English: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion in the name of Paul Davies AM. The recent announcement of the Green Paper by the Cabinet Secretary on 20 March, without any prior discussions with us as AMs, is the third attempt by this Welsh Labour Government to reform the structure of local government in Wales. One would have thought, as a result of two previous failed attempts to bring forward legislation to futureproof our local authorities, that this attempt would have been done in a more strategic, considerate and engaging manner. Despite previous rhetoric about wanting to work in a respectful manner with local authority members and AMs, the proposals going forward actually show a distinct lack of acknowledgment of the effect that this top-down diktat has on those working within the sector. How disappointing also that the promises by the previous Cabinet Secretary, Mark Drakeford AM, who did engage with us, actually, in offering up a regional form of working and assuring councils of a 10-year stable platform from which to take forward reform, have simply been rubbished by such a heavy-handed and dictatorial approach. The WLGA have raised concerns, accusing you, Cabinet Secretary, in their words, of 'recycling failed plans', through the continuance of top-down politics towards local authorities that we saw fail in the fourth Assembly under the previous proposals for forced mergers. Your intent to use statutory frameworks to force mergers through is an insult to those in this sector who have more than jumped through enough hoops to satisfy the Welsh Labour Government over the past 20 years on your watch. The WLGA and others have stated that most academic analysis concludes that such reform programmes rarely deliver the savings or changes in performance that were hoped for. When scrutinised on these proposals, you clearly stated that you have engaged and consulted with the sector. However, I know, from my own visits to local authorities across the political divide, and through talking to many elected members, that they were as surprised as we were by such a bullish approach in announcing these disruptive and counter-productive plans. Councillor Thomas, leader of Vale of Glamorgan, categorically stated that 'Typically there has been no meaningful discussion or engagement with councils, or more importantly the local residents that will be affected, ahead of these plans being published.' A Wrexham councillor has also termed the proposed merger with Flintshire an expensive disaster waiting to happen, whilst the council's independent leader described the ongoing debate as 'a cross between Fawlty Towers, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Yes Minister'. The Welsh Local Government Association stated to the ELGC committee during the previous proposals for forced mergers that it would be impossible for authorities to meet merger proposal costs without significant cuts to front-line services. Without a joined-up, strategic and professional approach, yet another set of proposals for forced mergers, lacking in any cost benefit or risk analysis, is destined to fail. This ham-fisted top-down approach from here is not the way forward. In a business setting, reform would start and it would finish by being led from within the very sector that one is looking to reform - incidentally, in this instance, a sector for which I have a tremendous amount of confidence and respect. As the leader of the WLGA, Councillor Debbie Wilcox, said, 'We didn't need Welsh Government to mandate us to work regionally. We just got on with it, because we recognised it was in the interests of the people and the communities we serve.' Indeed, Councillor Peter Fox has said: 'Councils in south-east Wales have been working hard towards the last recommendations from the Welsh Government, which asked us to work collaboratively on regional footprints.' And what a splendid example: the Cardiff capital region's city deal, with 10 local authorities all working together across the political divide to improve the economic prosperity of the region, brilliantly epitomised by the leader -
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd. Rwy'n gwneud y cynnig yn enw Paul Davies AC. Y cyhoeddiad diweddar ynglŷn â Phapur Gwyrdd gan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet ar 20 Mawrth, heb unrhyw drafodaethau blaenorol gyda ni fel ACau, yw'r trydydd ymgais gan y Llywodraeth Lafur hon i ddiwygio strwythur llywodraeth leol yng Nghymru. Byddai rhywun wedi meddwl, o ganlyniad i ddau gynnig aflwyddiannus blaenorol i gyflwyno deddfwriaeth i ddiogelu ein hawdurdodau lleol ar gyfer y dyfodol, y byddai'r cynnig hwn wedi'i wneud mewn modd mwy strategol, ystyrlon a diddorol. Er gwaethaf rhethreg flaenorol ynghylch y dymuniad i weithio mewn ffordd barchus gydag aelodau awdurdodau lleol ac Aelodau'r Cynulliad, mae'r cynigion a gyflwynir yn dangos diffyg cydnabyddiaeth amlwg mewn gwirionedd o effaith y dictad o'r brig i'r bôn hwn ar y rhai sy'n gweithio yn y sector. Am siomedig hefyd fod addewidion gan yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet blaenorol, Mark Drakeford AC, a ymgysylltodd â ni, mewn gwirionedd, i gynnig ffurf ranbarthol o weithio a sicrhau platfform sefydlog 10 mlynedd i gynghorau allu symud ymlaen ar ddiwygio, wedi cael eu diystyru mewn modd mor llawdrwm ac unbenaethol. Mae Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru wedi mynegi pryderon, gan eich cyhuddo chi, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, yn eu geiriau hwy, o 'ailgylchu cynlluniau aflwyddiannus', drwy barhau â'r wleidyddiaeth o'r brig i'r bôn tuag at awdurdodau lleol a welsom yn methu yn y pedwerydd Cynulliad o dan y cynigion blaenorol ar uno gorfodol. Mae eich bwriad i ddefnyddio fframweithiau statudol i orfodi uno yn sarhad ar y rhai yn y sector sydd wedi gwneud mwy na neidio drwy ddigon o gylchoedd i fodloni Llywodraeth Llafur Cymru dros yr 20 mlynedd diwethaf o dan eich goruchwyliaeth chi. Mae CLlLC ac eraill wedi dweud bod y rhan fwyaf o ddadansoddiadau academaidd wedi dod i'r casgliad mai anaml y bydd rhaglenni diwygio o'r fath yn darparu'r arbedion neu'r newidiadau mewn perfformiad y gobeithiwyd eu gweld. Pan gawsoch eich craffu ar y cynigion hyn, dywedasoch yn glir eich bod wedi ymgysylltu ac ymgynghori â'r sector. Fodd bynnag, gwn o fy ymweliadau ag awdurdodau lleol ar draws y rhaniadau gwleidyddol, a thrwy siarad â llawer o aelodau etholedig, eu bod wedi eu synnu gymaint â minnau gan yr ymagwedd ymwthiol wrth gyhoeddi'r cynlluniau aflonyddgar a gwrthgynhyrchiol hyn. Dywedodd y Cynghorydd Thomas, arweinydd Bro Morgannwg, yn bendant Fel arfer ni fu unrhyw drafodaeth neu ymgysylltiad ystyrlon â chynghorau, neu'n bwysicach y trigolion lleol yr effeithir arnynt, cyn i'r cynlluniau hyn gael eu cyhoeddi. Mae cynghorydd yn Wrecsam hefyd wedi galw'r uno arfaethedig gyda Sir y Fflint yn drychineb ddrud sy'n aros i ddigwydd, tra bo arweinydd annibynnol y cyngor wedi disgrifio'r ddadl barhaus fel cymysgedd o Fawlty Towers, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em a Yes Minister. Nododd Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru wrth y pwyllgor cydraddoldeb a llywodraeth leol yn ystod y cynigion uno gorfodol blaenorol y byddai'n amhosibl i awdurdodau dalu costau'r cynnig i uno heb wneud toriadau sylweddol i wasanaethau rheng flaen. Heb ddull cydlynol, strategol a phroffesiynol o weithredu, mae cyfres arall eto o gynigion uno gorfodol, heb unrhyw ddadansoddiad cost a budd neu risg, wedi'i thynghedu i fethu. Nid y dull trwsgl o'r brig i'r bôn hwn o'r fan hon yw'r ffordd ymlaen. Mewn cefndir busnes, byddai diwygio'n dechrau ac yn gorffen drwy gael ei arwain o'r union sector y mae rhywun yn ceisio ei ddiwygio - gyda llaw, yn yr achos hwn, sector y mae gennyf hyder aruthrol ynddo a pharch tuag ato. Fel y dywedodd arweinydd CLlLC, y Cynghorydd Debbie Wilcox, Nid oeddem angen i Lywodraeth Cymru roi mandad i ni weithio'n rhanbarthol. Fe aethom ati i wneud hynny am ein bod yn cydnabod bod hynny'n fuddiol i'r bobl a'r cymunedau rydym yn eu gwasanaethu. Yn wir, dywedodd y Cynghorydd Peter Fox: Mae cynghorau yn ne-ddwyrain Cymru wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed tuag at yr argymhellion diwethaf gan Lywodraeth Cymru, a ofynnai i ni weithio'n gydweithredol ar sail ranbarthol. Ac am esiampl wych: bargen ddinesig prifddinas-ranbarth Caerdydd, gyda 10 awdurdod lleol yn cydweithio ar draws y rhaniadau gwleidyddol i wella ffyniant economaidd y rhanbarth, wedi'i arddangos yn rhagorol gan yr arweinydd -