English: I'd like to thank the Conservative spokesperson for his kind words at the beginning of his contribution, and also on his ingenuity at engineering local government reform into the final contribution of that speech. I'll start, perhaps, most easily, by answering some of your final questions first. The Welsh Government does not have a role in appointing the chief executive of Powys or any other authority. It's a matter for the authority to take those decisions. Clearly, the Welsh Government stands ready to assist and to support, but it is right and proper that the local government itself takes these decisions. The appointment of Mohammed Mehmet was made by Powys County Council, in line with their procedures, and I welcome the appointment. I have absolute confidence in him and his ability to lead the professional workforce in Powys County Council and to deliver the professional leadership that is required in order to restore the council to where we all wish it to be in the future. In terms of the role of Welsh Government, the Conservative spokesperson has, Deputy Presiding Officer, asked a number of questions that refer to the potential role of the Welsh Government, in terms of workforce strategy and delivering against a series of interventions. Let me say this: I think one of the positives, looking at the interventions that have been delivered to Powys and with the support of Powys, has been that this has been very much led by people who have experience of and are rooted in the delivery of social services and also local government. This is local government sustaining and supporting local government. I hope that we will be able to put in place, over the next few years, more structures that will enable local government to sustain and support local government services. I hope the days of interventions from Welsh Government will soon be at an end, in fact. I hope that we will be able to put in place structures and means and processes by which local government will be taking responsibility for the improvement of services delivered to and by and for local government. That is how it should be. It's right and proper that local government has those structures in place and, certainly, Welsh Government will seek to do all it can to provide the help and support required to reach that point. The Conservative Member has asked a number of questions on how we will measure improvements and the high level of intervention required in order to deliver on our targets and objectives. I will say to him that I expect the improvement board to publish its objectives and to publish its work streams in due course, and we will all be able to hold the improvement board to account for how it achieves and delivers on those ambitions. But let me also say this: like him, I've read the report on adult services, which was published at lunch time today. We see the failings there. We recognise the failings, but we also recognise what has been said about the service delivery there. The point that was made by Russell George in his contribution, about staff and workforce morale, I believe, is absolutely central to everything else we're seeking to achieve here. We are putting in place the structures and the people who can help ensure that we have the technical skills and the managerial skills to deliver the services that we require and that the people of Powys have a right to expect. But more than that, we need to address issues of corporate culture; we need to address corporate culture in Powys, and sometimes elsewhere as well. I hope that the wider changes, which the leader absolutely recognises are being made, will deliver that change in culture within the organisation as well. I will say, Deputy Presiding Officer, to Members that the meeting that I had with Councillor Harris this afternoon was a very good and very positive meeting. The Minister for Children and Social Care and I left the meeting feeling very positive about the commitment that Councillor Harris was making to improvement and the journey that she is leading within Powys. And it is certainly a matter for myself and all ministerial colleagues involved in this that we will ensure that Welsh Government provides all the support that Powys requires in order to complete this journey.
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i lefarydd y Ceidwadwyr am ei eiriau caredig ar ddechrau ei gyfraniad, a hefyd am ei ddyfeisgarwch wrth sleifio'i sylwadau ar ddiwygio llywodraeth leol i ddiweddglo'r araith honno. Fe ddechreuaf, efallai, y peth hawsaf, drwy ateb rhai o'ch cwestiynau olaf yn gyntaf. Nid oes gan Lywodraeth Cymru unrhyw ddylanwad wrth benodi prif weithredwr Powys nac unrhyw awdurdod arall. Mater i'r awdurdod yw gwneud penderfyniadau o'r fath. Yn amlwg, mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn barod i helpu a chefnogi, ond mae'n iawn ac yn briodol i'r llywodraeth leol ei hun wneud y penderfyniadau hyn. Penodwyd Mohammed Mehmet gan Gyngor Sir Powys, yn unol â'i weithdrefnau, ac rwyf i'n croesawu'r penodiad. Mae gen i bob ffydd ynddo ef a'i allu i arwain y gweithlu proffesiynol yng Nghyngor Sir Powys a chynnig yr arweinyddiaeth broffesiynol sydd ei hangen er mwyn adfer y cyngor i'r sefyllfa yr ydym ni i gyd yn dymuno iddo fod ynddi yn y dyfodol. O ran swyddogaeth Llywodraeth Cymru, mae llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Dirprwy Lywydd, wedi holi nifer o gwestiynau sy'n cyfeirio at swyddogaeth bosibl Llywodraeth Cymru, o ran strategaeth y gweithlu a chyflawni cyfres o ymyriadau. Gadewch imi ddweud hyn: un o'r pethau cadarnhaol, yn fy marn i, wrth edrych ar yr ymyraethau a gyflawnwyd i Bowys gyda chymorth Powys, yw bod y gwaith hwn wedi'i arwain i raddau helaeth iawn gan bobl sydd â phrofiad o ddarparu gwasanaethau cymdeithasol a phrofiad o lywodraeth leol, ac sydd wedi'u gwreiddio ynddynt. Dyma llywodraeth leol yn cynnal ac yn cefnogi llywodraeth leol. Rwy'n gobeithio y gallwn ni, yn ystod y blynyddoedd nesaf, roi mwy o strwythurau ar waith a fydd yn galluogi llywodraeth leol i gynnal a chefnogi gwasanaethau llywodraeth leol. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y dyddiau o ymyrraeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn dod i ben yn fuan, mewn gwirionedd. Rwy'n gobeithio y byddwn yn gallu rhoi strwythurau a dulliau a phrosesau ar waith y gall llywodraeth leol eu defnyddio er mwyn cymryd cyfrifoldeb am wella'r gwasanaethau a ddarperir i, gan ac ar gyfer llywodraeth leol. Dyna sut y dylai hi fod. Mae'n iawn ac yn briodol bod gan lywodraeth leol y strwythurau hynny ar waith ac, yn sicr, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ceisio gwneud popeth yn ei gallu i ddarparu'r cymorth a'r gefnogaeth sydd eu hangen i gyrraedd y pwynt hwnnw. Mae'r Aelod Ceidwadol wedi holi nifer o gwestiynau ynghylch sut y byddwn yn mesur gwelliannau a'r lefel uchel o ymyrraeth sydd ei hangen er mwyn cyflawni ein targedau a'n hamcanion. Dywedaf wrtho fy mod i'n disgwyl i'r bwrdd gwella gyhoeddi ei amcanion a chyhoeddi ei ffrydiau gwaith maes o law, a byddwn ni'n gallu dwyn y bwrdd gwella i gyfrif am sut y mae'n mynd ati i gyflawni a gwireddu'r uchelgeisiau hynny. Ond gadewch imi ddweud hyn hefyd: rwyf i, fel ef, wedi darllen yr adroddiad ar wasanaethau oedolion, a gyhoeddwyd amser cinio heddiw. Rydym yn gweld methiannau yn y fan yna. Rydym yn cydnabod y methiannau, ond rydym ni hefyd yn cydnabod yr hyn a ddywedwyd am y gwasanaethau a ddarperir yno. Mae'r pwynt y gwnaeth Russell George yn ei gyfraniad ef, am forâl y staff a'r gweithlu, yn fy marn i, yn gwbl ganolog i bopeth arall yr ydym yn ceisio'i gyflawni yma. Rydym yn rhoi strwythurau ar waith ac yn sicrhau bod y bobl iawn yno i allu helpu i sicrhau bod gennym ni'r sgiliau technegol a'r sgiliau rheoli i ddarparu'r gwasanaethau sydd eu hangen, ac sydd gan bobl Powys bob hawl i'w disgwyl. Ond yn fwy na hynny, mae angen i ni fynd i'r afael â materion sy'n ymwneud â'r diwylliant corfforaethol; mae angen i ni fynd i'r afael â diwylliant corfforaethol ym Mhowys, ac weithiau mewn mannau eraill hefyd. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y newidiadau ehangach, y mae'r arweinydd yn cydnabod yn hollol eu bod yn cael eu gwneud, yn sicrhau'r newid hwnnw mewn diwylliant o fewn y sefydliad hefyd. Dywedaf, Dirprwy Lywydd, wrth yr Aelodau fod y cyfarfod a gefais â'r Cynghorydd Harris y prynhawn yma yn un da iawn a chadarnhaol iawn. Wrth adael y cyfarfod, roedd y Gweinidog Plant a Gofal Cymdeithasol a minnau yn teimlo'n gadarnhaol iawn am yr ymrwymiad y mae'r Cynghorydd Harris yn ei wneud i wella, a'r daith y mae'n ei harwain ym Mhowys. Ac mae'n sicr yn fater i mi a'r holl gydweithwyr gweinidogol sy'n ymwneud â hyn, i sicrhau bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn darparu pob cymorth sydd ei angen ar Bowys er mwyn cyrraedd pen y daith hon.