English: Caerphilly council were somewhat stressed by the delay caused in the budget by the general election, and nonetheless went ahead with a consultation. Actually, the consultation took place during the general election. I'm still wondering whether that was entirely wise to consult on a budget you didn't know during a general election. But the good news is that, as a result of the Welsh Government's budget, the projected savings that were required have dropped from £8.5 million to £3 million. It shows that a responsible budget is perfectly possible and has had a positive effect on Caerphilly County Borough Council as a result of the Welsh Government's action. You mentioned austerity, and every time you do Janet Finch-Saunders - not every time, she didn't do it just then - but when you do mention austerity, Janet Finch-Saunders has a tendency to shout and complain, but the fact is that this budget today is still a budget in an austerity era and has its roots in the fact that the worst possible time to cut in the way that they did was in 2010 - Cameron and Osborne - when they did it in the depths of a recession. It was the worst possible time to begin an austerity programme, and therefore we will take many years to recover from that, because of the consequences of those choices that were made then. That is why there are difficulties with the budget, because of an economic choice that was made in 2010 and is still being felt today. But we are seeing small steps back in the journey. I still think we're seeing austerity; I don't think we've seen an end to austerity by any shape or means. But what we are seeing, through the Welsh Government's budget, is small steps forward, and in real terms, Caerphilly council will now be £11.1 million better off in the next financial year compared to this one, because of this good settlement. And some of the things that were advertised as possible cuts had these difficult times continued, and were publicised during the general election campaign, now don't have to go ahead - things like, because of this Welsh Government, Caerphilly council won't be forced to cut school budgets; won't be forced to remove school crossing patrols; won't be forced to reduce CCTV cameras; won't increase school meal prices; and won't have to reduce the highways maintenance budget. And I'm pleased to say that any decision to close recycling centres in my constituency will now not go ahead. Also, in addition to that, Caerphilly council's council tax, compared to the two neighbouring authorities - Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr, both independently controlled - is significantly less. In fact, people in band B in Caerphilly pay £400 less each year than in those neighbouring authorities, and Caerphilly is in the lowest quartile for council tax rates in Wales. That is because of the local government Minister's actions and the finance Minister's actions over the last few months. However, we have to recognise that the flooding that took place has also imposed an unexpected and intolerable financial burden on Caerphilly County Borough Council, with some of the repairs that will be needed in the future. The extra financial support from the Welsh Government has been very welcome. In addition to the £500 per person that the local authority has given, the Welsh Government has also given £500 per person, plus £500 for those who are not insured. That is everyone who's been affected by flooding will have between £1,000 and £1,500 if their property was affected, as a result, again, of the actions of the Government and of the council. The impact of the floods, though, on the infrastructure of the county borough is currently calculated at around £4 million, and this is expected to double over the next few weeks as the full storm damage is determined. And further necessary infrastructure improvements that were made increasingly urgent by the floods have been identified at a total cost in Caerphilly of £75 million to £85 million - that's particularly connecting roads in the northern Valleys in Dawn Bowden's constituency. The local authority also requires financial assistance to make safe some of the 234 coal tips that exist in the borough. It can carry out work on the 104 that it owns, but there are also 130 in private ownership that we've got concerns about. So, to that end, I co-signed a letter with Rhianon Passmore, Dawn Bowden and the three Members of Parliament, to the Secretary of State for Wales, the First Minister and the Prime Minister, calling for the maximum level of assistance possible to assist both with those infrastructure repairs and also making the coal tips safe. I'm confident that the Welsh Government will do what it can; we're yet to hear anything meaningful from the UK Government, and that is a concern. So, on the whole, I think this is the best budget that could possibly have been produced for local government, and it has seen security in local government in Wales that has not been seen in England, and that is because of this Welsh Government and, therefore, I commend this debate today.
Welsh: Roedd cyngor Caerffili dan bwysau braidd gan yr oedi a achoswyd yn y gyllideb gan yr etholiad cyffredinol, ac er hynny aeth ymlaen ag ymgynghoriad. Mewn gwirionedd, cynhaliwyd yr ymgynghoriad yn ystod yr etholiad cyffredinol. Rwy'n dal i feddwl tybed a oedd hynny'n hollol ddoeth, i ymgynghori ar gyllideb na wyddech chi ddim amdani yn ystod etholiad cyffredinol. Ond y newyddion da yw, o ganlyniad i gyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru, bod yr arbedion arfaethedig a oedd eu hangen wedi gostwng o £8.5 miliwn i £3 miliwn. Mae'n dangos bod cyllideb gyfrifol yn gwbl bosibl ac mae wedi cael effaith gadarnhaol ar Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili o ganlyniad i gamau gweithredu Llywodraeth Cymru. Fe wnaethoch chi sôn am gyni, a bob tro yr ydych yn gwneud hynny mae Janet Finch-Saunders - nid bob tro, ni wnaeth hynny gynnau fach - ond pan soniwch chi am gyni, mae tueddiad gan Janet Finch-Saunders i weiddi a chwyno, ond y ffaith yw bod y gyllideb hon heddiw yn dal i fod yn gyllideb mewn cyfnod o gyni a'i wreiddiau yn y ffaith mai'r adeg waethaf bosibl i dorri fel y gwnaethant oedd yn 2010 - Cameron ac Osborne - pan wnaethant hynny yn nyfnder dirwasgiad. Dyma'r adeg waethaf bosib i ddechrau rhaglen o gyni, ac felly bydd yn cymryd blynyddoedd lawer i ail godi ar ein traed ar ôl hynny, oherwydd canlyniadau'r dewisiadau hynny a wnaethpwyd bryd hynny. Dyna pam y ceir anawsterau gyda'r gyllideb, oherwydd y dewis economaidd a wnaethpwyd yn 2010 ac sy'n dal i gael ei deimlo heddiw. Ond rydym yn gweld camau bach yn ôl ar y llwybr. Rwy'n dal i gredu ein bod yn gweld cyni; dydw i ddim yn meddwl ein bod wedi gweld diwedd ar gyni o bell ffordd. Ond mae'r hyn yr ydym yn ei weld, drwy gyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru, yn gamau bach ymlaen, ac mewn termau real, bydd cyngor Caerffili bellach £11.1 miliwn ar ei ennill yn y flwyddyn ariannol nesaf o'i chymharu â'r flwyddyn hon, oherwydd y setliad da hwn. Ac mae rhai o'r pethau a gyhoeddwyd fel toriadau posibl pe bai'r cyfnod anodd hwn wedi parhau, ac fe'u cyhoeddwyd yn ystod ymgyrch yr etholiad cyffredinol, erbyn hyn wedi eu harbed - pethau fel, oherwydd Llywodraeth Cymru, ni fydd Cyngor Caerffili yn cael ei orfodi i dorri cyllidebau ysgolion; ni fydd yn cael ei orfodi i golli hebryngwyr croesfannau ysgol; ni fydd yn cael ei orfodi i leihau nifer y camerâu teledu cylch cyfyng; ni fydd yn cynyddu prisiau prydau ysgol; ac ni fydd yn rhaid iddo leihau'r gyllideb cynnal a chadw priffyrdd. Ac rwy'n falch o ddweud na fydd unrhyw benderfyniad i gau canolfannau ailgylchu yn fy etholaeth yn cael ei weithredu bellach. Hefyd, yn ogystal â hynny, mae treth gyngor cyngor Caerffili, o'i chymharu â threth y ddau awdurdod cyfagos - Blaenau Gwent a Merthyr, ill dau wedi'u rheoli'n annibynnol - gryn dipyn yn llai. Yn wir, mae pobl ym mand B yng Nghaerffili yn talu £400 yn llai bob blwyddyn nag yn yr awdurdodau cyffiniol hynny, ac mae Caerffili yn y chwartel isaf o ran cyfraddau'r dreth gyngor yng Nghymru. Mae hynny oherwydd gweithredoedd y Gweinidog llywodraeth leol a gweithredoedd y Gweinidog Cyllid dros y misoedd diwethaf. Fodd bynnag, rhaid inni gydnabod bod y llifogydd a ddigwyddodd hefyd wedi rhoi baich ariannol annisgwyl ac annioddefol ar Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili, gyda rhywfaint o'r atgyweiriadau y bydd eu hangen yn y dyfodol. Mae'r cymorth ariannol ychwanegol gan Lywodraeth Cymru wedi'i groesawu'n fawr. Yn ogystal â'r £500 y pen a roddwyd gan yr awdurdod lleol, mae Llywodraeth Cymru hefyd wedi rhoi £500 y pen, a £500 ychwanegol i'r rhai nad oes ganddynt yswiriant. Hynny yw, bydd gan bawb y mae'r llifogydd wedi effeithio arnynt rhwng £1,000 a £1,500 os effeithiwyd ar eu heiddo, o ganlyniad, unwaith eto, i weithredoedd y Llywodraeth a'r cyngor. Mae effaith y llifogydd, er hynny, ar seilwaith y fwrdeistref sirol yn cael ei chyfrifo'n gost o tua £4 miliwn ar hyn o bryd, a disgwylir i hyn ddyblu dros yr wythnosau nesaf wrth gyfrifo gwerth difrod llawn y storm. Ac mae cost gwelliannau angenrheidiol pellach i'r seilwaith a wnaed yn rhai fwyfwy brys gan y llifogydd yn cyrraedd cyfanswm o rhwng £75 miliwn a £85 miliwn yng Nghaerffili - hynny yw, cysylltu ffyrdd yn y Cymoedd gogleddol yn etholaeth Dawn Bowden. Mae angen cymorth ariannol ar yr awdurdod lleol hefyd i wneud yn siŵr bod rhai o'r 234 o domenni glo sy'n bodoli yn y fwrdeistref yn ddiogel. Gall wneud gwaith ar y 104 y mae'n berchen arnynt, ond mae hefyd 130 dan berchnogaeth breifat y mae gennym bryderon yn eu gylch. Felly, i'r perwyl hwnnw, cydlofnodais lythyr gyda Rhianon Passmore, Dawn Bowden a'r tri Aelod Seneddol, at Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru, Prif Weinidog Cymru a Phrif Weinidog y DU, yn galw am gymaint o gymorth â phosib i gynorthwyo gydag atgyweirio'r seilwaith a hefyd gwneud y tomenni glo yn ddiogel. Rwy'n ffyddiog y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud cymaint â phosib; nid ydym ni eto wedi clywed dim byd ystyrlon gan Lywodraeth y DU, ac mae hynny'n destun pryder. Felly, ar y cyfan, credaf mai hon yw'r gyllideb orau a ellid bod wedi'i llunio ar gyfer llywodraeth leol, ac mae wedi rhoi sicrwydd i llywodraeth leol yng Nghymru na roddwyd yn Lloegr, ac mae hynny oherwydd Llywodraeth Cymru a, felly, cymeradwyaf y ddadl hon heddiw.