English: Diolch, acting Llywydd. I'm delighted to move the motion tabled today in the name of my colleague Darren Millar regarding local government funding. I will again declare an interest as an elected member of Conwy County Borough Council as well. As the start of this motion here points to, and as I've mentioned time and time again in this Chamber, and it's something that I'll continue to raise, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic councils went above and beyond. Many of us know the sacrifice, hard work and dedication that council staff endured and they deserve to be praised for their hard work, right from our social care workers through to our teaching assistants, librarians through to recycling crews, all of whom have gone above and beyond. In light of this, I was pleased to see the Government didn't delete point 1 of our motion here today, thanking councillors, local authorities and their staff across Wales for their role during the pandemic. It's great to see that as a Senedd we can look to agree on this. Nevertheless, acting Llywydd, it's vitally important to recognise that councils had been doing exceptional work well before the pandemic and will continue to do so afterwards. As many people will agree, councils are often best placed to represent the needs of local people, of course. Devolution was, in fact, introduced to bring powers as close to people as possible, and this is what councils can and should do. But, for councils to maximise their potential, they need suitable funding to be available to do this, and as point 2 of our motion states, councils must adequately be funded to enable them to deliver the high-quality public services to which they aspire. They need adequate funding to allow them to maximise their potential, which, of course, the Government also agrees with today. Frustratingly, and as outlined in point 3 of our motion here, the current local government funding formula simply isn't fit for purpose, though. I will come on to specifically why I think this is in a moment, rather than just making some soundbites.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd dros dro. Rwy'n falch iawn o wneud y cynnig a gyflwynwyd heddiw yn enw fy nghyd-Aelod, Darren Millar, ynghylch ariannu llywodraeth leol. Unwaith eto, rwy'n datgan buddiant fel aelod etholedig o Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy hefyd. Fel y mae dechrau'r cynnig hwn yn ei nodi, ac fel y soniais dro ar ôl tro yn y Siambr hon, ac mae'n rhywbeth y byddaf yn parhau i'w godi, drwy gydol y pandemig COVID-19 aeth y cynghorau y tu hwnt i'r galw. Mae llawer ohonom yn gwybod am aberth, gwaith caled ac ymroddiad staff y cynghorau ac maent yn haeddu cael eu canmol am eu gwaith caled, o'n gweithwyr gofal cymdeithasol i'n cynorthwywyr addysgu, o lyfrgellwyr i griwiau ailgylchu, mae pob un ohonynt wedi mynd y tu hwnt i'r galw. Yng ngoleuni hyn, roeddwn yn falch o weld na wnaeth y Llywodraeth ddileu pwynt 1 ein cynnig yma heddiw, sy'n diolch i gynghorwyr, awdurdodau lleol a'u staff ledled Cymru am eu rôl yn ystod y pandemig. Mae'n wych gweld y gallwn ni fel Senedd gytuno ar hyn. Serch hynny, Lywydd dros dro, mae'n hanfodol bwysig cydnabod bod cynghorau wedi bod yn gwneud gwaith eithriadol ymhell cyn y pandemig a byddant yn parhau i wneud hynny wedyn. Fel y bydd llawer o bobl yn cytuno, y cynghorau yn aml sydd yn y sefyllfa orau i gynrychioli anghenion pobl leol, wrth gwrs. Cyflwynwyd datganoli, mewn gwirionedd, i ddod â phwerau mor agos â phosibl at y bobl, a dyna y gallai ac y dylai cynghorau ei wneud. Ond er mwyn i gynghorau wneud y mwyaf o'u potensial, maent angen i gyllid addas fod ar gael i wneud hyn, ac fel y dywed pwynt 2 o'n cynnig, rhaid i gynghorau gael eu hariannu'n ddigonol i'w galluogi i ddarparu'r gwasanaethau cyhoeddus o ansawdd uchel y maent yn anelu atynt. Maent angen cyllid digonol i'w galluogi i wneud y mwyaf o'u potensial, ac mae'r Llywodraeth yn cytuno â hynny heddiw. Fodd bynnag, yn rhwystredig, ac fel yr amlinellir ym mhwynt 3 ein cynnig yma, nid yw'r fformiwla bresennol ar gyfer ariannu llywodraeth leol yn addas i'r diben. Byddaf yn trafod pam yn benodol y credaf fod hynny'n wir mewn munud, yn hytrach na gwneud sylwadau bachog yn unig.