English: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Cabinet Secretary for setting out the context for the draft budget before us this afternoon. On behalf of the Finance Committee, I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed their views to assist us in undertaking this important work of scrutinising the draft budget. We only had a little time to focus on this work, and therefore we're particularly pleased that, this time, we've had the opportunity to use informal methods, such as holding an online conversation and an event for stakeholders outside the Assembly - and outside Cardiff, indeed - as well as gathering evidence formally in the usual manner. This allowed people to discuss the draft budget openly and honestly, and we hope that we can build on these links in future to ensure that there is a way to feed a wide variety of comments into the committee's work, including the work of scrutinising the budget. The committee is grateful to everyone who contributed to our work. We want to work with the Cabinet Secretary to expand on this principle of participatory budgeting as the process develops. The committee report includes a number of recommendations that are very wide-ranging. We recommend very strongly that the Welsh Government should consider and accept all of these findings and recommendations, and I'm very pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has noted that he is at least seriously considering all of the recommendations made. There is much that I'd like to say for the whole Assembly, as we prepare to have taxation powers and the changes that the Cabinet Secretary laid out in opening this debate. This draft budget is a better settlement than many expected, and the comments that we've received reflected this. However, it's clear from what the Cabinet Secretary told the committee, and what he's just said today, that organisations should be using this settlement to prepare for much tougher times ahead. But, despite this, we're concerned that we've seen very little evidence of such preparation taking place, and we would urge organisations, particularly the health service and local government, to think ahead and put steps in place to enable them to manage with less in future years. This is particularly of concern given the Institute of Fiscal Studies's prediction that the Welsh Government's budget could be cut by 3.2 per cent in real terms over the next three years. This, coupled with the likely loss of EU grants, would see further cuts falling on local government, and so early preparation to mitigate funding decreases will be vital. With regard to the national health service, the committee was disappointed that some health boards do not yet have approved three-year integrated plans in place, even though it's a statutory requirement of them to prepare these since the National Health Service Finance (Wales) Act came into force in April 2014. The fact that these plans haven't been approved for all health boards is a cause of concern. It was also a concern for the previous Finance Committee in the fourth Assembly, and that's a disappointment for us. We will give this further consideration next year. Furthermore, to respond to the pressures on the health service now and in future, we've noted that the scale of transformation needs to be faster and it must be much more ambitious. So, we've recommended that future draft budgets should be able to demonstrate how allocations support investment in prevention work and transformation of services. Turning to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, now that the provisions of this Act have come into force, the committee did expect to see how the allocations made in the draft budget had been influenced by the requirements of that Act. However, we heard from stakeholders directly, and from other committees, that there's very little information in the published budget documentation to demonstrate how the Act has impacted upon allocations. We've therefore expressed our disappointment at the lack of progress made by the Welsh Government in reflecting how budget allocations have been influenced by the Act. In particular, we were very disappointed to hear that some stakeholders viewed the previous draft budget as being easier to link to the Act than this one. Surely that wasn't the intention. We think that this was a missed opportunity for the Welsh Government to demonstrate the leadership required to bring about the transformational change needed to embed the requirements of the Act as an integral part of policy decisions. I was very pleased to hear the comments of the Cabinet Secretary in opening this debate, which suggested to me that he at least, if he doesn't acknowledge this argument, acknowledges that a debate is needed within the Government on this particular issue. We would hope to see a quantifiable improvement on this in the draft budget next year, and we've recommended that the Government use a strategic integrated impact assessment tool to identify how the Act influences the draft budget in future. As I said, it's clear that the Cabinet Secretary does want to look at this and will, hopefully, improve the process. We know that, from April 2018, the Welsh Government will have increased powers in relation to taxation and borrowing, and, as such, the committee's role will change, as will the role of the Assembly. Although we welcome the Cabinet Secretary's openness about the Government's commitments in relation to borrowing, we note that detail on borrowing in the draft budget documentation, on issues such as borrowing, debt, repayment, and non-domestic rates, was lacking. We would expect to see a drastic improvement on this in next year's draft budget, as the Assembly itself, of course, develops new ways of scrutinising the budget. The Assembly and the Welsh public deserve a full picture of the Government's budgetary performance, based perhaps on the famous red book that we have in Westminster. We must also remember that the autumn statement has changed the timing of the budget in Westminster from spring to autumn, and the Assembly will have to respond appropriately to that process. Other committees wrote to us to highlight the key issues from their scrutiny sessions with the respective Cabinet Secretaries, and we've outlined these in our report, particularly those on the value for money of the Welsh Government's draft budget allocations. There are too many to mention today, but I'd like to draw the Assembly's attention to one in particular, which is the concern of the Climate Change, Energy and Rural Affairs Committee about the potential effects of cuts in the budget for flood prevention and climate change. The autumn statement was made following our scrutiny of the draft budget, and the Government will surely want to re-emphasise the need for capital allocations in this area in the light of that statement. We will track responses from the Welsh Government to the individual committees, and we ask those committees to continue to pursue the value-for-money aspect during their in-year financial scrutiny. I would like to again thank everyone who has contributed to this scrutiny process. As a committee, we are acutely aware that the time available for draft budget scrutiny is short, and we are very grateful to everyone for their valuable contributions. I now look forward to hearing more political comments with regard to the draft budget.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd, a diolch i'r Ysgrifennydd Cabinet am osod allan y cyd-destun ar gyfer y gyllideb ddrafft sydd ger bron y Cynulliad heddiw. Yn gyntaf, ar ran y Pwyllgor Cyllid, hoffwn ddiolch i bawb sydd wedi cynnig eu sylwadau i'n helpu ni i ymgymryd â'r dasg o graffu ar y gyllideb ddrafft. Ychydig iawn o amser a gawsom ar gyfer y gwaith pwysig hwn. Rydym yn arbennig o falch felly y tro hwn ein bod wedi cael y cyfle i ddefnyddio dulliau anffurfiol megis cynnal sgwrs ar-lein a digwyddiad i randdeiliaid y tu fas i'r Cynulliad, a hyd yn oed y tu hwnt i Gaerdydd, yn ogystal â chasglu tystiolaeth yn ffurfiol yn y ffordd arferol. Dyma ganiatáu i bobl drafod y gyllideb ddrafft yn agored ac yn onest. Gobeithio y gallwn adeiladu ar y cysylltiadau hyn yn y dyfodol i sicrhau bod modd bwydo amrywiaeth eang o sylwadau i waith y pwyllgor, gan gynnwys y gwaith o graffu ar y gyllideb. Mae'r pwyllgor yn ddiolchgar i bawb a gyfrannodd at ein gwaith. Byddem am weithio gyda'r Ysgrifennydd Cabinet, yn wir, i ehangu ar yr egwyddor o gyllidebu cyfranogol wrth i'r broses ddatblygu. Mae adroddiad y pwyllgor yn cynnwys nifer o gasgliadau ac argymhellion eang iawn. Rydym yn argymell yn gryf y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru ystyried a derbyn pob un o'r casgliadau a'r argymhellion hyn, ac rwy'n falch bod yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet wedi nodi ei fod o leiaf yn ystyried yn ddwys bob un o'r argymhellion. Ac mae llawer hefyd yr hoffwn i'w ddweud ar gyfer y Cynulliad cyfan, wrth i ni baratoi at feithrin pwerau trethiannol a'r newidiadau y gwnaeth yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet eu gosod allan wrth agor y ddadl. Mae'r gyllideb ddrafft hon yn setliad gwell na'r disgwyl i lawer, ac mae'r sylwadau a gawsom yn adlewyrchu hynny. Fodd bynnag, mae'n amlwg o'r hyn a ddywedodd yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet wrth y pwyllgor, a'r hyn mae newydd ailadrodd heddiw, y dylai sefydliadau fod yn defnyddio'r setliad hwn i baratoi ar gyfer cyfnodau llawer fwy anodd yn y dyfodol. Er hyn, rydym yn pryderu nad oes fawr o dystiolaeth fod y gwaith paratoi hwn yn mynd rhagddo, a byddem yn annog sefydliadau, yn enwedig y gwasanaeth iechyd a llywodraeth leol, i feddwl am y dyfodol a chymryd camau i'w galluogi i ymdopi â llai o gyllid yn y dyfodol. Mae hyn yn bryder penodol o gofio bod y Sefydliad Astudiaethau Cyllid - yr IFS - yn rhagweld y bydd gostyngiad o 3.2 y cant mewn termau real yng nghyllideb Llywodraeth Cymru dros y dair blynedd nesaf. Byddai hyn, ynghyd â'r tebygolrwydd y byddwn nhw'n colli grantiau gan yr Undeb Ewropeaidd, yn arwain at doriadau ychwanegol yng nghyllid llywodraeth leol, felly mae'n hanfodol paratoi'n gynnar i liniaru effeithiau'r gostyngiadau mewn cyllid. O ran y gwasanaeth iechyd cenedlaethol, roedd y pwyllgor yn siomedig nad oes gan rai byrddau iechyd gynlluniau integredig tair blynedd wedi'u cymeradwyo hyd yma, er ei bod yn ddyletswydd statudol arnynt i baratoi'r rhain ers i Ddeddf Cyllid y Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol (Cymru) ddod i rym ym mis Ebrill 2014. Mae'r ffaith nad oes cynlluniau wedi'u cymeradwyo ar gyfer pob un o'r byrddau iechyd yn peri pryder inni. Roedd yn bryder hefyd i'r Pwyllgor Cyllid blaenorol yn y pedwerydd Cynulliad, ac mae hynny yn peri siom inni. Byddwn yn rhoi rhagor o sylw i hyn yn ystod y flwyddyn nesaf. At hyn, er mwyn ymateb i'r pwysau ar y gwasanaeth iechyd yn awr ac yn y dyfodol, rydym wedi nodi bod angen trawsnewid pethau'n gyflymach a bod angen bod yn fwy uchelgeisiol o lawer. Rydym wedi argymell y dylai cyllidebau drafft yn y dyfodol fedru dangos sut y mae dyraniadau yn gymorth i fuddsoddi mewn gwaith ataliol a thrawsnewid gwasanaethau. Gan droi at Ddeddf Llesiant Cenedlaethau'r Dyfodol (Cymru) 2015, mae darpariaethau'r Ddeddf hon yn awr wedi dod i rym, felly roedd y pwyllgor yn disgwyl gweld sut roedd gofynion y Ddeddf hon wedi dylanwadu ar y dyraniadau a wnaed yn y gyllideb ddrafft. Fodd bynnag, clywsom gan randdeiliaid yn uniongyrchol, a chan bwyllgorau eraill hefyd, mai prin iawn yw'r wybodaeth yn y dogfennau sy'n cyd-fynd â'r gyllideb i ddangos sut mae'r Ddeddf hon wedi dylanwadu ar y dyraniadau. Gan hynny, rydym wedi mynegi siom ynghylch y diffyg cynnydd a wnaed gan Lywodraeth Cymru o ran dangos sut y mae'r Ddeddf wedi dylanwadu ar y gyllideb. Yn benodol, roeddem yn hynod siomedig o glywed bod rhai rhanddeiliaid o'r farn ei bod yn haws cysylltu'r gyllideb ddrafft flaenorol â'r Ddeddf na hon. Nid dyna oedd y bwriad, does bosib. Rydym yn credu bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi methu cyfle i ddangos yr arweiniad sydd ei angen i sicrhau'r newidiadau trawsnewidiol sydd eu hangen i sicrhau bod gofynion y Ddeddf yn rhan annatod o benderfyniadau polisi. Roeddwn i'n falch o glywed sylwadau'r Ysgrifennydd Cabinet wrth agor y ddadl, a oedd yn awgrymu i mi ei fod o leiaf, os nad yn cydnabod yn ddadl yma, yn cydnabod bod angen trafodaeth a sylwadau tu fewn i'r Llywodraeth ar y maes yma. Rydym yn gobeithio gweld y bydd y sefyllfa wedi gwella mewn ffordd fesuradwy yn y gyllideb ddrafft y flwyddyn nesaf, ac rydym wedi argymell bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn defnyddio system asesiad effaith integredig strategol i ddangos sut y mae'r Ddeddf yn dylanwadu ar y gyllideb ddrafft yn y dyfodol. Fel y dywedais i, mae'n amlwg bod yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet am edrych ar hyn a gobeithio gwella'r broses. Gwyddom y bydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru bwerau ychwanegol o fis Ebrill 2018 ymlaen mewn perthynas â threthu a benthyca ac, felly, bydd rôl y pwyllgor yn newid, a rôl y Cynulliad hefyd. Er ein bod yn croesawu'r ffaith bod Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet mor agored am ymrwymiadau'r Llywodraeth mewn perthynas â benthyca, rydym yn nodi nad oes fawr o fanylion yn nogfennau'r gyllideb ddrafft am faterion megis benthyca, dyledion, ad-daliadau nac ardrethi annomestig. Byddem yn disgwyl gweld gwelliant sylweddol yn y cyswllt hwn yn y gyllideb ddrafft y flwyddyn nesaf wrth i'r Cynulliad ei hun, wrth gwrs, fagu dulliau newydd o graffu ar y gyllideb. Bydd y Cynulliad a chyhoedd Cymru, yn fy marn i, yn haeddu gweld darlun llawn o berfformiad a disgwyliadau cyllidol y Llywodraeth erbyn hynny, ar ffurf o fath y llyfr coch adnabyddus a gawn yn San Steffan. Mae hefyd yn wir i gofio bod datganiad yr hydref wedi newid amseriad y gyllideb yn San Steffan o'r gwanwyn i'r hydref a bydd angen ymateb yn briodol yn y Cynulliad hwn i'r broses yna hefyd. Ysgrifennodd pwyllgorau eraill atom i dynnu sylw at y prif faterion a gododd yn eu sesiynau craffu nhw gyda'r Ysgrifenyddion perthnasol yn y Cabinet. Rydym wedi amlinellu'r rhain yn ein hadroddiad, yn enwedig y wybodaeth am werth am arian y dyraniadau yng nghyllideb ddrafft Llywodraeth Cymru. Maent yn lliaws - gormod i adrodd yma - ond hoffwn dynnu sylw'r Cynulliad at un yn benodol. Roedd y Pwyllgor Newid Hinsawdd, Ynni a Materion Gwledig yn poeni am sgil-effeithiau posib y toriadau mewn cyfalaf ar gyfer cynlluniau newid hinsawdd ac atal llifogydd. Bu datganiad yr hydref ers i ni graffu ar y gyllideb ddrafft, wrth gwrs, a diau y bydd y Llywodraeth am ail-bwyso'r angen am ddyraniadau cyfalaf yn y maes hwn yn sgil y datganiad hwnnw. Byddwn yn cadw llygad ar ymatebion Llywodraeth Cymru i'r pwyllgorau unigol ac yn gofyn i'r pwyllgorau hyn barhau i archwilio gwerth am arian y dyraniadau yn ystod y broses graffu ariannol yn ystod yr adolygiad canol blwyddyn. Hoffwn ddiolch eto i bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu at y broses graffu hon. Fel pwyllgor, rydym yn hynod ymwybodol fod yr amser sydd ar gael i graffu ar y gyllideb ddrafft yn fyr ac rydym yn ddiolchgar i bawb am eu cyfraniadau gwerthfawr. Rwyf nawr yn edrych ymlaen at glywed y sylwadau mwy gwleidyddol ynglŷn â'r gyllideb ddrafft.