English: I'd argue that the shambles was created in the mid-90s - we can argue much of the afternoon about that - with the 22 authorities that were created and, indeed, their boundaries. Why would somebody take some of our poorest authorities and make them as small as possible? We know that these are issues, and we know that the system is not sustainable. I'm sure we can argue that, where we have a situation where one local authority had to be taken over because it couldn't take any decisions, where we had six local authorities at one point in special measures for education, where we've had problems with social services - we've had particular problems in Pembrokeshire, with what was happening there with the chief executive - clearly, the system as it stands isn't sustainable. How do we go forward? The map before the election is clearly gone. Let's accept that, and I've said that before publicly and in this Chamber. I know that the Cabinet Secretary has spent the summer talking to local authorities, with a view to getting an agreed way forward. For some, it will mean voluntary mergers, and there's interest there; for others, it will mean working regionally in terms of service delivery. So, the councils will still exist; they will be the point of entry, as it were, for the public, but services in the future would be delivered regionally. So, you would have one department. For example, there's no reason why you can't have one social services department for a number of authorities. Why is that a good thing? It creates the critical mass that a department needs, so that if people are on the sick, one or two of them, it doesn't create a problem within the department. I've seen this happen in smaller authorities. We can do that by working with authorities and do it by consensus. I do think that town and community councils should be given more powers, and I think that's something that local authorities, principal authorities, need to look at as well. They can't all be given the same powers because there's an enormous disparity in their sizes: some represent 100 or 200 people; others represent many thousands. But that is something that we want to look at. The current system doesn't work, but we want to work with local government to make sure we get to a system where services can be delivered more robustly, more consistently, and, of course, better.
Welsh: Byddwn i'n dadlau y daeth y traed moch yng nghanol y 90au - gallwn ddadlau drwy'r prynhawn ynglyn â hynny - pan grëwyd y 22 awdurdod ac, yn wir, eu ffiniau. Pam byddai rhywun yn cymryd rhai o'n hawdurdodau tlotaf a'u gwneud mor fach â phosibl? Gwyddom fod y rhain yn broblemau, a gwyddom nad yw'r system yn gynaliadwy. Rwy'n siŵr y gallwn ni ddadlau, pan fo gennym sefyllfa pan fu'n rhaid cymryd un awdurdod lleol drosodd am beidio â gallu gwneud unrhyw benderfyniadau, pan oedd gennym chwe awdurdod lleol ar un adeg dan fesurau arbennig ar gyfer addysg, pan gawsom broblemau gyda gwasanaethau cymdeithasol - rydym wedi cael problemau penodol yn Sir Benfro, o ran sefyllfa'r prif weithredwr yno - nid yw'r system fel ag y mae, yn amlwg, yn gynaliadwy. Sut ydym yn symud ymlaen? Mae'r map cyn yr etholiad yn amlwg wedi mynd. Gadewch i ni dderbyn hynny, ac rwyf wedi dweud hynny o'r blaen yn gyhoeddus ac yn y Siambr hon. Gwn fod Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet wedi treulio'r haf yn siarad ag awdurdodau lleol, gyda'r nod o gytuno ar ffordd ymlaen. I rai, bydd yn golygu uno gwirfoddol, ac mae diddordeb mewn gwneud hynny; i eraill, bydd yn golygu gweithio yn rhanbarthol wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau. Felly, bydd y cynghorau yn dal i fodoli; y nhw fydd y pwynt mynediad, fel petai, ar gyfer y cyhoedd, ond byddai gwasanaethau yn y dyfodol yn cael eu darparu yn rhanbarthol. Felly, byddai gennych un adran. Er enghraifft, nid oes rheswm pam na allwch gael un adran gwasanaethau cymdeithasol ar gyfer nifer o awdurdodau. Pam mae hynny yn beth da? Mae'n creu'r màs critigol y mae ei angen ar adran, fel nad yw'n broblem yn yr adran pan fo un neu ddau o bobl yn sâl. Rwyf wedi gweld hyn yn digwydd mewn awdurdodau llai. Gallwn wneud hynny drwy weithio gydag awdurdodau a'i wneud trwy gonsensws. Rwy'n credu y dylai cynghorau tref a chymuned gael rhagor o bwerau, ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n rhywbeth y mae'n rhaid i awdurdodau lleol, prif awdurdodau, ei ystyried hefyd. Ni ellir rhoi'r un pwerau i bob un oherwydd bod gwahaniaeth enfawr yn eu maint: mae rhai yn cynrychioli 100 neu 200 o bobl; mae eraill yn cynrychioli llawer o filoedd. Ond mae hynny'n rhywbeth yr ydym yn dymuno edrych arno. Nid yw'r system bresennol yn gweithio, ond rydym ni eisiau gweithio gyda llywodraeth leol i sicrhau ein bod yn cael system lle gellir darparu gwasanaethau yn fwy cadarn, yn fwy cyson, ac, wrth gwrs, yn well.