English: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to be speaking in this debate today on the inquiry by the Finance Committee into the implementation of the Wales Act 2014 and the fiscal framework. And I'd like to thank, at the outset, all those who have contributed to this inquiry, and to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd for her response to our report. We made 12 recommendations, and we're very pleased the Minister has accepted 11 recommendations in full, and the other in principle. I'd also like to thank HMRC and the Senedd Commission for their responses to our report. In 2014, we saw one of the biggest changes ever to the Welsh devolution settlement. The Wales Act 2014 provided for the devolution of powers over taxation, including Welsh rates of income tax, the land transaction tax and the landfill disposals tax. In order to enable the powers in the 2014 Act to be implemented, the Welsh Government and the UK Government reached an agreement in the form of the fiscal framework. The fiscal framework also covers the borrowing limits of the Welsh Government and its tools for budget management, and it also deals with spill-over effects in terms of policy and implementation arrangements. As we approach the end of the Senedd, we felt it was important to reflect on the way in which these powers were introduced and the effectiveness of the fiscal framework. As part of this inquiry, we extended several invitations to the Secretary of State for Wales and to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to provide evidence. We're grateful to the Secretary of State who has engaged with us on this inquiry and in relation to the financial recovery post COVID-19. However, we are disappointed that the Chief Secretary has refused our requests. The Wales Act 2014 is fundamental to the devolution settlement, and the roles of the Welsh Government and the UK Government are intrinsic to the delivery of the objectives of the Act. While we're grateful to the Secretary of State for his contribution, it was only the questions relating to his responsibility that he could answer, of course. Therefore we were unable to understand the position of the position of the UK Government on a number of significant fiscal issues, including the process of tax devolution and the creation of new taxes, transparency in the process of engaging with the Welsh Government over funding decisions and the means of challenging such decisions, the potential for reviewing the Barnett formula, and also there was no opportunity to consider increasing borrowing powers. Following that, I wrote to the Chief Secretary on these issues, and we received his response last night. Unfortunately, many of these matters remain unresolved, and the fact that the Chief Secretary refused to attend a meeting has undermined the value of the process of fiscal devolution. His letter also fails to address how the Senedd is supposed to scrutinise the fiscal arrangements of the UK Government for Wales if the Chief Secretary is not willing to attend to answer questions from the Members on that issue. We started this inquiry during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the evidence that we received, alongside the practical issues that emerged in terms of the funding arrangements throughout the pandemic, have shown that the Welsh Government and the UK Government must review the funding mechanisms urgently. The financial response to the pandemic has resulted in a significant amount of money being spent at a UK level, which has raised a number of issues regarding how the fiscal framework and the Barnett formula operate in Wales.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Dwi'n falch iawn o gael siarad yn y ddadl yma ar ymchwiliad y pwyllgor i weithredu Deddf Cymru 2014 a'r fframwaith cyllidol. Mi liciwn i ddiolch, ar y cychwyn, i bob un, wrth gwrs, gyfrannodd at yr ymchwiliad yma, ac i'r Gweinidog Cyllid a'r Trefnydd hefyd am ei hymateb hi i'n hadroddiad ni. Fe wnaethon ni 12 argymhelliad, ac rŷn ni'n falch iawn bod y Gweinidog wedi derbyn 11 ohonyn nhw yn llawn, a'r un arall mewn egwyddor. Mi hoffwn i hefyd ddiolch i Gyllid a Thollau Ei Mawrhydi a Chomisiwn y Senedd am eu hymatebion nhw hefyd i'n hadroddiad ni. Yn 2014, wrth gwrs, fe welon ni un o'r newidiadau mwyaf erioed yn setliad datganoli Cymru. Roedd Deddf Cymru 2014 yn darparu ar gyfer datganoli pwerau dros drethi, gan gynnwys cyfraddau treth incwm Cymru, y dreth trafodiadau tir a'r dreth gwarediadau tirlenwi. Er mwyn galluogi'r pwerau yn Neddf 2014 i gael eu gweithredu, daeth Llywodraeth Cymru a Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig i gytundeb ar ffurf y fframwaith cyllidol. Mae'r fframwaith cyllidol hefyd yn trafod terfynau benthyg Llywodraeth Cymru a'i hopsiynau ar gyfer rheoli'r gyllideb, ac mae'n ymdrin â sgil-effeithiau o ran polisi a threfniadau gweithredu. Wrth i ddiwedd y Senedd hon agosáu, roedden ni yn teimlo ei bod hi'n bwysig, felly, i ni edrych ar y ffordd y cafodd y pwerau hyn eu cyflwyno, ac i edrych hefyd ar effeithiolrwydd y fframwaith cyllidol. Fel rhan o'r ymchwiliad hwn, fe wnaethon ni estyn sawl gwahoddiad i Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru ac i Brif Ysgrifennydd y Trysorlys i roi tystiolaeth. Rŷn ni'n ddiolchgar i'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol sydd wedi ymgysylltu â ni ar yr ymchwiliad yma ac ynglŷn â'r adferiad ariannol yn sgil COVID-19, ond mi roedd hi'n siomedig bod y Prif Ysgrifennydd wedi gwrthod ein gwahoddiadau ni. Mae Deddf Cymru 2014 yn hanfodol i'r setliad datganoli, ac mae rolau Llywodraeth Cymru a Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig yn annatod wrth gyflawni amcanion y Ddeddf. Er ein bod ni'n ddiolchgar i'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol am ei gyfraniad ef, dim ond cwestiynau ynghylch ei gyfrifoldebau fe yr oedd e'n gallu eu hateb, wrth gwrs. Felly, doedden ni ddim yn gallu deall safbwynt Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig ar nifer o faterion cyllidol pwysig, gan gynnwys y broses o ddatganoli trethi a chreu trethi newydd, tryloywder yn y broses o ymgysylltu â Llywodraeth Cymru ynghylch penderfyniadau cyllido a sut y gellir herio penderfyniadau o'r fath, y posibilrwydd o adolygu fformiwla Barnett, a hefyd doedd yna ddim cyfle i ni drafod cynyddu pwerau benthyg. Yn dilyn hynny, fe ysgrifennais i at y Prif Ysgrifennydd mewn perthynas â'r materion hyn, ac fe gawsom ni ymateb neithiwr, a dweud y gwir. Yn anffodus, mae llawer o'r materion hyn yn parhau i fod heb eu datrys, ac mae'r ffaith bod y Prif Ysgrifennydd wedi gwrthod dod i gyfarfod wedi tanseilio gwerth y broses o ddatganoli cyllidol. Dyw ei lythyr ef hefyd ddim yn mynd i'r afael, gyda llaw, â sut mae'r Senedd i fod i graffu ar drefniadau cyllidol Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig ar gyfer Cymru os nad yw'r Prif Ysgrifennydd yn fodlon bod yn bresennol i ateb cwestiynau Aelodau ar y mater yma. Fe ddechreuon ni'r ymchwiliad hwn yn ystod dyddiau cynnar y pandemig COVID-19, ac mae'r dystiolaeth a gawson ni, ochr yn ochr â'r materion ymarferol a ddaeth i'r amlwg o ran y trefniadau cyllido yn ystod y pandemig, wedi dangos bod yn rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru a Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig adolygu'r prosesau cyllido ar fyrder. Mae'r ymateb cyllidol i'r pandemig wedi arwain at swm sylweddol o arian yn cael ei wario ar lefel y Deyrnas Unedig sydd, wrth gwrs, wedyn wedi codi nifer o faterion o ran y ffordd y mae'r fframwaith cyllidol a'r fformiwla Barnett yn gweithredu yng Nghymru.