnos diwethaf, roedd Tom Giffard a minnau mewn sesiwn friffio gydag arweinwyr llywodraeth leol o'n hardal ni, ond hefyd ar lefel genedlaethol yng Nghymru, yn cael asesiad eithaf di-flewyn ar dafod am gyflwr difrifol cyllid awdurdodau lleol. Ac wrth gwrs, gwyddom hefyd fod hyn yn wir ar draws y sector gwirfoddol a'r trydydd sector hefyd, ar adeg pan nad yw'r angen am y gwasanaethau cyhoeddus hynny a chyrhaeddiad y trydydd sector i'r cymunedau erioed wedi bod mor ddifrifol. Felly, a gaf fi ofyn i chi, gan anghofio'r sôn am y cronfeydd wrth gefn, sydd a dweud y gwir, os ydynt ar gael, a bod ychydig o arian ynddynt, yn mynd i gael eu defnyddio'n eithaf cyflym bellach, sut y gallwn dargedu adnoddau gan Lywodraeth Cymru, i sicrhau, ar draws y sectorau, fod awdurdodau lleol a sefydliadau lleol, rhanbarthol a hefyd y trydydd sector yn mynd i'r afael â'r argyfwng costau byw ac yn cydweithio er mwyn gwneud hynny, gan y gwyddom y bydd yn rhaid inni wneud i'r arian hwn, boed yn gronfeydd wrth gefn ai peidio, ymestyn yn llawer pellach nag erioed o'r blaen?
English: I absolutely agree that the approach has to be one of social partnership in terms of addressing the cost-of-living crisis. And this is one of the reasons why the First Minister has set up a cost-of-living Cabinet sub-committee, which I and other Ministers attend, but also we invite to those meetings representatives of the third sector, local government and other social partners to ensure that we're all pulling in the same direction and maximising our resources in ways that are complementary to one another. So, I just want to reassure colleagues that that is absolutely the approach that we're taking. And I think that we can also look to some of the work that I've been doing in recent times in terms of our approach to grants policy. It used to be the case that we would have one-year grants, and that would be very difficult for the third sector in particular, but also others, including in local government, to be able to have that longer term and more strategic look at how they spend their money. So, now we have allowed grants to be up to five years - if they can roll over, they have to meet benchmarking and other due diligence tests as well. But I think that that has helped to give that longer term look, which also then provides better value for money.
Welsh: Cytunaf yn llwyr fod yn rhaid i'r ymagwedd fod yn un o bartneriaeth gymdeithasol o ran mynd i'r afael â'r argyfwng costau byw. A dyma un o'r rhesymau pam fod y Prif Weinidog wedi sefydlu is-bwyllgor Cabinet ar gostau byw, is-bwyllgor rwyf fi a Gweinidogion eraill yn ei fynychu, ond rydym hefyd yn gwahodd cynrychiolwyr o'r trydydd sector, llywodraeth leol, a phartneriaid cymdeithasol eraill i'r cyfarfodydd hynny, i sicrhau ein bod oll yn tynnu i'r un cyfeiriad ac yn gwneud y mwyaf o'n hadnoddau mewn ffyrdd sy'n ategu ein gilydd. Felly, hoffwn roi sicrwydd i'm cyd-Aelodau mai dyna'n union yw'r dull a fabwysiadir gennym. A chredaf y gallwn edrych hefyd ar rywfaint o'r gwaith y bûm yn ei wneud yn ddiweddar ar ein hymagwedd at bolisi grantiau. O'r blaen, byddai gennym grantiau un flwyddyn, a byddai hynny'n anodd iawn i'r trydydd sector yn enwedig, ond hefyd i eraill, gan gynnwys llywodraeth leol, o ran gallu cael golwg fwy hirdymor a strategol ar sut y maent yn gwario'u harian. Felly, rydym bellach wedi caniatáu i grantiau bara hyd at bum mlynedd - os gallant dreiglo o un flwyddyn i'r llall, ac mae'n rhaid iddynt fodloni profion meincnodi a diwydrwydd dyladwy eraill hefyd. Ond credaf fod hynny wedi helpu i roi'r olwg fwy hirdymor honno, sydd hefyd wedyn yn darparu gwell gwerth am arian.
English: Good afternoon, Minister. Since the pandemic, many of our care workers have been struggling to make ends meet, and I'm sure many of us have heard about the situation that both those receiving care and those giving care are in. In July, the new administration of Powys County Council - a group of political parties: Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green; and we all need to work together on this as this shouldn't be about party politics in our local government finance, because we all know the people who receive those services - raised the travel expenses to 45p a mile, in line with their local authority employees. That package cost around £150,000 to implement, Minister. What consideration have you, the Government, given to support local authorities to continue with that funding for care workers, to ensure that they deliver that vital social care to vulnerable people? Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Welsh: Prynhawn da, Weinidog. Ers y pandemig, mae llawer o'n gweithwyr gofal wedi'i chael hi'n anodd cael deupen llinyn ynghyd, ac rwy'n siŵr fod llawer ohonom wedi clywed am y sefyllfa y mae'r rhai sy'n derbyn gofal a'r rhai sy'n rhoi gofal ynddi. Ym mis Gorffennaf, gwnaeth gweinyddiaeth newydd Cyngor Sir Powys - grŵp o bleidiau gwleidyddol: Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol, Llafur a Gwyrddion; ac mae angen inni weithio gyda'n gilydd ar hyn, ni ddylai cyllid llywodraeth leol ymwneud â gwleidyddiaeth bleidiol, gan fod pob un ohonom yn adnabod y bobl sy'n derbyn y gwasanaethau hynny - godi costau teithio i 45c y filltir, yn unol â chostau teithio gweithwyr yr awdurdod lleol. Costiodd y pecyn hwnnw oddeutu £150,000 i'w roi ar waith, Weinidog. Pa ystyriaeth a roddwyd gennych chi, y Llywodraeth, i gefnogi awdurdodau lleol i barhau â'r cyllid hwnnw ar gyfer gweithwyr gofal, i sicrhau eu bod yn darparu gofal cymdeithasol hanfodol i bobl agored i niwed? Diolch yn fawr iawn.
English: So, in the first instance, we're seeking to impress upon the UK Government the importance within HMRC of raising that per-mile payment in respect of travel related to work. So, that's our first way in which we're trying to address this, and I know that my colleague Vaughan Gething's officials have been active in their discussions with HMRC on this. My officials have also raised it with Treasury, and it's my intention also to raise this issue with the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury in due course as well.
Welsh: Felly, yn y lle cyntaf, rydym yn ceisio cael Llywodraeth y DU i ddeall pa mor bwysig o fewn CThEM yw codi'r taliad fesul milltir mewn perthynas â theithio sy'n gysylltiedig â gwaith. Felly, dyna'r ffordd gyntaf y ceisiwn fynd i'r afael â hyn, a gwn fod swyddogion fy nghyd-Aelod, Vaughan Gething, wedi bod yn weithgar yn eu trafodaethau gyda CThEM ynglŷn â hyn. Mae fy swyddogion innau wedi codi'r mater gyda'r Trysorlys hefyd, a fy mwriad yw codi'r mater gyda Phrif Ysgrifennydd newydd y Trysorlys maes o law yn ogystal.
English: I held an introductory meeting with the new leader in August. And I also meet all leaders regularly through our fortnightly meetings at the Welsh Local Government Association executive board and separately on issues such as taxation reform. I have also discussed local government financial challenges with Monmouthshire's deputy leader through the finance sub-group.
Welsh: Cynhaliais gyfarfod rhagarweiniol gyda'r arweinydd newydd ym mis Awst. Ac rwyf hefyd yn cyfarfod â'r holl arweinwyr yn rheolaidd drwy ein cyfarfodydd bob pythefnos gyda bwrdd gweithredol Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru, ac ar wahân ar faterion fel diwygio trethiant. Rwyf hefyd wedi trafod heriau ariannol llywodraeth leol gyda dirprwy arweinydd sir Fynwy drwy'r is-grŵp cyllid.
English: Minister, you'll be aware that Newport East includes the Severnside area, which comes under Monmouthshire County Council. I was very pleased in May to see Labour take control of the council there, for the first time since the mid 1990s. I know the new leader, Mary Ann Brocklesby, and her cabinet have ambitious plans to tackle the affordability gap in housing in Monmouthshire. The area has suffered from historic underinvestment in affordable housing and has had an over-reliance on private landlords. Recently, the new Labour council approved plans for 100 per cent affordable housing on the former Caldicot school site, with Monmouthshire Housing Association being the preferred bidder. This illustrates the ambition and the work of the new Monmouthshire County Council, Minister. But I just wonder how you, as finance Minister, working with the Minister for Climate Change, can work closely with the new leadership to support them in their ambitions for more affordable housing in this area.
Welsh: Weinidog, fe fyddwch yn ymwybodol fod Dwyrain Casnewydd yn cynnwys ardal Glannau Hafren, sy'n rhan o ardal Cyngor Sir Fynwy. Roeddwn yn falch iawn o weld Llafur yn ennill rheolaeth ar y cyngor yno ym mis Mai, am y tro cyntaf ers canol y 1990au. Gwn fod gan yr arweinydd newydd, Mary Ann Brocklesby, a'i chabinet gynlluniau uchelgeisiol i fynd i'r afael â'r bwlch fforddiadwyedd mewn tai yn sir Fynwy. Mae'r ardal wedi dioddef yn sgil tanfuddsoddi hanesyddol mewn tai fforddiadwy, ac wedi bod yn or-ddibynnol ar landlordiaid preifat. Yn ddiweddar, cymeradwyodd y cyngor Llafur newydd gynlluniau ar gyfer tai fforddiadwy 100 y cant ar hen safle ysgol Cil-y-coed, a Chymdeithas Tai Sir Fynwy oedd y cynigydd a ffafrir. Mae hyn yn dangos uchelgais a gwaith cyngor newydd sir Fynwy, Weinidog. Ond tybed sut y gallwch chi fel Gweinidog cyllid, gan weithio gyda'r Gweinidog Newid Hinsawdd, weithio'n agos gyda'r arweinyddiaeth newydd, i'w cefnogi yn eu huchelgeisiau am fwy o dai fforddiadwy yn yr ardal hon?