English: Diolch, Llywydd, and thank you to everybody who has contributed today. Can I thank Sam for introducing the debate? Presiding Officer, we've discussed the Welsh Government's changes to non-domestic rates for self-catering accommodation in detail in this Senedd, as the Minister pointed out. We've heard the concerns of businesses about the impact that the new threshold will have on self-catering accommodation providers and their concerns about how this will impact the viability of their businesses. It is very clear that, on this side of the Chamber, there is still disagreement with this overall approach, and neither do many accommodation providers across the country support this. However, as Sam has pointed out, the crux of today's debate is about the technical details of the new regulations, specifically regarding the assessment period for determining eligibility in qualifying for business rates in 2022-23. As Sam Rowlands pointed out, the implementation of the Order is unjust and unfair, as Janet supported, and I agree. The Welsh Government should reflect on the real concerns expressed by the self-catering providers. The Minister suggests that he has listened to their concerns. Well, the Welsh Government needs to respond and reflect further on those concerns of that industry. Mabon thanked Sam for explaining the detail of the motion, and, sadly, had to spend most of his contribution trying to decipher what the motion was trying to say, which was a shame. Janet has been approached by so many people and has been championing this situation, as Sam has, and as others have, for many months. Business owners keep sharing their concerns about the unfairness of this process, and their concerns that there is this anti-visitor approach that keeps resonating in this Chamber when we have this debate. As James supported, it is a shame that we're having to have this debate because people aren't being listened to. Minister, you may be missing the point of this debate today. We hear how you are supporting the industry and supporting the providers, but it doesn't feel that way to them. The fact is that using the same thresholds from 2021-22 as the basis for establishing business use for 2022-23 is unfair. Using a period in which businesses were closed for such long periods of time due to COVID is inherently wrong. Periods of higher demand in the year, as the Welsh Government has used to justify its choices, do not balance out the fact that the demand was suppressed across the year. As the Federation of Small Businesses has said, as a result of the responses to the pandemic, businesses in different contexts and locations would have needed to react differently to the pandemic at different times, and this on the basis of their own judgement outside the law. For some contexts, it may have been responsible to keep the letting closed, even if they were legally allowed to be open. It is then wrong that during a pandemic a business owner should be actively punished for acting responsibly. As such, we need to rethink the threshold and to use the threshold from previous years so that it is more fair to businesses and better reflects the usual circumstances that accommodation providers operate within. We need to listen to them to better understand what it is they need rather than impose an arbitrary threshold on them. In closing, Presiding Officer, I ask Members to support the original motion on the agenda paper before us today.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd, a diolch i bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu heddiw. A gaf fi ddiolch i Sam am gyflwyno'r ddadl? Lywydd, rydym wedi trafod newidiadau Llywodraeth Cymru i ardrethi annomestig ar gyfer llety hunanddarpar yn fanwl yn y Senedd hon, fel y nododd y Gweinidog. Rydym wedi clywed pryderon busnesau ynghylch yr effaith y bydd y trothwy newydd yn ei chael ar ddarparwyr llety hunanddarpar a'u pryderon ynglŷn â sut y bydd hyn yn effeithio ar hyfywedd eu busnesau. Mae'n amlwg iawn, ar yr ochr hon i'r Siambr, fod anghytuno o hyd ynghylch y dull cyffredinol hwn o weithredu, ac mae llawer o ddarparwyr llety ledled y wlad yn gwrthwynebu hyn hefyd. Fodd bynnag, fel y nododd Sam, mae craidd y ddadl heddiw yn ymwneud â manylion technegol y rheoliadau newydd, yn benodol, y cyfnod asesu ar gyfer penderfynu ar gymhwysedd i dalu ardrethi busnes yn 2022-23. Fel y nododd Sam Rowlands, mae gweithrediad y Gorchymyn yn anghyfiawn ac yn annheg, fel yr ategodd Janet, ac rwy'n cytuno. Dylai Llywodraeth Cymru feddwl am y pryderon gwirioneddol a fynegwyd gan y darparwyr hunanddarpar. Mae'r Gweinidog yn awgrymu ei fod wedi gwrando ar eu pryderon. Wel, mae angen i Lywodraeth Cymru ymateb a meddwl mwy am bryderon y diwydiant hwnnw. Diolchodd Mabon i Sam am egluro manylion y cynnig, ac yn anffodus, bu'n rhaid iddo dreulio'r rhan fwyaf o'i gyfraniad yn ceisio dehongli beth oedd y cynnig yn ceisio ei ddweud, ac roedd hynny'n drueni. Mae cymaint o bobl wedi cysylltu â Janet ac mae hi wedi bod yn rhoi sylw i'r sefyllfa, fel y gwnaeth Sam ac eraill ers misoedd lawer. Mae perchnogion busnes yn parhau i rannu eu pryderon am annhegwch y broses, a'u pryderon fod yna ymagwedd wrth-ymwelwyr yn parhau i atsain yn y Siambr hon pan fyddwn yn cael y ddadl hon. Fel yr ategodd James, mae'n drueni ein bod yn gorfod cael y ddadl hon am nad yw pobl yn cael eu clywed. Weinidog, efallai eich bod yn methu pwynt y ddadl hon heddiw. Rydym yn clywed sut rydych chi'n cefnogi'r diwydiant ac yn cefnogi'r darparwyr, ond nid yw'n teimlo felly iddynt hwy. Y gwir amdani yw bod defnyddio'r un trothwyon o 2021-22 fel y sail ar gyfer sefydlu defnydd busnes ar gyfer 2022-23 yn annheg. Mae defnyddio cyfnod pan oedd busnesau ar gau am gyfnodau mor hir oherwydd COVID yn gynhenid anghywir. Nid yw cyfnodau o alw uwch yn y flwyddyn, fel y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dweud er mwyn cyfiawnhau ei dewisiadau, yn gwneud iawn am y ffaith fod y galw wedi'i gyfyngu ar hyd y flwyddyn. Fel y dywed Ffederasiwn y Busnesau Bach, o ganlyniad i'r ymatebion i'r pandemig, byddai angen i fusnesau mewn gwahanol gyd-destunau a lleoliadau fod wedi ymateb yn wahanol i'r pandemig ar wahanol adegau, a hyn ar sail eu barn eu hunain ar wahân i'r gyfraith. Mewn rhai cyd-destunau, efallai y byddai wedi bod yn gyfrifol i gadw'r eiddo ar gau, hyd yn oed os oeddent yn cael bod ar agor yn gyfreithiol. Mae'n anghywir cosbi perchennog busnes wedyn am ymddwyn yn gyfrifol mewn pandemig. O'r herwydd, mae angen inni ailfeddwl am y trothwy a defnyddio trothwy o flynyddoedd blaenorol fel ei fod yn fwy teg i fusnesau ac yn dangos yn well yr amgylchiadau arferol y mae darparwyr llety yn gweithredu ynddynt. Mae angen inni wrando arnynt i ddeall yn well beth maent ei angen yn hytrach na gorfodi trothwy mympwyol arnynt. Wrth gloi, Lywydd, gofynnaf i'r Aelodau gefnogi'r cynnig gwreiddiol ar y papur trefn sydd o'n blaenau heddiw.