English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I begin by thanking Alun Davies for bringing forward this debate today? It's a genuinely interesting and timely discussion in a number of ways. I want to thank both Members for their thoughtful contributions. Most of my remarks will be about the Heads of the Valleys area, of course, because of where Alun Davies is from, as he regularly reminds us, and it has been a pleasure to hear him talk about the long history, both when I've been in Blaenau Gwent, as well as down here. But, I would say to Tom Giffard and his contribution, if we are genuinely going to look to have a system where we can deliberately direct investment towards less advantaged areas, then there are real challenges in the approach that is coming, not just from levelling up, but on subsidy control and the Subsidy Control Bill going through the UK Parliament, which the Members here will want to take an interest in. Because if that does proceed on the current basis, it makes it much, much harder to invest in those less advantaged areas. Far from seeing a process where it is easier and more attractive to invest in those least well-off areas, we will find it even more difficult to do so. It's part of the challenge that we see, which Alun Davies referred to, about the broad label of 'levelling up' that no-one is going to disagree with, in essence, and yet the reality of the policy choices that are being made. I will come later on to a bit more about levelling up. The reality is that much of the work that we have done in supporting the Heads of the Valleys, in particular, has been possible as a result of the work of the Welsh Government and partners in the third sector, higher education, the private sector and, of course, the voluntary sector, to deliver European structural funds. It has made a real difference. To put that in context, current EU funding programmes have helped to create 3,600 jobs and supported more than 2,000 businesses and helped almost 9,000 people into work, just in the Heads of the Valleys area. It is because of this success that we have spent considerable time designing, with key Welsh partners, a framework for investment based on evidence and agreement, with clear priorities for Wales. This is what a Team Wales approach looks like, and we're looking to build on that and the work we're doing now, together with work that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are doing, so there's an honest broker to look at the international evidence of how we can have a successful approach to regional economic development.
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. A gaf fi ddechrau drwy ddiolch i Alun Davies am gyflwyno'r ddadl hon heddiw? Mae'n drafodaeth wirioneddol ddiddorol ac amserol mewn nifer o ffyrdd. Hoffwn ddiolch i'r ddau Aelod am eu cyfraniadau meddylgar. Bydd y rhan fwyaf o fy sylwadau'n ymwneud ag ardal Blaenau'r Cymoedd wrth gwrs, am mai o'r fan honno y daw Alun Davies, fel y mae'n ein hatgoffa'n rheolaidd, ac mae wedi bod yn bleser ei glywed yn sôn am yr hanes hir pan wyf wedi bod ym Mlaenau Gwent, yn ogystal ag i lawr yma. Ond byddwn yn dweud wrth Tom Giffard a'i gyfraniad, os ydym yn mynd i geisio cael system lle gallwn gyfeirio buddsoddiad yn fwriadol tuag at ardaloedd llai breintiedig, mae heriau gwirioneddol yn y dull o weithredu sy'n deillio, nid yn unig o godi'r gwastad, ond o reoli cymorthdaliadau a'r Bil Rheoli Cymorthdaliadau sy'n mynd drwy Senedd y DU, y bydd gan yr Aelodau yma ddiddordeb ynddo. Oherwydd os bydd hwnnw'n mynd rhagddo ar y sail bresennol, mae'n ei gwneud yn llawer iawn anos buddsoddi yn yr ardaloedd llai breintiedig hynny. Yn hytrach na gweld proses lle mae'n haws ac yn fwy deniadol i fuddsoddi yn yr ardaloedd lleiaf cefnog hynny, bydd yn anos fyth ei wneud. Mae'n rhan o'r her a welwn, her y cyfeiriodd Alun Davies ati, am label cyffredinol 'codi'r gwastad' nad oes neb yn mynd i anghytuno ag ef yn ei hanfod, ac eto realiti'r dewisiadau polisi sy'n cael eu gwneud. Byddaf yn sôn rhagor yn nes ymlaen am godi'r gwastad. Y gwir amdani yw bod llawer o'r gwaith a wnaethom i gefnogi Blaenau'r Cymoedd yn arbennig wedi bod yn bosibl o ganlyniad i waith Llywodraeth Cymru a phartneriaid yn y trydydd sector, addysg uwch, y sector preifat a'r sector gwirfoddol wrth gwrs, i ddarparu cronfeydd strwythurol Ewropeaidd. Mae wedi gwneud gwahaniaeth gwirioneddol. I roi hynny yn ei gyd-destun, mae rhaglenni ariannu presennol yr UE wedi helpu i greu 3,600 o swyddi ac wedi cefnogi mwy na 2,000 o fusnesau ac wedi helpu bron i 9,000 o bobl i gael gwaith, yn ardal Blaenau'r Cymoedd yn unig. Oherwydd y llwyddiant hwn treuliasom gryn dipyn o amser yn cynllunio fframwaith, gyda phartneriaid allweddol yng Nghymru, ar gyfer buddsoddi yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth a chytundeb, gyda blaenoriaethau clir i Gymru. Dyma sut y mae dull Tîm Cymru yn edrych, ac rydym yn bwriadu adeiladu ar hynny a'r gwaith a wnawn yn awr, ynghyd â gwaith y mae'r Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd yn ei wneud, felly ceir cyfryngwr diduedd i edrych ar y dystiolaeth ryngwladol o ran sut y gallwn weithredu datblygu economaidd rhanbarthol yn llwyddiannus.