English: Can I also thank the Welsh Government Minister for bringing forward today's debate on the 2023-24 draft budget? Of course, it has a really important impact on our communities, on everyone in Wales, and it's something that, I'm sure, everyone's been eagerly anticipating. It's clear from our side of the benches and throughout contributions so far, along with our amendment to today's budget debate, that this Welsh Government budget does not go far enough in delivering for the priorities of the people of Wales. And one of these priorities is the services delivered by our fantastic councils and councillors up and down Wales. It'll be no surprise to us here that I'll be starting my contribution in this regard. As has already been outlined, the local government settlement is proposing a 7.9 per cent increase, which is around £227 million being provided to local government, which, of course, those councils have welcomed cautiously. But it's clearly not enough for them to deliver the services that are required. It's really difficult to see how this increase in the settlement will actually lead to local communities receiving better services. We know that councils are currently having to grapple with budgets and difficult decisions just to survive and deliver business as usual, let alone see additional services delivered. But we are living with and dealing with a bit of a paradox on this issue, because in light of this funding settlement of 7.9 per cent, many councils up and down Wales are planning huge council tax rises to deal with it, but this is despite them sitting on massive reserves, which my colleague Peter Fox pointed out. In my view, it's simply not right that residents across Wales are likely to face significant council tax rises, especially during a time when their pockets are already being hit, when some councils are sitting on hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of reserves. The moral position on this is difficult to justify, and I hope the Minister will consider the thoughts that Peter Fox presented in respect of this as well. Secondly, other Members have mentioned this point, and it is in relation to the housing issues and challenges that our councils are facing. I've received significant correspondence on this, and I'm sure that other Members have as well, and it's in relation to the housing support grant, which we know funds the vast majority of support for our homeless and housing support in Wales, with around 60,000 people every year being supported. Really important support was provided throughout the pandemic, but it's currently under more pressure than ever. We know that, over the past decade, the housing support grant has reduced in real terms from where it was at £139 million around 10 years ago, which should equate to about £181 million today. But in actual fact, it is £167 million, so it's about a £14 million real-terms cut to an area that has seen a significant increase in demand. And this real-terms cut is having a significant effect on the housing support grant workforce, and it's clear that the absence of any increase to this budget means that service delivery is at risk, and ultimately it will cost the taxpayer more in the long run, because this preventative service is not being properly supported. In addition to this, we're seeing a huge challenge in recruiting and retaining staff in these services, and we're told that 29 per cent of staff working in housing support will be getting paid less than the new real living wage. It can't be right that the Welsh Government's own budget for housing support services is not enabling them to pay the real living wage, despite the Welsh Government's own commitment to pay the real living wage. There's a real hypocrisy there in the budget setting for housing support services from the Welsh Government.
Welsh: A gaf i ddiolch hefyd i Weinidog Llywodraeth Cymru am gyflwyno'r drafodaeth heddiw ar gyllideb ddrafft 2023-24? Wrth gwrs, mae'n cael effaith hynod bwysig ar ein cymunedau, ar bawb yng Nghymru, ac mae'n rhywbeth, rwy'n siŵr, y mae pawb wedi bod yn aros amdani'n eiddgar. Mae'n amlwg o'n hochr ni y meinciau a thrwy gydol y cyfraniadau hyd yma, ynghyd â'n gwelliant i'r ddadl yn y gyllideb heddiw, nad yw'r gyllideb hon gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn mynd yn ddigon pell wrth gyflawni ar flaenoriaethau pobl Cymru. Ac un o'r blaenoriaethau hyn yw'r gwasanaethau sy'n cael eu darparu gan ein cynghorau a'n cynghorwyr gwych ar hyd a lled Cymru. Ni fydd hi'n syndod i ni yma y byddaf i'n dechrau fy nghyfraniad yn hyn o beth. Fel sydd eisoes wedi'i amlinellu, mae'r setliad llywodraeth leol yn cynnig cynnydd o 7.9 y cant, sydd tua £227 miliwn yn cael ei ddarparu i lywodraeth leol, sydd, wrth gwrs, wedi cael croeso gochelgar. Ond yn amlwg nid yw hi wedi bod yn ddigon iddyn nhw ddarparu'r gwasanaethau sydd eu hangen ar bobl. Mae'n anodd iawn gweld sut bydd y cynnydd hwn yn y setliad wir yn arwain at gymunedau lleol yn cael gwell gwasanaethau. Rydyn ni'n gwybod bod cynghorau ar hyn o bryd yn gorfod ymrafael â chyllidebau a phenderfyniadau anodd dim ond i oroesi bwrw ymlaen fel arfer, heb sôn am weld gwasanaethau ychwanegol yn cael eu cyflawni. Ond rydyn ni'n byw gyda ac yn ymdrin ag ychydig o baradocs ar y mater hwn, oherwydd yng ngoleuni'r setliad cyllido hwn o 7.9 y cant, mae llawer o gynghorau ar hyd a lled Cymru yn cynllunio codi'r dreth gyngor yn sylweddol iawn i ymdopi ag ef, ond mae hyn er eu bod yn eistedd ar gronfeydd wrth gefn enfawr, y tynnodd fy nghydweithiwr Peter Fox sylw ato. Yn fy marn i, nid yw hi'n iawn bod trigolion ledled Cymru yn debygol o wynebu cynnydd sylweddol yn y dreth gyngor, yn enwedig yn ystod cyfnod pan fo'u pocedi eisoes yn dioddef, pan mae rhai cynghorau'n eistedd ar werth cannoedd o filiynau o bunnoedd wrth gefn. Mae'n anodd cyfiawnhau'r safbwynt moesol ar hyn, ac rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y Gweinidog yn ystyried y sylwadau y cyflwynodd Peter Fox ar hyn hefyd. Yn ail, mae Aelodau eraill wedi sôn am y pwynt hwn, ac mae ynghylch materion tai a'r heriau y mae ein cynghorau yn eu hwynebu. Rwyf i wedi cael gohebiaeth sylweddol ar hyn, ac rwy'n siŵr fod Aelodau eraill wedi hefyd, ac mae'n ymwneud â'r grant cymorth tai, yr ydym ni'n ymwybodol ei fod yn ariannu'r mwyafrif helaeth o gefnogaeth i'n cymorth i ddigartrefedd a thai yng Nghymru, gyda thua 60,000 o bobl bob blwyddyn yn cael eu cefnogi. Cafodd cymorth pwysig iawn ei ddarparu drwy gydol y pandemig, ond ar hyn o bryd mae o dan fwy o bwysau nag erioed. Gwyddom ni, yn ystod y degawd diwethaf, fod y grant cymorth tai wedi lleihau mewn termau real o ble'r oedd ar £139 miliwn tua 10 mlynedd yn ôl, a ddylai gyfateb i tua £181 miliwn heddiw. Ond mewn gwirionedd, mae'n £167 miliwn, felly mae tua £14 miliwn o doriad mewn termau real i faes sydd wedi gweld cynnydd sylweddol yn y galw. Ac mae'r toriad termau real hwn yn cael effaith sylweddol ar y gweithlu grantiau cymorth tai, ac mae'n amlwg bod diffyg unrhyw gynnydd i'r gyllideb hon yn golygu bod darparu gwasanaethau mewn perygl, ac yn y pen draw bydd yn costio mwy i'r trethdalwr yn y pen draw, oherwydd nid yw'r gwasanaeth ataliol hwn yn cael ei gefnogi'n gywir. Yn ogystal â hyn, rydyn ni'n gweld her enfawr wrth recriwtio a chadw staff yn y gwasanaethau hyn, ac rydyn ni wedi cael gwybod y bydd 29 y cant o staff sy'n gweithio mewn cymorth tai yn cael llai o dâl na'r cyflog byw gwirioneddol newydd. Ni all fod yn iawn nad yw cyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru ei hun ar gyfer gwasanaethau cefnogi tai yn eu galluogi i dalu'r cyflog byw gwirioneddol, er gwaethaf ymrwymiad Llywodraeth Cymru ei hun i dalu'r cyflog byw gwirioneddol. Mae rhagrith gwirioneddol yno yn y broses o osod gwasanaethau cymorth tai gan Lywodraeth Cymru.