English: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for today's statement? Particularly, I'm sure you'd expect me to welcome the news that common sense has prevailed and the Welsh Government's much-criticised proposals for a national tourism tax, as it's now been renamed, have been well and truly land-banked, and not before time. Unless you've been living on Mars for the last few months, you will know that the Welsh Conservatives have been opposed to this tax since it was first mooted by the Welsh Government as one of the possibilities. I know that Plaid Cymru weren't supporting it, but we weren't from the start. We have shared the concerns of the tourism sector about the potential effects of such a tourism tax on business across Wales and the perception that it would potentially create about the cost of holidaying here in Wales. I don't think that these concerns were ever effectively addressed, even at a point during the process where they could have been. Now, of course, there was a devil in the detail to the Cabinet Secretary's announcement today, with the announcement that work will continue, at least notionally, on developing local tourism taxes. That sounds like a way out of a tricky corner to me, but there we are, we all need one of those occasionally. I recognise that this is going to be left to allowing local authorities to develop their own local tourism taxes. So, Cabinet Secretary, can you elaborate a little bit more on the form that these taxes locally could take? Because I've already had some concerns expressed to me on e-mail by the sector about the questions that this raises. In particular, would you envisage national guidelines for local authorities in forming those taxes? How rigorous would those guidelines be? Would there be any sort of cap, for instance, on amounts raised, or the types of taxes locally that could be developed? In principle, I believe in local democracy, and I think that there is merit in developing local taxes. Would the moneys raised locally from these taxes be ring-fenced for tourism in that sector? Would they be left totally with the local authorities? Would they be redistributed? Has any thought been given at the moment to how that would happen? I imagine not, but the jury's out on that one, so I look forward to some guidance there. What reassurance, importantly - [ Interruption.] Following re-engagement, what reassurance can you give to the sector that there will not be a disincentive to tourists coming to Wales? Because that's ultimately what we all want to avoid in this place. If I can turn briefly to 'the chosen one', the vacant land tax, this clearly has some merits - I would agree with you on that, Cabinet Secretary - particularly in our aim to provide more housing, as we all know there is a deficit of that at the moment in Wales, and anything that can alleviate that problem and remove some inhibitions to developing housing is to be welcomed. You've pointed to the example of the Republic of Ireland. I'm not too au fait with the situation there, but I do know that it does have its supporters. I don't have an objection to the vacant land tax in principle, but, again, there are a number of unanswered questions, and we've seen the effects that these unanswered questions have had in other areas throughout this process when you were considering some of the other taxes that have now been put on the backburner. These aren't just my concerns, but also some of the concerns of the housing sector - questions such as how much will the tax raise. I believe that the jury is still out on how much a vacant land tax in Wales would raise. And how would you address the concerns of the Federation of Master Builders, for instance, who believe that a vacant land tax, if it is formed in the wrong way, could actually penalise smaller builders in Wales, to the benefit of larger builders? I'm sure we would want to avoid that. Can I finally say that, going back to the start of your statement, I echo the concerns that you've expressed in the past and which others have expressed about this whole process? There is a danger that the two-tier process of developing the consents first of all from the UK Government and then developing the taxes afterwards - it does smack a little bit of the dreaded legislative competence Order system that we had some years back, which proved to be not very streamlined, inefficient and quite costly in the end. So, I do recognise that you have to work within the constraints of that system, but I think that we all agree that, in the future, it probably isn't ideal.
Welsh: A gaf i ddiolch i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet am y datganiad heddiw? Rwy'n siŵr y byddech yn disgwyl imi groesawu'r newyddion bod synnwyr cyffredin wedi cario'r dydd a bod cynigion dadleuol iawn Llywodraeth Cymru ynglŷn â threth dwristiaeth genedlaethol, fel y mae wedi'i hailenwi bellach, wedi cael ergyd farwol, ac nid cyn pryd. Oni fuoch chi'n byw ar blaned Mawrth dros yr ychydig fisoedd diwethaf, byddwch yn gwybod bod y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig wedi gwrthwynebu'r dreth hon ers y cafodd ei chrybwyll gyntaf gan Lywodraeth Cymru fel un o'r posibiliadau. Gwn nad oedd Plaid Cymru yn ei chefnogi, ond nid oeddem ninnau o'r dechrau chwaith. Rydym wedi rhannu pryderon y sector twristiaeth am effeithiau posib treth o'r fath ar fusnesau twristiaeth ledled Cymru a'r rhagdybiaethau y byddai hyn o bosib yn ei greu ynghylch cost gwyliau yma yng Nghymru. Nid wyf yn credu y rhoddwyd sylw effeithiol i'r pryderon hyn erioed, hyd yn oed ar bwynt yn ystod y broses lle y gallesid fod wedi gwneud hynny. Nawr, wrth gwrs, roedd amryfusedd yng nglo mân cyhoeddiad Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet heddiw, pan gyhoeddwyd y bydd gwaith yn mynd rhagddo, o leiaf mewn egwyddor, ar ddatblygu trethi twristiaeth lleol. Mae hynny'n swnio fel dihangfa o sefyllfa anodd i mi, ond dyna ni, mae angen hynny ar bob un ohonom ni yn achlysurol. Rwy'n sylweddoli mai ystyr hyn yw caniatáu i awdurdodau lleol ddatblygu eu trethi twristiaeth lleol eu hunain. Felly, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, a allwch chi ymhelaethu ychydig ynglŷn â ffurf bosib y trethi hyn yn lleol? Oherwydd rwyf i eisoes wedi cael e-byst pryderus gan y sector ynglŷn â'r cwestiynau y mae hyn yn eu codi. Yn benodol, a ydych chi'n rhagweld y bydd canllawiau cenedlaethol ar gyfer awdurdodau lleol wrth lunio'r trethi hynny? Pa mor drwyadl fyddai'r canllawiau hynny? A fyddai unrhyw fath o uchafswm, er enghraifft, ar y symiau a godir, neu ar y mathau o drethi lleol y gellid eu datblygu? Mewn egwyddor, rwy'n credu mewn democratiaeth leol, ac rwy'n credu bod rhinwedd mewn datblygu trethi lleol. A fyddai'r arian a godir yn lleol o'r trethi hyn yn cael ei glustnodi ar gyfer twristiaeth yn y sector hwnnw? A fyddai hynny yn gyfan gwbl yn nwylo'r awdurdodau lleol? A fydden nhw'n cael eu hailddosbarthu? A roddwyd unrhyw ystyriaeth hyd yma i sut y byddai hynny'n digwydd? Go brin, rwy'n dychmygu, ond amser a ddengys, felly edrychaf ymlaen at rywfaint o arweiniad. Pa sicrwydd, yn bwysig - [Torri ar draws.] Yn dilyn ail-ymgysylltu, pa sicrwydd allwch chi ei roi i'r sector na fydd hyn yn annog twristiaid i beidio â dod i Gymru? Oherwydd yn y pen draw rydym ni i gyd eisiau osgoi hynny yn y lle hwn. Os caf i gyfeirio'n gryno at 'y dewis un', y dreth ar dir gwag, yn amlwg mae rhai rhinweddau i hyn - rwy'n cytuno â chi ar hynny, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet - yn arbennig yn ein nod o ddarparu mwy o dai. Fel y gwyddom ni i gyd mae diffyg hynny ar hyn o bryd yng Nghymru, ac mae unrhyw beth a all liniaru'r broblem honno a symud rhywfaint o'r rhwystrau rhag datblygu tai i'w groesawu. Rydych chi wedi cyfeirio at yr enghraifft o Weriniaeth Iwerddon. Nid wyf yn rhy gyfarwydd â'r sefyllfa yno, ond gwn fod cefnogaeth i hynny. Nid oes gennyf wrthwynebiad i dreth ar dir gwag mewn egwyddor, ond, unwaith eto, mae nifer o gwestiynau heb eu hateb, ac rydym wedi gweld sut mae'r cwestiynau hyn sydd heb eu hateb wedi effeithio ar feysydd eraill drwy gydol y broses hon pan rydych chi'n ystyried rhai o'r trethi eraill sydd bellach wedi'u rhoi o'r neilltu. Nid fy mhryderon i yn unig yw'r rhain, ond hefyd rai o bryderon y sector tai - cwestiynau megis faint y bydd y dreth yn ei godi. Amser a ddengys faint y byddai treth ar dir gwag yn ei godi. A sut y byddwch chi'n ymdrin â phryderon Ffederasiwn y Meistr Adeiladwyr, er enghraifft, sy'n credu y gallai treth ar dir gwag, os caiff ei ffurfio yn y ffordd anghywir, mewn gwirionedd gosbi cwmnïau adeiladu llai o faint yng Nghymru, er budd y cwmnïau adeiladu mwy o faint? Rwy'n siŵr ein bod ni'n awyddus i osgoi hynny. A gaf i ddweud yn olaf, gan fynd yn ôl i ddechrau eich datganiad, fy mod i'n ategu'r pryderon yr ydych chi wedi eu mynegi yn y gorffennol ac y mae eraill wedi eu mynegi ynghylch yr holl broses hon? Mae peryg y bydd y broses ddwy-haen o geisio'r caniatâd yn gyntaf gan Lywodraeth y DU ac yna ddatblygu trethi wedyn - mae'n ymddangos braidd fel y system gorchymyn cymhwysedd deddfwriaethol fondigrybwyll a oedd gennym ni rai blynyddoedd yn ôl, a oedd yn anhydrin iawn, yn aneffeithlon ac yn eithaf costus yn y pen draw. Felly, rwy'n cydnabod bod yn rhaid ichi weithio o fewn cyfyngiadau'r system honno, ond rwy'n credu bod pob un ohonom ni'n gytûn, yn y dyfodol, nad yw, mae'n debyg, yn ddelfrydol.