English: Like other Members this afternoon, I very much welcome the process we've been following over the last few years. It certainly has been a journey that this place has been on, from the founding of an Assembly in 1999 to becoming a Parliament that raises taxes in 2019. I very much welcome the fact that we have seen the devolution of these powers now. I was never one of these people who believed that we required a referendum to do that, and I was certainly very pleased that we have been able to move forward with this accountability and proper form of governance in Wales. I'd like, with your permission, Deputy Presiding Officer, to make three substantive points this afternoon. The first is, like others this afternoon, to congratulate officials and staff of the various organisations who have worked together to ensure that this has been a smooth transfer over the last few years. Sometimes the whole process of devolution can be something like pulling teeth, and can be an extraordinarily difficult task. Certainly when I've spoken to UK Ministers about the devolution of additional powers, they've made it appear to be some Herculean task that is virtually impossible to achieve within a century. So the devolution of these responsibilities on taxation has moved relatively quickly and very smoothly, and I hope that will be a lesson for the future, but we certainly need to congratulate the staff and officials who have done so. The second point I'd wish to make is that made by the Member for Anglesey in his contribution. The report makes a point of the committee's disappointment with the decisions and actions of the Secretary of State. It is my clear view, and my experience as a Minister in this place tells me, that there is no role for the Wales Office in today's United Kingdom. As a Minister I cannot think of a single occasion when the Wales Office has been an aid to me or has enabled the proper discharge of governance. What has always worked on every occasion is the direct inter-governmental relationship between Welsh and UK Ministers. I can think of not a single occasion when the Wales Office has helped the governance of this country, and the resignation today of somebody we've never heard of, who barely visited this country and performed absolutely no duty that anybody's been able to identify, demonstrates that that office has outlived its usefulness. The inability of the Secretary of State to travel to Cardiff to give evidence and to be scrutinised, which I think is what he's really trying to avoid, is more evidence, if it's needed, that it is time to move forward to proper UK structures and proper structures of governance that are not owned by the UK Government, but are shared between the Governments of the UK. I hope that we'll be able to do that in due course. The third point I'd like to make is that this process has moved relatively smoothly, but to what purpose? To what purpose? Is the purpose simply to hold us to account for taking the same decisions as are taken by the Treasury? Or is the purpose for us to do something different, to reflect our own values and our own beliefs? I see there are three Ministers on the front bench - health, education and finance - and I'm lucky to have worked with all three of them at different times, and all three of them - [ Interruption.] Okay, let's not go there now. But all three of them will remember the conversations we've had over cash, over spending, and the very difficult decisions that we've had to take over recent years. I do not believe that austerity is a correct policy choice, and I do not believe that austerity has succeeded in its stated objectives. But then neither do the Tories anymore. So, what do we do? Do we simply continue to tax at current levels or do we actually say, 'We believe in public services. We want to protect public services. We want to invest in public services. We want to invest in the people of this country, the communities of this country and the services of country and this country's future'? And in that case, we have to have the courage to argue for taxation as well. Fair taxation that will enable us to provide the services that we require and the services that the people of Wales want. We cannot stand here making speeches about austerity and then deliver austerity through our decisions. We cannot have our cake and eat it. We've been telling UK Ministers that through Brexit and we have to accept that ourselves. If you believe in public services, then you must also argue for the taxation to pay for them. But also, let us tax in a way that reflects our values. I spent some years persuading previous finance Ministers, when they were publishing their Treasury papers, that our values should come through, should shine through our taxation policy as well. I failed to persuade any finance Minister of the importance of sustainability as a principle of taxation - I hope I'll have more luck with the current finance Minister, but I failed to persuade her predecessors - because I think it is important. But it is important also that we recognise a declining tax base. We discussed in questions earlier the potential impact of Brexit. We talk here about Brexit as being a national disaster for this country, but it is also a disaster for our services and our ability to deliver public services. It's easy enough to say that we will not see the dividend that we were promised on the side of a bus for the national health service, but we're going to have to pay for that. And if that is the case, what does that do to our taxation policy? I can see that I've tried your patience long enough, Deputy Presiding Officer. But I hope that we will have a debate about the nature of taxation in the future that will reflect our values, and which also will reflect our ambitions.
Welsh: Fel Aelodau eraill y prynhawn yma, rwy'n croesawu'n fawr y broses y buom yn ei dilyn dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Yn sicr mae'r lle hwn wedi bod ar daith ers sefydlu Cynulliad yn 1999 i fod yn Senedd sy'n codi trethi yn 2019. Rwy'n croesawu'n fawr y ffaith ein bod wedi gweld datganoli'r pwerau hyn bellach. Ni fûm erioed yn un o'r bobl a gredai fod arnom angen refferendwm i wneud hynny, ac roeddwn yn sicr yn falch iawn ein bod wedi gallu symud ymlaen â'r atebolrwydd hwn a ffurf briodol o lywodraethiant yng Nghymru. Gyda'ch caniatâd chi, Ddirprwy Lywydd, hoffwn wneud tri phrif bwynt y prynhawn yma. Y cyntaf yw, fel eraill y prynhawn yma, hoffwn longyfarch swyddogion a staff y sefydliadau amrywiol sydd wedi gweithio gyda'i gilydd i sicrhau bod trosglwyddo esmwyth yn digwydd dros yr ychydig flynyddoedd diwethaf. Weithiau gall holl broses datganoli deimlo'n debyg i dynnu dannedd, a gall fod yn dasg eithriadol o anodd. Yn sicr pan wyf wedi siarad â Gweinidogion y DU ynghylch datganoli pwerau ychwanegol, maent wedi gwneud iddo ymddangos fel tasg anferthol sydd bron yn amhosibl ei chyflawni o fewn canrif. Felly mae datganoli'r cyfrifoldebau hyn ar drethiant wedi symud yn gymharol gyflym ac yn esmwyth iawn, a gobeithiaf y bydd honno'n wers ar gyfer y dyfodol, ond yn sicr mae angen inni longyfarch y staff a'r swyddogion sydd wedi gwneud hynny. Yr ail bwynt yr hoffwn ei wneud yw'r un a wnaed gan yr Aelod dros Ynys Môn yn ei gyfraniad. Mae'r adroddiad yn gwneud pwynt o siom y pwyllgor ynghylch penderfyniadau a chamau gweithredu'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol. Mae fy marn glir a fy mhrofiad fel Gweinidog yn y lle hwn yn dweud wrthyf nad oes unrhyw rôl i Swyddfa Cymru yn y Deyrnas Unedig heddiw. Fel Gweinidog ni allaf feddwl am un achlysur pan fo Swyddfa Cymru wedi bod o gymorth i mi neu wedi ein galluogi i lywodraethu'n briodol. Yr hyn sydd bob amser wedi gweithio ar bob achlysur yw'r berthynas rynglywodraethol uniongyrchol rhwng Gweinidogion Cymru a Gweinidogion y DU. Ni allaf feddwl am unrhyw achlysur pan fo Swyddfa Cymru wedi helpu llywodraethiant y wlad hon, ac mae ymddiswyddiad rhywun nad ydym erioed wedi clywed amdano heddiw, rhywun a oedd prin wedi ymweld â'r wlad hon ac na chyflawnodd unrhyw ddyletswydd o fath yn y byd y gallodd neb ei chanfod, yn dangos bod defnyddioldeb y swyddfa honno wedi dod i ben. Mae anallu'r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol i deithio i Gaerdydd i roi tystiolaeth ac i gael ei graffu, sef yr hyn y credaf y mae'n ceisio ei osgoi mewn gwirionedd, yn dystiolaeth bellach, os oes ei hangen, ei bod yn bryd symud ymlaen at strwythurau priodol yn y DU a strwythurau llywodraethu priodol nad ydynt yn eiddo i Lywodraeth y DU, ond sy'n cael eu rhannu rhwng Llywodraethau'r DU. Gobeithiaf y gallwn wneud hynny maes o law. Y trydydd pwynt yr hoffwn ei wneud yw bod y broses hon wedi symud yn gymharol ddidrafferth, ond i ba bwrpas? I ba ddiben? Ai'r diben yn syml yw ein dwyn i gyfrif am wneud yr un penderfyniadau ag y mae'r Trysorlys yn eu gwneud? Neu ai'r diben yw inni wneud rhywbeth gwahanol, adlewyrchu ein gwerthoedd a'n credoau ein hunain? Gwelaf fod tri Gweinidog ar y fainc flaen - iechyd, addysg a chyllid - ac rwy'n ffodus o fod wedi gweithio gyda'r tri ohonynt ar wahanol adegau, ac mae'r tri ohonynt - [ T orri ar draws.] Iawn, gadewch i ni beidio â mynd yno nawr. Ond bydd y tri ohonynt yn cofio'r sgyrsiau a gawsom ynghylch arian parod, ynghylch gwariant, a'r penderfyniadau anodd iawn y bu'n rhaid inni eu gwneud dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Nid wyf yn credu bod cyni yn ddewis polisi cywir, ac nid wyf yn credu bod y polisi cyni wedi llwyddo yn ei amcanion datganedig. Ond wedyn, nid yw'r Torïaid yn credu hynny mwyach ychwaith. Felly, beth a wnawn? A ydym yn parhau i drethu ar y lefelau presennol neu a ydym yn dweud, 'Rydym yn credu mewn gwasanaethau cyhoeddus. Rydym am warchod gwasanaethau cyhoeddus. Rydym am fuddsoddi mewn gwasanaethau cyhoeddus. Rydym am fuddsoddi ym mhobl y wlad hon, cymunedau'r wlad hon a gwasanaethau'r wlad a dyfodol y wlad hon'? Ac os felly, rhaid inni fod yn ddigon dewr i ddadlau dros drethiant yn ogystal. Trethiant teg a fydd yn ein galluogi i ddarparu'r gwasanaethau sydd eu hangen arnom a'r gwasanaethau y mae pobl Cymru eu heisiau. Ni allwn sefyll yma'n gwneud areithiau am gyni a darparu cyni drwy ein penderfyniadau. Ni allwn gael ein cacen a'i bwyta. Rydym wedi bod yn dweud hynny wrth Weinidogion y DU drwy Brexit a rhaid inni dderbyn hynny ein hunain. Os ydych yn credu mewn gwasanaethau cyhoeddus, rhaid i chi hefyd ddadlau o blaid trethiant i dalu amdanynt. Ond hefyd, gadewch inni drethu mewn ffordd sy'n adlewyrchu ein gwerthoedd. Treuliais rai blynyddoedd yn perswadio Gweinidogion cyllid blaenorol, pan oeddent yn cyhoeddi eu papurau Trysorlys, y dylai ein gwerthoedd ddod drwodd, dylent ddisgleirio drwy ein polisi trethiant yn ogystal. Methais ddarbwyllo unrhyw Weinidog cyllid ynglŷn â phwysigrwydd cynaliadwyedd fel egwyddor trethiant - gobeithio y caf well lwc gyda'r Gweinidog cyllid presennol, ond methais berswadio ei rhagflaenwyr - oherwydd credaf ei fod yn bwysig. Ond mae'n bwysig hefyd ein bod yn cydnabod sylfaen drethi sy'n lleihau. Trafodasom effaith bosibl Brexit yn ystod y cwestiynau yn gynharach. Rydym yn sôn yma am Brexit fel trychineb cenedlaethol i'r wlad hon, ond mae'n drychineb hefyd i'n gwasanaethau a'n gallu i ddarparu gwasanaethau cyhoeddus. Mae'n ddigon hawdd dweud na welwn y difidend a addawyd inni ar ochr bws ar gyfer y gwasanaeth iechyd gwladol, ond rydym yn mynd i orfod talu am hynny. Ac os yw hynny'n wir, beth y mae hynny'n ei wneud i'n polisi trethiant? Gallaf weld fy mod wedi profi eich amynedd yn ddigon hir, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Ond gobeithio y cawn ddadl am natur trethiant yn y dyfodol a fydd yn adlewyrchu ein gwerthoedd, ac a fydd hefyd yn adlewyrchu ein dyheadau.