English: I welcome the opportunity to briefly contribute to this debate. Like David Rowlands and others in the Chamber, I do welcome the moves that the Welsh Government have undertaken with the announcement of the additional money that has been put in to support businesses who have found themselves on the wrong end of this revaluation process. But that doesn't take away, as we heard yesterday both from Nick Ramsay in his question to the First Minister and myself in questioning to the leader of the house, how there is little information there to understand exactly how this £10 million extra that was announced from 17 December is actually going to be used and distributed to assist businesses. As has already been addressed here this afternoon, there are businesses in a real dilemma about signing new leases, about making those commitments, and that information is desperately required. I do hope that the Minister today will use the opportunity in responding to this debate to give us a little more information, if not the entire package, I would hope, so that our constituents and businesses that have these concerns can actually understand how this additional money will make a difference. This morning, Nick Ramsay, Russ George and myself, along with the Petitions Committee Chairman, Mike Hedges, received a petition here in the Assembly from Sally Stephenson of the Pencil Case business in Cowbridge and David Cummings from the chamber of trade in Monmouthshire, who accentuated this issue around the lack of information and the importance of getting that information out as quickly as possible. I do think that this evening's debate is offering a unique opportunity for the Minister to actually focus on getting that information and using the platform that this debate affords him to obviously inform the Assembly and people who are waiting for that information to come to make those business decisions. There is also the real logjam that people are finding when they're seeking responses from the valuation office, in particular around appeals. This is a point that I've raised with the Minister before, about making sure that the valuation office does respond in a timely manner when a business does find itself on the wrong end of the valuation. Some of these increases in valuations have been absolutely astronomical - not in the tens of percentage points but in the hundreds of percentage points - increases from where they found themselves under the previous valuation. In particular, there do seem to be specific sectors that have particularly been hurt by this revaluation - the secondary shopping sector and in particular the food sector in the hospitality market. That does seem to have come off particularly worse when it comes to looking at where these valuations are hurting businesses that historically have had a pretty lean couple of years and really are teetering on the rope of whether they stay in business for the next 12 months or whether they just say, 'Enough's enough'. We appreciate that the business rate regime does need reforming, and we look forward to the way the Cabinet Secretary brings forward those discussions, in particular with a date of April next year. It cannot be right that you have a system that penalises businesses that was first brought forward in 1604, I think it was, when there was no Amazon, and when there was no online shopping. Ultimately, we really are in a competitive marketplace now that really has a dramatic impact on the viability of many shops and retailers in rural locations in particular, who have limited opportunities to diversify their income, and business rates are one of the key weights around those businesses' necks. We have spoken at length about what we would like to see on this side of the house, which is the threshold being lifted from £6,000 up to £12,000 and then tapered up to £15,000. That would make a massive difference in the ability of businesses to invest in themselves, because we know that that money would not disappear into some holiday fund - it would be kept within the business to create jobs and to create investment. I do hope that, in the discussions leading up to the change in the business rate regime next April, the Cabinet Secretary does look at the opportunity around thresholds and around making sure that, in particular when it comes to the business rate multiplier, he does look at the suggestions that we have put forward previously when it comes to out-of-town shops and the big multiples and the rates that they might pay. So, I would implore the Cabinet Secretary to use his opportunity this evening to give more information as to how that additional money that he has made available on 17 December will be distributed and made available to businesses, because we are a little under nine weeks away from many of those businesses having to find that money to pay when it comes to the early part of the new financial year.
Welsh: Rwy'n croesawu'r cyfle i gyfrannu'n fyr at y ddadl hon. Fel David Rowlands ac eraill yn y Siambr, rwy'n croesawu'r symud ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru wrth iddi gyhoeddi'r arian ychwanegol a neilltuwyd ar gyfer cefnogi busnesau sydd ar y pen anghywir i'r broses ailbrisio hon. Ond fel y clywsom ddoe gan Nick Ramsay yn ei gwestiwn i'r Prif Weinidog a minnau mewn cwestiynau i arweinydd y tŷ, nid yw hynny'n cael gwared ar y ffaith nad oes fawr o wybodaeth yno i ddeall sut yn union y mae'r £10 miliwn ychwanegol a gyhoeddwyd ar 17 Rhagfyr yn mynd i gael ei ddefnyddio a'i ddosbarthu i gynorthwyo busnesau mewn gwirionedd. Fel sydd eisoes wedi cael sylw yma y prynhawn yma, mae busnesau mewn cyfyng gyngor go iawn ynglŷn ag arwyddo lesoedd newydd, ynglŷn â gwneud ymrwymiadau o'r fath, ac mae taer angen y wybodaeth honno. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y Gweinidog heddiw yn defnyddio'r cyfle wrth ymateb i'r ddadl hon i roi ychydig mwy o wybodaeth i ni, os nad y pecyn cyfan, gobeithio, fel y gall ein hetholwyr a busnesau sy'n pryderu fel hyn ddeall sut y gall yr arian ychwanegol hwn wneud gwahaniaeth mewn gwirionedd. Y bore yma yn y Cynulliad, cyflwynwyd deiseb i Nick Ramsay, Russ George a minnau, ynghyd â Chadeirydd y Pwyllgor Deisebau, Mike Hedges, gan Sally Stephenson o fusnes Pencil Case yn y Bont-faen a David Cummings o'r siambr fasnach yn Sir Fynwy, a bwysleisiodd y mater hwn ynghylch diffyg gwybodaeth a phwysigrwydd cael y wybodaeth allan cyn gynted ag y bo modd. Rwy'n credu bod y ddadl heno yn gyfle unigryw i'r Gweinidog ganolbwyntio mewn gwirionedd ar gael y wybodaeth honno a defnyddio'r platfform y mae'r ddadl hon yn ei roi iddo, yn amlwg, i hysbysu'r Cynulliad a'r bobl sy'n aros am y wybodaeth honno i allu gwneud y penderfyniadau busnes hynny. Mae yna dagfa wirioneddol hefyd pan fydd pobl yn ceisio cael ymateb gan y swyddfa brisio, yn enwedig mewn perthynas ag apelio. Dyma bwynt yr wyf wedi'i grybwyll wrth y Gweinidog o'r blaen, ynglŷn â gwneud yn siŵr fod y swyddfa brisio yn ymateb mewn modd amserol pan fydd busnes ar ben anghywir y prisiad. Mae rhai o'r codiadau yn y prisiadau wedi bod yn hollol enfawr, cynnydd, nid o ddegau o bwyntiau canran, ond cannoedd o bwyntiau canran, o ble roeddent o dan y prisiad blaenorol. Ymddengys bod sectorau penodol wedi cael eu brifo'n arbennig gan yr ailbrisio - y sector siopa eilaidd ac yn enwedig y sector bwyd yn y farchnad letygarwch. Mae'n ymddangos bod y sector hwnnw wedi ei chael hi'n sylweddol waeth wrth edrych ar ble y mae'r prisiadau hyn yn brifo busnesau sydd, yn hanesyddol, wedi cael blwyddyn neu ddwy go galed ac sydd o ddifrif yn gwegian rhwng dau feddwl a ydynt yn mynd i barhau'r busnes am y 12 mis nesaf, neu a ydynt am ddweud, 'Digon yw digon'. Rydym yn derbyn bod angen diwygio'r gyfundrefn ardrethi busnes, ac edrychwn ymlaen at glywed sut y bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn cyflwyno'r trafodaethau hynny, yn enwedig gyda dyddiad o fis Ebrill y flwyddyn nesaf. Ni all fod yn iawn fod gennych system sy'n cosbi busnesau a gyflwynwyd gyntaf yn 1604, rwy'n credu, pan nad oedd Amazon yn bodoli, a phan nad oedd siopa ar-lein ar gael. Yn y pen draw, rydym mewn marchnad gystadleuol iawn yn awr sy'n effeithio'n ddramatig ar hyfywedd llawer o siopau a manwerthwyr mewn lleoliadau gwledig yn arbennig, heb fawr o gyfleoedd i arallgyfeirio eu hincwm, ac ardrethi busnes yw un o'r meini melin allweddol am yddfau'r busnesau hynny. Rydym wedi siarad yn helaeth am yr hyn y byddem yn hoffi ei weld ar yr ochr hon i'r tŷ, sef codi'r trothwy o £6,000 i £12,000 a'i leihau'n raddol wedyn hyd at £15,000. Byddai hynny'n gwneud gwahaniaeth enfawr i allu busnesau i fuddsoddi ynddynt eu hunain, gan ein bod yn gwybod na fyddai'r arian hwnnw'n diflannu i mewn i ryw gronfa wyliau - byddai'n cael ei gadw yn y busnes i greu swyddi ac i greu buddsoddiad. Yn y trafodaethau yn arwain at y newid yn y drefn ardrethi busnes fis Ebrill nesaf, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn edrych ar y cyfle o ran trothwyon, ac yn sicrhau, yn enwedig mewn perthynas â'r lluosydd ardrethi busnes, ei fod yn edrych ar yr awgrymiadau a gyflwynwyd gennym o'r blaen ar gyfer siopau ar gyrion y dref a'r siopau cadwyn mawr a'r ardrethi y gallent eu talu. Felly, hoffwn erfyn ar Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet i ddefnyddio ei gyfle heno i roi mwy o wybodaeth ynglŷn â sut y bydd yr arian ychwanegol a ryddhaodd ar 17 Rhagfyr yn cael ei ddosbarthu ac ar gael i fusnesau, gan ein bod ychydig o dan naw wythnos i ffwrdd o'r adeg y bydd yn rhaid i lawer o'r busnesau hynny ddod o hyd i'r arian i dalu pan ddaw'n ddechrau'r flwyddyn ariannol newydd.