English: He said he's going to stay as long as I make it interesting, so, if he does go, we know what he's thinking. And the definition within the report - they describe anchor towns as sub-regional centres of employment, education and key services with strong transport links, and they support new and growing businesses and provide a large enough customer base for local businesses such as food shops, restaurants and cafe and local services, such as post offices and banks, to thrive alongside a strong cultural and community offer. Now, those of us in this Chamber who are representing communities with towns that are in difficulties will know that that is almost the holy grail; that is quite difficult for us to achieve, that is quite a big challenge for us to achieve. And it does link within the report as well, Deputy Minister, the foundational economy. That makes a very positive statement towards the foundational economy, which I think kind of began and developed on the Labour back benches and spread across this Chamber and was taken into Government very effectively by the Deputy Minister. The reason the foundational economy has been championed in Government is because of that Deputy Minister right there; I don't praise him very often, so, please, Minister, make the most of it. There are a limited number of towns that can be classified as anchor towns, and not all display those characteristics. Inevitably so, because they are so very specific and difficult to achieve. Yet, according to the Bevan Foundation, small towns are home to 40 per cent of the Welsh population, and many live closer to a town than a big city. And I remember growing up in Penpedairheol, which was a village; we would talk about going on a day out with my grandfather to Bargoed - that was where you'd have the day out, not to Cardiff, not to Blackwood, but to Bargoed. I doubt that people in Penpedairheol talk these days about going out on a day out to Bargoed. That is part of the tragedy. People love their towns - people love their towns - and they turn to despair when the towns are downtrodden and are not as effective as they used to be. I'm thinking also, Alun Davies, about Brynmawr, and the campaign to save the Market Hall Cinema. That's an example of a love of a town, and that campaign ran throughout the town of Brynmawr, and people felt incredibly strongly about it, and I know you do as well. And in my constituency, amongst others, we've got Bargoed, Senghenydd, Bedwas, Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, and of course, Caerphilly, and they would all consider themselves to be towns to some extent or another. So, let's think about anchor towns. Can they be anchor towns, and what are the positives of this concept? Let's have a think about that. Well, first of all, as I said, I think this report has been a valuable contribution to the debate, and there are things in here that I think should inform Welsh Government strategy in the future. It sits well with the original iteration of the Valleys taskforce - the original Minister's iteration of the Valleys taskforce. I think it particularly sits with that, and perhaps more so, with that than the subsequent iteration that was developed by the Minister. Having said that, it also moves beyond that flawed concept of strategic hubs. And I do think they were flawed, and I'll elaborate on that later. And the concept of anchor towns talks more about services that are integrated into the concept of place in a way that the strategic hubs, I don't think, did. Another positive I think as well is that anchor towns are away from the M4 corridor. So we are talking about a rebalancing of travel, away from, in the morning, north to south, and start to move south to north - more about east and west in a minute. And I think that is a very good thing, and it certainly will do more to take cars out of Cardiff than this ridiculous congestion charge that is actually a tax when there are no other alternatives for people to get into Cardiff than using their car. So I think this concept of anchor towns is far more positive in that it offers an alternative to travelling into Cardiff, in my view.
Welsh: Dywedodd ei fod am aros cyhyd ag y byddaf yn ei gwneud yn ddiddorol, felly os yw'n mynd, rydym yn gwybod beth fydd yn ei feddwl. A'r diffiniad yn yr adroddiad - maent yn disgrifio trefi angor fel canolfannau is-ranbarthol ar gyfer cyflogaeth, addysg a gwasanaethau allweddol, gyda chysylltiadau trafnidiaeth cryf, ac maent yn cefnogi busnesau newydd a rhai sy'n tyfu ac sy'n darparu sylfaen gwsmeriaid sy'n ddigon mawr i fusnesau lleol fel siopau bwyd, bwytai a chaffis a gwasanaethau lleol, fel swyddfeydd post a banciau, allu ffynnu ochr yn ochr â chynnig diwylliannol a chymunedol cryf. Nawr, bydd y rhai ohonom yn y Siambr hon sy'n cynrychioli cymunedau â threfi sydd mewn trafferthion yn gwybod mai dyna'r greal sanctaidd bron iawn; mae'n eithaf anodd inni gyflawni hynny, mae honno'n her go fawr inni ei chyflawni. Ac mae'n cysylltu'r economi sylfaenol o fewn yr adroddiad yn ogystal, Ddirprwy Weinidog. Mae hwnnw'n ddatganiad cadarnhaol iawn ar yr economi sylfaenol y credaf ei fod wedi dechrau a datblygu ar feinciau cefn Llafur ac wedi lledaenu ar draws y Siambr a'i chynnwys o fewn y Llywodraeth yn effeithiol iawn gan y Dirprwy Weinidog. Y rheswm pam y cafodd yr economi sylfaenol ei hyrwyddo yn y Llywodraeth yw oherwydd y Dirprwy Weinidog yn y fan honno; nid wyf yn ei ganmol yn aml iawn, felly, os gwelwch yn dda, Weinidog, gwnewch y gorau o hynny. Ceir nifer gyfyngedig o drefi y gellir eu categoreiddio'n drefi angor, ac nid yw pob un ohonynt yn arddangos y nodweddion hynny. Yn anochel felly, oherwydd maent mor benodol ac anodd eu cyflawni. Ac eto, yn ôl Sefydliad Bevan, mae trefi bach yn gartref i 40 y cant o boblogaeth Cymru, ac mae llawer yn byw'n agosach at dref nag at ddinas fawr. Ac rwy'n cofio tyfu i fyny yn Mhenpedairheol, sy'n bentref; byddem yn sôn am fynd allan am y diwrnod gyda fy nhad-cu i Fargoed - dyna lle byddech yn mynd am y diwrnod, nid i Gaerdydd, nid i'r Coed-duon, ond i Fargoed. Rwy'n amheus iawn a yw'r bobl ym Mhenpedairheol yn sôn y dyddiau hyn am fynd am y diwrnod i Fargoed. Dyna ran o'r drasiedi. Mae pobl yn hoff iawn o'u trefi - mae pobl yn caru eu trefi - ac maent yn anobeithio pan fydd y trefi dan orthrwm a heb fod mor effeithiol ag yr arferent fod. Rwy'n meddwl hefyd, Alun Davies, am Fryn-mawr, a'r ymgyrch i achub Sinema Neuadd y Farchnad. Dyna enghraifft o gariad tuag at dref, a bu'r ymgyrch honno'n weithredol drwy dref Bryn-mawr i gyd, a theimlai'r bobl yn anhygoel o gryf am y peth, a gwn eich bod chithau hefyd. Ac yn fy etholaeth i, ymysg eraill, mae gennym Fargoed, Senghennydd, Bedwas, Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, ac wrth gwrs, Caerffili, a byddai pob un ohonynt yn ystyried eu hunain yn drefi i ryw raddau neu'i gilydd. Felly, gadewch inni feddwl am drefi angor. A allant fod yn drefi angor, a beth yw manteision y cysyniad hwn? Gadewch i ni feddwl am hynny. Wel, yn gyntaf oll, fel y dywedais, rwy'n credu bod yr adroddiad hwn wedi bod yn gyfraniad gwerthfawr i'r ddadl, a chredaf fod yna bethau yma a ddylai lywio strategaeth Llywodraeth Cymru yn y dyfodol. Mae'n cyd-fynd yn dda â'r fersiwn wreiddiol o dasglu'r Cymoedd - fersiwn wreiddiol y Gweinidog o dasglu'r Cymoedd. Rwy'n credu ei fod yn cyd-fynd yn dda â hynny, ac efallai'n cyd-fynd yn well â hynny nag â'r fersiwn ddilynol a ddatblygwyd gan y Gweinidog. Wedi dweud hynny, mae hefyd yn symud y tu hwnt i'r cysyniad diffygiol hwnnw o hybiau strategol. Ac rwy'n credu eu bod yn ddiffygiol, ac fe ymhelaethaf ar hynny yn nes ymlaen. Ac mae'r cysyniad o drefi angor yn sôn mwy am wasanaethau sydd wedi'u hintegreiddio i'r cysyniad o le mewn ffordd nad oedd yr hybiau strategol yn ei wneud yn fy marn i. Ffactor cadarnhaol arall hefyd, rwy'n credu, yw bod trefi angor i ffwrdd oddi wrth goridor yr M4. Felly, rydym yn sôn am ail-gydbwyso teithio, oddi wrth y gogledd i'r de yn y bore, a dechrau symud o'r de i'r gogledd - mwy am y dwyrain a'r gorllewin mewn munud. Ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n beth da iawn, ac yn sicr bydd yn gwneud mwy i dynnu ceir allan o Gaerdydd na'r tâl atal tagfeydd gwarthus, sy'n dreth mewn gwirionedd, pan nad oes unrhyw ddewisiadau eraill yn lle defnyddio'u ceir ar gael i bobl ddod i mewn i Gaerdydd. Felly, rwy'n credu bod y cysyniad hwn o drefi angor yn llawer mwy cadarnhaol gan ei fod yn cynnig dewis arall yn lle teithio i mewn i Gaerdydd.