English: Can I thank the Minister for her statement? By way of background, the private rented sector currently constitutes 11 per cent of the Welsh housing stock, with 71 per cent being owner-owned and 18 per cent rented from housing associations and local authorities. We all acknowledge there's a growing demand for rented accommodation, not only from those historical groups, such as students, but also from migrant workers, both foreign and indigenous, and increasingly from households unable to afford owner-occupation. The situation, of course, is exacerbated by the restrictive availability of social housing, given years of neglect in house building in this sector. I must say, Minister, it's difficult to criticise the contents of this statement, as it outlines a very innovative, and, we believe, very effective way of increasing private housing stock available to rent. We also agree with the concept of local councils being the best vehicle to administer these innovations. The long-term guaranteed return to private landlords should be a very real incentive to them, as well as a release from the day-to-day running duties. And a loan facility to improve the property again must prove to be a great incentive to private landlords. Just one word of caution is that it is imperative that the price at which the rentals are set must represent a good return on the private landlord's capital investment. I do believe, as others have said in this Assembly, that the stability that this may give to families to be able to know that they're in accommodation for some five years will have huge social impacts, not just for the family themselves but for society as a whole, because we know that if families are being moved from one area to another, as Mike Hedges has pointed out, it doesn't help with their education and many other things, and, of course, the health of those families as well. So, it impacts on that side of the argument as well. So, at the beginning, I congratulated the Government and the Minister on initiating what promises to be a sound proposition to entice private landlords to let properties to those families who may not have previously been considered.
Welsh: A gaf i ddiolch i'r Gweinidog am ei datganiad? O ran cefndir, mae'r sector rhentu preifat ar hyn o bryd yn cyfateb i 11 y cant o stoc dai Cymru, gyda 71 y cant yn eiddo i berchen-feddianwyr a 18 y cant o'r tai yn cael eu rhentu oddi wrth gymdeithasau tai ac awdurdodau lleol. Rydym ni i gyd yn cydnabod bod galw cynyddol am lety rhent, nid yn unig gan y grwpiau hanesyddol hynny, megis myfyrwyr, ond hefyd gan weithwyr mudol, tramor a brodorol, ac yn gynyddol o aelwydydd nad ydynt yn gallu fforddio perchen-feddiannaeth. Mae'r sefyllfa, wrth gwrs, yn cael ei gwaethygu gan y nifer cyfyng o dai cymdeithasol sydd ar gael, o gofio'r blynyddoedd o esgeulustod o ran adeiladu tai yn y sector hwn. Mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud, Gweinidog, ei bod hi'n anodd beirniadu cynnwys y datganiad hwn, gan ei fod yn amlinellu dull arloesol iawn, ac, rydym yn credu, un effeithiol iawn o gynyddu'r stoc tai preifat sydd ar gael i'w rentu. Cytunwn hefyd â'r cysyniad mai cynghorau lleol yw'r cyfrwng gorau i weinyddu'r datblygiadau arloesol hyn. Dylai'r adenillion gwarantedig hirdymor i landlordiaid preifat fod yn gymhelliant go iawn iddynt, yn ogystal â chael eu rhyddhau o'r dyletswyddau cynnal o ddydd i ddydd. Ac mae'n rhaid bod cyfleuster benthyca i wella'r eiddo unwaith eto yn gymhelliant mawr i landlordiaid preifat. Dim ond un gair o rybudd sef ei bod hi'n hanfodol bod y pris a bennir ar y rhenti'n gorfod adlewyrchu elw da ar fuddsoddiad cyfalaf y landlord preifat. Rwyf yn credu, fel y dywedodd eraill yn y Cynulliad hwn, y bydd y sefydlogrwydd y gall hyn ei roi i deuluoedd oherwydd eu bod yn gwybod y byddant mewn llety am ryw bum mlynedd yn cael effeithiau cymdeithasol enfawr, nid yn unig i'r teulu ei hun ond i gymdeithas yn gyffredinol, oherwydd gwyddom, os yw teuluoedd yn cael eu symud o un ardal i'r llall, fel y mae Mike Hedges wedi nodi, nid yw o fudd i'w haddysg na llawer o bethau eraill, nac, wrth gwrs, i iechyd y teuluoedd hynny hefyd. Felly, mae'n effeithio ar yr ochr honno o'r ddadl hefyd. Felly, ar y dechrau, fe wnes i longyfarch y Llywodraeth a'r Gweinidog am gychwyn yr hyn sy'n addo bod yn gynnig cadarn i ddenu landlordiaid preifat i osod eiddo i'r teuluoedd hynny nad ydynt, o bosib, wedi'u hystyried o'r blaen.