English: I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon. I think we are all agreed that the economic realities that we find ourselves in mean that we do need to look at more innovative ways to fund public investment in Wales, and particularly the capital spending that the Cabinet Secretary has spoken of extensively in his statement today. Can I particularly welcome the commitment to make use of the new capital borrowing powers that are going to be made available to the Assembly and the Welsh Government, and specifically the new limit of £1 billion that was agreed with the UK Government in December as part of the very welcome fiscal framework? That's good news for the Welsh Government, good news for the Assembly and I think I agree with the Cabinet Secretary - it's good news for Wales as a whole. Can I also welcome the news that the Cabinet Secretary announced of the loan application to the European Investment Bank? Not before time, I would say to the Welsh Government. I've long called, and in fact made calls to the Cabinet Secretary's predecessor, for more to be made of the European investment bank - too long a missed opportunity. It's a particularly useful tool for infrastructure. I would be interested to know - although, of course, there are issues now with us leaving the European Union - whether there are any other proposals to try and access that funding. Other countries in the European Union have long since made use of the European Investment Bank, as the Cabinet Secretary will know, for road projects, rail projects - far more so than the UK has in the past. So I'd be interested to know whether there are any further intentions in the time that we have to make further approaches to the European Investment Bank. Turning to the substantive part of the statement and the mutual investment model, and the extra funding for the projects outlined, we know that the Scottish Government has tried to develop a similar mutual model and I understand and recognise the Cabinet Secretary's issues with previous PFI projects, which, as you say, we didn't have to the same extent in Wales as elsewhere. The Scottish Government has tried to develop their own mutual model, but with little success. What lessons have been learned from the Scottish experience, what were the failings of that model, and how are you planning to safeguard the Welsh model against some of those failings? I appreciate that the model was specific to Scotland and you'll be developing your own model - I know from my welcome discussion with you about this previously. But there must surely be some lessons that you would hope to learn. Can you elaborate on the role of the public interest director that you mentioned in your statement? How will that person be selected? What sort of length of time will they be expected to play their role in the new mutual model? I'm trying to weight up the relative powers of the public and private aspects of this. Can you confirm that the public interest director will not have a power of veto? I think that was one of the stumbling blocks with the Scottish model that I think you're keen to avoid. In terms of the share that has been agreed from the mutual models in question, can you clarify that this share is instead of a cap on profits and it's not as well as a cap on profits or a limited cap on profits, but that that part of it has been jettisoned and that this will now be a model that the Welsh Government will receive an ongoing share of, proportionate to the profits as a whole? I think that's a good idea in principle, so I'll look forward to hearing you clarify some of those aspects, Cabinet Secretary. Finally, I understand that the profit cap was a large part of the reason that the Scottish model was declared invalid, leading to the Scottish Government ultimately covering, if not all the costs, then certainly a large cost of the schemes they embarked on. Clearly, if the Welsh Government ended up in this position, then a lot of the good work that has been done would itself fall and we would end up with the Welsh Government having to shoulder a large chunk of the cost, defeating the whole object of us going down this path. You have in the past said, Cabinet Secretary, that the Welsh Government does not have access to the river of gold - which I think is how you described it - of funding that often winds its way to the border counties, in the north of England, and the Scottish Government and they have access to. They were able to fill the gaps that appeared when their scheme defaulted. I don't think that you would be in a position to do that. As I say, this would run counter to the reasons for you bringing forward this mutual model in the first place. So, can you explain a little bit about the safeguards in place there and are you 100 per cent confident that the Welsh mutual model will succeed and that there is no risk that the taxpayer will end up footing a very large bill?
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet am ei ddatganiad y prynhawn yma. Rwy'n credu ein bod ni i gyd yn cytuno bod y realiti economaidd yr ydym yn byw ynddo yn golygu bod yn rhaid i ni ystyried ffyrdd mwy arloesol o ariannu buddsoddiad cyhoeddus yng Nghymru, ac yn enwedig y gwariant cyfalaf y mae Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet wedi siarad yn helaeth amdano yn ei ddatganiad heddiw. A gaf i groesawu yn arbennig yr ymrwymiad i wneud defnydd o'r pwerau benthyca cyfalaf newydd sydd yn mynd i fod ar gael i'r Cynulliad ac i Lywodraeth Cymru, ac yn benodol y terfyn newydd o £1 biliwn y cytunwyd arno gyda Llywodraeth y DU ym mis Rhagfyr yn rhan o'r fframwaith cyllidol a groesewir yn fawr? Mae hynny'n newyddion da i Lywodraeth Cymru, yn newyddion da i'r Cynulliad ac rwy'n credu fy mod i'n cytuno ag Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet - mae'n newyddion da i Gymru drwyddi draw. A gaf i hefyd groesawu'r newyddion y a gyhoeddwyd gan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet am y cais am fenthyciad gan Fanc Buddsoddi Ewrop? Mae hi'n hen bryd, byddwn i'n dweud wrth Lywodraeth Cymru. Rwyf wedi galw ers cryn amser, ac wedi gwneud galwadau i ragflaenydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet a dweud y gwir, i wneud mwy o ddefnydd o fanc buddsoddi Ewrop - mae'n gyfle a gollwyd ers amser rhy hir. Mae'n arf arbennig o ddefnyddiol ar gyfer seilwaith. Byddai hen i ddiddordeb cael gwybod - er bod problemau nawr, wrth gwrs, gan ein bod ni'n gadael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd - pa un a oes unrhyw gynigion eraill i geisio cael mynediad at y cyllid hwnnw. Mae gwledydd eraill yn yr Undeb Ewropeaidd wedi gwneud defnydd o Fanc Buddsoddi Ewrop ers amser maith, fel y bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn gwybod, ar gyfer prosiectau ffyrdd, prosiectau rheilffyrdd - llawer mwy nag y mae'r DU wedi ei ddefnyddio yn y gorffennol. Felly byddai gen i ddiddordeb mewn cael gwybod a oes unrhyw fwriadau pellach yn yr amser sydd gennym ni i wneud rhagor o geisiadau i Fanc Buddsoddi Ewrop. Gan droi at brif ran y datganiad a'r model buddsoddi cydfuddiannol, a'r cyllid ychwanegol ar gyfer y prosiectau a amlinellwyd, gwyddom fod Llywodraeth yr Alban wedi ceisio datblygu model cydfuddiannol tebyg, ac rwy'n deall ac yn cydnabod pryderon Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet o ran prosiectau Menter Cyllid Preifat blaenorol, nad oedd yn bodoli i'r un graddau gennym ni yng Nghymru, fel y dywedasoch, o'i gymharu â mannau eraill. Mae Llywodraeth yr Alban wedi ceisio datblygu ei model cydfuddiannol ei hun, ond heb fawr o lwyddiant. Pa wersi sydd wedi cael eu dysgu o brofiad yr Alban, beth oedd methiannau'r model hwnnw, a sut ydych chi'n bwriadu diogelu model Cymru yn erbyn rhai o'r methiannau hynny? Rwy'n sylweddoli bod y model yn benodol i'r Alban ac y byddwch yn datblygu eich model eich hun - rwy'n gwybod hynny yn dilyn fy nhrafodaeth a groesawyd gyda chi ynglŷn â hyn o'r blaen. Ond mae'n rhaid bod rhai gwersi y byddech chi'n gobeithio eu dysgu. A allwch chi ymhelaethu ar y swyddogaeth cyfarwyddwr budd y cyhoedd y soniwyd amdani gennych yn eich datganiad? Sut fydd yr unigolyn hwnnw'n cael ei ddewis? Am ba hyd y bydd disgwyl iddo chwarae ei ran yn y model cydfuddiannol newydd? Rwy'n ceisio pwyso a mesur pwerau cymharol yr agweddau cyhoeddus a phreifat ar hyn. A allwch chi gadarnhau na fydd gan gyfarwyddwr budd y cyhoedd rym feto? Rwy'n credu mai dyna oedd un o feini tramgwydd model yr Alban, yr wyf yn tybio eich bod chi'n awyddus i'w hosgoi. O ran y gyfran a gytunwyd gan y modelau cydfuddiannol o dan sylw, a allwch chi egluro bod y gyfran hon yn hytrach na chap ar elw ac nad yw'n ogystal â chap ar elw neu gap cyfyngedig ar elw, ond bod y rhan honno wedi cael ei haberthu ac y bydd hwn yn fodel nawr y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn derbyn cyfran barhaus ohono, yn gymesur â'r elw yn gyffredinol? Credaf fod hynny'n syniad da mewn egwyddor, felly byddaf yn edrych ymlaen at eich clywed yn egluro rhai o'r agweddau hynny, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet. Yn olaf, rwy'n deall bod y cap ar elw yn rhan fawr o'r rheswm y datganwyd model yr Alban yn annilys, gan olygu y bu'n rhaid i Lywodraeth yr Alban dalu yn y pen draw, os nad y costau i gyd, yna'n sicr rhan helaeth o gost y cynlluniau yr ymgymerodd â nhw. Yn amlwg, pe bai Llywodraeth Cymru yn y sefyllfa hon, yna byddai llawer iawn o'r gwaith da sydd wedi cael ei wneud yn ofer a byddai'n rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru ysgwyddo cyfran fawr o'r gost yn y pen draw, gan fynd yn groes i holl fwriad dilyn y llwybr hwn. Rydych chi wedi dweud yn y gorffennol, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, nad oes gan Lywodraeth Cymru fynediad at yr afon aur - rwy'n credu mai dyna sut y gwnaethoch chi ei disgrifio - o gyllid sy'n aml yn ymdroelli i siroedd y gororau, yng ngogledd Lloegr, ac y mae gan Lywodraeth yr Alban fynediad ati. Roedden nhw'n gallu llenwi'r bylchau a ymddangosodd pan fethodd eu cynllun. Nid wyf yn credu y byddech chi mewn sefyllfa i wneud hynny. Fel y dywedais, byddai hyn yn mynd yn groes i'r rhesymau dros gyflwyno'r model cydfuddiannol hwn yn y lle cyntaf. Felly, a allwch chi esbonio ychydig am y mesurau diogelu sydd ar waith yno ac a ydych chi'n gwbl hyderus y bydd model cydfuddiannol Cymru yn llwyddo ac nad oes unrhyw berygl y bydd y trethdalwr yn gorfod talu bil mawr iawn yn y pen draw?