English: I welcome this debate today. An inquiry into lobbying was the first piece of substantial work for the Standards of Conduct Committee in the fifth Assembly. As a committee, we believe that discussions on lobbying need to be part of an ongoing dialogue in any engaged and open democracy. Furthermore, our predecessor committee had agreed in an earlier report that it was a subject that should be regularly reviewed. As a committee, we concluded from the evidence gathered that there's no easy answer to the questions of how to define or share information about lobbying. There was no clear or consistent definition regarding who was a lobbyist or what information needs to be gathered. We heard a lot of concern about the lobbying regime in Westminster, which only focuses on Ministers and senior civil servants, and we also heard concerns about the register that was being introduced in Scotland, and the need to consider the value to the information this would capture. So, as a committee, we concluded that more work needs to be done in this area. The findings of our report are an interim position. The committee felt it was crucial to learn from experience and gather further evidence of best practice. At the time of our report, the Scottish legislation was in its infancy and we are going to be interested in the review of its legislation in 2020. During the course of our inquiry, the Welsh Government confirmed that Ministers' diaries would be published on a quarterly basis, from March 2017. This was widely welcomed by those we spoke to as part of our inquiry, and as a committee we agreed to return to this as part of our subsequent work to allow time for the publication of ministerial diaries to be assessed in terms of meaningfulness and value to improving transparency. The committee was keen to take steps in this interim period to increase transparency and the written statement from the Llywydd today provides an update on progress against our recommendations. In particular, we proposed that a select trial of publishing Assembly Members' diaries was undertaken, which the Commission accepted, and officials have undertaken preparatory work for the form a pilot could take. The impact of these recommendations are matters that we will no doubt reflect on as a committee when we return to this subject. Furthermore, we're considering commissioning research into how influence is sought and gained over politicians. In our inquiry, it was clear from our work that there was very little work on this area. This will help inform our further work, and we believe that this will enhance our understanding of how lobbyists operate in Wales. Alongside these interim steps, the committee encouraged the lobbying industry to take the lead during this interim period and demonstrate how a voluntary register could operate and how it could provide the necessary information about influence over elected Members. The committee is looking forward to returning to this subject towards the end of the Assembly and maintaining this discussion and dialogue.
Welsh: Rwy'n croesawu'r ddadl hon heddiw. Ymchwiliad i lobïo oedd y darn cyntaf o waith sylweddol i'r Pwyllgor Safonau Ymddygiad yn y pumed Cynulliad. Fel pwyllgor, credwn fod angen i drafodaethau ar lobïo fod yn rhan o ddeialog barhaus mewn unrhyw ddemocratiaeth agored a chydgysylltiedig. At hynny, roedd y pwyllgor blaenorol wedi cytuno mewn adroddiad cynharach ei fod yn bwnc y dylid ei adolygu'n rheolaidd. Fel pwyllgor, daethom i'r casgliad o'r dystiolaeth a gasglwyd nad oes ateb hawdd i'r cwestiynau ynglŷn â sut i ddiffinio neu rannu gwybodaeth am lobïo. Nid oedd unrhyw ddiffiniad clir na chyson o bwy oedd yn lobïwr na pha wybodaeth sydd angen ei chasglu. Clywsom lawer o bryderon am y drefn lobïo yn San Steffan, sydd ond yn canolbwyntio ar Weinidogion ac uwch weision sifil, a chlywsom bryderon hefyd ynglŷn â'r gofrestr a oedd yn cael ei chyflwyno yn yr Alban, a'r angen i ystyried gwerth y wybodaeth y byddai'n ei chasglu. Felly, fel pwyllgor, daethom i'r casgliad fod angen gwneud mwy o waith yn y maes hwn. Mae canfyddiadau ein hadroddiad yn safbwynt dros dro. Teimlai'r pwyllgor ei bod yn hollbwysig inni ddysgu o brofiad a chasglu tystiolaeth bellach o arferion gorau. Ar adeg ein hadroddiad, roedd hi'n ddyddiau cynnar iawn ar ddeddfwriaeth yr Alban a bydd gennym ddiddordeb yn yr adolygiad o'i deddfwriaeth yn 2020. Yn ystod ein hymchwiliad, cadarnhaodd Llywodraeth Cymru y byddai dyddiaduron Gweinidogion yn cael eu cyhoeddi bob chwarter, o fis Mawrth 2017. Croesawyd hyn yn eang gan y rhai y siaradasom â hwy fel rhan o'n hymchwiliad, ac fel pwyllgor cytunasom i ddychwelyd at hyn fel rhan o'n gwaith dilynol i ganiatáu amser ar gyfer cyhoeddi dyddiaduron gweinidogol i asesu pa mor ystyrlon a gwerthfawr ydynt o ran gwella tryloywder. Roedd y pwyllgor yn awyddus i gymryd camau yn ystod y cyfnod interim hwn i gynyddu tryloywder ac mae'r datganiad ysgrifenedig gan y Llywydd heddiw yn rhoi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am y cynnydd a wnaed ar ein hargymhellion. Yn benodol, argymhellwyd gennym y dylid cynnal treial dethol i gyhoeddi dyddiaduron Aelodau'r Cynulliad, a derbyniwyd hynny gan y Comisiwn, ac mae swyddogion wedi gwneud gwaith paratoadol ar ffurf arfaethedig cynllun peilot. Mae effaith yr argymhellion hyn yn faterion y byddwn yn sicr o'u hystyried fel pwyllgor pan ddychwelwn at y pwnc hwn. Ar ben hynny, rydym yn ystyried comisiynu ymchwil i'r modd y ceisir dylanwadu, a sut y dylanwadir ar wleidyddion. Yn ein hymchwiliad, roedd yn amlwg o'n gwaith nad oedd fawr iawn o waith ar y maes hwn. Bydd hyn yn helpu i lywio ein gwaith pellach, a chredwn y bydd yn gwella ein dealltwriaeth o sut y mae lobïwyr yn gweithredu yng Nghymru. Ochr yn ochr â'r camau interim hyn, anogodd y pwyllgor y diwydiant lobïo i arwain yn ystod y cyfnod interim hwn a dangos sut y gallai cofrestr wirfoddol weithredu a sut y gallai ddarparu'r wybodaeth angenrheidiol am ddylanwad ar Aelodau. Mae'r pwyllgor yn edrych ymlaen at ddychwelyd at y pwnc tuag at ddiwedd y Cynulliad a chynnal y drafodaeth a'r ddeialog hon.