English: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. We laid our report as a committee on this LCM yesterday afternoon. Leasehold reform is an area of interest for the committee, and the Welsh Government's plans for reform were something that we raised with you, Minister, during our scrutiny session on 22 September. We welcome the decision to set ground rent on new leases to a token one peppercorn per year, effectively restricting ground rents to zero financial value. We note that the Bill does not apply to existing leases. We also note that the Bill does not address other weaknesses in the leasehold system, such as service charges and other issues faced by leaseholders. Minister, are you able to give an update on the next steps for the programme of leasehold reform and the programme for government commitment to enact the recommendations of the Law Commission? Our committee first considered the LCM on 22 September. However, that LCM was out of date because amendments conferring powers on the Welsh Ministers to make delegated legislation were made to the Bill on 20 July, but a supplementary LCM was not laid. We wrote to the Minister on 24 September, asking when a supplementary LCM relating to those amendments would be published. Unfortunately, the Minister did not lay one until 26 November, four months after the Bill had been amended. Of course, the Senedd's Standing Orders provide that a supplementary LCM should be laid normally no later than two weeks after amendments are tabled. The four-month delay in laying the supplementary LCM has considerably restrained our ability as a committee to scrutinise the amendments in a timely manner. We are disappointed that we had very limited time to consider the further supplementary LCM laid on 3 December, though we are grateful to the Business Committee for extending the reporting deadline to this morning. But, of course, the timescales were still extremely tight. Minister are you able to commit in future to laying a supplementary LCM no later than two weeks after relevant amendments to a Bill are tabled? Can you also commit to providing committees with sufficient time to consider and report on LCMs? We are also concerned and disappointed that the Welsh Government does not have any control over when the Act comes into force. Instead, the Act confers powers on the Secretary of State to make commencement Orders. Likewise, the Welsh Ministers do not have any powers to make consequential amendments that may be necessary under the Bill. These powers are conferred on the Secretary of State only. Welsh Ministers should have the power to make delegated legislation in Wales in devolved areas, not the Secretary of State. So, Minister, are you able to seek amendments to the Bill so that Welsh Ministers have equivalent powers to the Secretary of State to pass secondary legislation? We are further concerned that the law on leasehold reform will not be as accessible to the people of Wales as it should be. Minister, you told the committee that the Bill represents the first, but significant, step towards the implementation of broad-ranging reforms for leasehold as a tenure, and that another UK Bill dealing with reforms will be introduced. You also told us that some other important areas of leasehold reform will be taken forward on a Wales-only basis in the planned building safety Bill during this Senedd term. Surely, making these reforms through multiple pieces of legislation will reduce the accessibility of Welsh law. So, Minister, are you able to outline how you will ensure that the law in Wales is as accessible as it should be? Llywydd, despite these concerns that I have just outlined, most members of the committee see the benefits of applying these reforms to Wales as soon as possible, and of having an England and Wales approach. But, as I mentioned, the absence of scrutiny did mean that we were not able to put assertions to the test as we would have liked to have done. I would therefore encourage the Welsh Government to ensure that committees have the necessary time and resources to be able to play a meaningful role in the legislative consent process. Diolch yn fawr.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Gwnaethom osod ein hadroddiad fel pwyllgor ar y memorandwm cydsyniad deddfwriaethol hwn brynhawn ddoe. Mae diwygio lesddaliad yn faes o ddiddordeb i'r pwyllgor, ac roedd cynlluniau Llywodraeth Cymru ar gyfer diwygio yn rhywbeth y gwnaethon ni ei godi gyda chi, Gweinidog, yn ystod ein sesiwn graffu ar 22 Medi. Rydym yn croesawu'r penderfyniad i osod rhent tir ar brydlesi newydd ar un hedyn pupur y flwyddyn symbolaidd, gan gyfyngu rhenti tir i ddim gwerth ariannol i bob pwrpas. Nodwn nad yw'r Bil yn berthnasol i brydlesi presennol. Nodwn hefyd nad yw'r Bil yn mynd i'r afael â gwendidau eraill yn y system lesddaliad, fel taliadau gwasanaeth a materion eraill y mae lesddeiliaid yn eu hwynebu. Gweinidog, a wnewch chi roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am y camau nesaf ar gyfer y rhaglen o ddiwygio lesddaliad ac ymrwymiad y rhaglen lywodraethu i weithredu argymhellion Comisiwn y Gyfraith? Ystyriodd ein pwyllgor y memorandwm cydsyniad deddfwriaethol am y tro cyntaf ar 22 Medi. Fodd bynnag, roedd LCM hwnnw'n hen oherwydd bod diwygiadau sy'n rhoi pwerau i Weinidogion Cymru wneud deddfwriaeth ddirprwyedig wedi'u gwneud i'r Bil ar 20 Gorffennaf, ond ni osodwyd LCM atodol. Ysgrifennom at y Gweinidog ar 24 Medi, gan ofyn pryd y byddai LCM atodol yn ymwneud â'r gwelliannau hynny'n cael ei gyhoeddi. Yn anffodus, ni osododd y Gweinidog un tan 26 Tachwedd, bedwar mis ar ôl i'r Bil gael ei ddiwygio. Wrth gwrs, mae Rheolau Sefydlog y Senedd yn darparu y dylid gosod LCM atodol fel arfer heb fod yn hwyrach na phythefnos ar ôl cyflwyno gwelliannau. Mae'r oedi o bedwar mis cyn gosod y LCM atodol wedi cyfyngu'n sylweddol ar ein gallu fel pwyllgor i graffu ar y gwelliannau mewn modd amserol. Rydym yn siomedig mai ychydig iawn o amser a gawsom i ystyried y LCM atodol pellach a osodwyd ar 3 Rhagfyr, er ein bod yn ddiolchgar i'r Pwyllgor Busnes am ymestyn y dyddiad cau ar gyfer cyflwyno adroddiadau hyd at y bore yma. Ond, wrth gwrs, roedd yr amserlenni'n dal yn dynn iawn. Gweinidog, a wnewch chi ymrwymo yn y dyfodol i osod LCM heb fod yn hwyrach na phythefnos ar ôl cyflwyno gwelliannau perthnasol i Fil? A wnewch chi hefyd ymrwymo i roi digon o amser i bwyllgorau ystyried ac adrodd ar femoranda cydsyniad deddfwriaethol? Rydym hefyd yn bryderus ac yn siomedig nad oes gan Lywodraeth Cymru unrhyw reolaeth o ran pryd y daw'r Ddeddf i rym. Yn hytrach, mae'r Ddeddf yn rhoi pwerau i'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol wneud Gorchmynion cychwyn. Yn yr un modd, nid oes gan Weinidogion Cymru unrhyw bwerau i wneud diwygiadau canlyniadol a allai fod yn angenrheidiol o dan y Bil. Rhoddir y pwerau hyn i'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol yn unig. Dylai fod gan Weinidogion Cymru y pŵer i wneud deddfwriaeth ddirprwyedig yng Nghymru mewn meysydd datganoledig, nid yr Ysgrifennydd Gwladol. Felly, Gweinidog, a wnewch chi geisio gwelliannau i'r Bil fel bod gan Weinidogion Cymru bwerau cyfatebol i'r rhai sydd gan yr Ysgrifennydd Gwladol i basio is-ddeddfwriaeth? Rydym yn pryderu ymhellach na fydd y gyfraith ar ddiwygio lesddaliad mor hygyrch i bobl Cymru ag y dylai fod. Gweinidog, fe wnaethoch chi ddweud wrth y pwyllgor mai'r Bil yw'r cam cyntaf, ond arwyddocaol, tuag at weithredu diwygiadau eang ar gyfer lesddaliad fel deiliadaeth, ac y bydd Bil arall yn y DU sy'n ymdrin â diwygiadau yn cael ei gyflwyno. Fe wnaethoch chi ddweud wrthym hefyd y bydd rhai meysydd pwysig eraill o ddiwygio lesddaliad yn cael eu datblygu ar sail Cymru'n unig yn y Bil diogelwch adeiladu arfaethedig yn ystod tymor y Senedd hon. Heb os nac oni bai bydd gwneud y diwygiadau hyn drwy ddarnau lluosog o ddeddfwriaeth yn lleihau hygyrchedd cyfraith Cymru. Felly, Gweinidog, a wnewch chi amlinellu sut y byddwch yn sicrhau bod y gyfraith yng Nghymru mor hygyrch ag y dylai fod? Llywydd, er gwaethaf y pryderon hyn yr wyf newydd eu hamlinellu, mae'r rhan fwyaf o aelodau'r pwyllgor yn gweld manteision cymhwyso'r diwygiadau hyn i Gymru cyn gynted â phosibl, ac o gael dull gweithredu ar gyfer Cymru a Lloegr. Ond, fel y soniais, roedd diffyg craffu yn golygu nad oeddem yn gallu rhoi honiadau ar brawf fel y byddem wedi hoffi ei wneud. Felly, byddwn yn annog Llywodraeth Cymru i sicrhau bod gan bwyllgorau'r amser a'r adnoddau angenrheidiol i allu chwarae rhan ystyrlon yn y broses cydsyniad deddfwriaethol. Diolch yn fawr.