English: I thank the Member for those questions. Can I say that I think he made a series of important points about town and community councils? My assessment of the sector, having asked about it in all parts of Wales, is that, where town and community councils have a good relationship with their principal authority, where they have a level of resource and a level of ambition, they are doing more important public service work today than they probably ever have before in helping to defend local communities against the effects of austerity. The problem is that, too often and in too many parts, the relationship isn't as good as it should be, the resource base of very small community councils isn't sufficient to allow them to take on a wider range of duties and, probably most significant of all, the ambition is not always there to do so. So, the challenge that I have set for the review team is to try and identify the ingredients that are making for successful town and community councils and to be very positive about the good work they are doing but to then ask how we can generalise that into other parts of Wales, potentially including parts of Wales where town and community councils don't currently exist. In the meantime, we are producing, with our town and community councils, with One Voice Wales, a handbook, a workbook to allow town and community councils who are willing to do more than they have in the past to learn the lessons of those who have done it successfully already and to be able to help them through that process. As far as the conduct of elections is concerned, Gareth Bennett raised the very important issue of internet security. We asked the question in the consultation paper: are we yet at the stage where we could allow voting to take place on your phone or on your tablet or on your computer? We do many other things in many other parts of our lives - internet banking and so on - that require high levels of security, but I think it's an important question. I want to rehearse it in the consultation exercise. Old-fashioned as our current system may be, one of its great strengths, Llywydd, is that it is trusted by people. You go, you put your cross on the ballot paper, you take the paper yourself, you put it into the ballot box - you can see how the system is working. I think we would want to think carefully about moving in directions where people's trust in the integrity of the process could be more easily undermined, but we want to know what people in Wales think about it. Gareth Bennett pointed to our proposals for making chief executives statutorily the returning officers in local elections and abolishing the current system of personal fees. We raised the question of where to draw the line in local authority employees. I don't have a fixed position on that. I do think it's an important question to rehearse. I think trade unions and others will have important views to contribute to us there. I think it is right that candidates who are members of a political party should declare that as part of their candidacy. There is nothing to stop anybody standing as an independent, but I think that, if you do put yourself forward as an independent and you've been a member of a political party within the last 12 months, then voters are entitled to know that that is the case. They then take it into account with everything else that they take into account in deciding who to vote for. We propose in our consultation that there shouldn't be a dual mandate, that people should not be able to be Assembly Members and members of a local authority at the same time. There is the issue of pay, as Gareth Bennett said. Being an Assembly Member is paid as a full-time job, and we think it should be that, but there are conflicts of interest as well that are not simply to do with pay. We make very important decisions here that affect local authorities, and we think it's an uncomfortable position to be both the provider and the recipient of those decisions, and our proposal is that we should not allow that to happen in the future.
Welsh: Diolch i'r Aelod am y cwestiynau yna. A gaf i ddweud fy mod i'n credu ei fod wedi gwneud cyfres o bwyntiau pwysig am gynghorau tref a chymuned? Fy asesiad i o'r sector, ar ôl holi amdano ym mhob rhan o Gymru, yw hyn: pan fo gan gynghorau tref a chymuned berthynas dda gyda'u prif awdurdod, pan fo ganddyn nhw adnoddau ac uchelgais, maen nhw'n gwneud gwaith gwasanaeth cyhoeddus pwysicach heddiw nag y maen nhw wedi ei wneud fwy na thebyg erioed o'r blaen o ran helpu i amddiffyn cymunedau rhag effeithiau cyni. Ond dyma'r broblem, yn rhy aml ac mewn gormod o achosion, nid yw'r berthynas cystal ag y dylai fod, nid yw sylfaen adnoddau cynghorau cymuned bach iawn yn ddigonol i ganiatáu iddyn nhw ymgymryd ag ystod ehangach o ddyletswyddau ac, yn bwysicach na dim mae'n debyg, nid yw'r uchelgais bob amser yno i wneud hynny. Felly, yr her yr wyf i wedi ei gosod ar gyfer y tîm adolygu yw ceisio canfod y cynhwysion sy'n gwneud cynghorau tref a chymuned yn llwyddiannus ac i fod yn gadarnhaol iawn am y gwaith da y maen nhw'n ei wneud ond gofyn wedyn sut y gallwn ni gymhwyso hynny'n gyffredinol i rannau eraill o Gymru, a chynnwys rhannau o Gymru lle nad yw cynghorau tref a chymuned o bosib yn bodoli ar hyn o bryd. Yn y cyfamser, rydym ni'n cynhyrchu llawlyfr, gyda'n cynghorau tref a chymuned, gydag Un Llais Cymru, llawlyfr i ganiatáu i gynghorau tref a chymuned sy'n fodlon gwneud mwy nag y maen nhw wedi ei wneud yn y gorffennol i ddysgu gwersi gan y cynghorau hynny sydd wedi gwneud hynny yn llwyddiannus eisoes ac i allu eu helpu drwy'r broses honno. O ran cynnal etholiadau, cododd Gareth Bennett y mater pwysig iawn o ddiogelwch ar y rhyngrwyd. Fe wnaethom ofyn y cwestiwn yn y papur ymgynghori: ydym ni eto wedi cyrraedd y cam lle y gallwn ni ganiatáu i bobl bleidleisio ar y ffôn neu lechen neu ar gyfrifiadur? Rydym ni'n gwneud llawer o bethau eraill mewn sawl rhan arall o'n bywydau - bancio ar y rhyngrwyd ac yn y blaen - sy'n gofyn am ddiogelwch sylweddol iawn, ond rwy'n credu ei fod yn gwestiwn pwysig. Rwyf am ailadrodd hyn yn yr ymarfer ymgynghori. Er mor hen ffasiwn yw ein system bresennol ni, un o'i chryfderau mawr, Llywydd, yw bod bobl yn ymddiried ynddi. Rydych chi'n mynd, rydych chi'n rhoi eich croes ar y papur pleidleisio, rydych chi'n cymryd y papur eich hun, rydych chi'n ei roi yn y blwch pleidleisio - fe allwch chi weld sut y mae'r system yn gweithio. Rwy'n credu y byddai angen i ni feddwl yn ofalus am symud i gyfeiriadau lle y byddai'n haws tanseilio ffydd pobl yn hygrededd y broses, ond rydym ni eisiau gwybod beth mae pobl yng Nghymru yn ei feddwl am hyn. Cyfeiriodd Gareth Bennett at ein cynigion ar gyfer gwneud prif weithredwyr yn swyddogion canlyniadau statudol mewn etholiadau lleol a diddymu'r system bresennol o ffioedd personol. Codwyd y cwestiwn o ble i dynnu'r llinell o ran gweithwyr awdurdodau lleol. Nid oes gennyf farn sefydlog ar hynny. Rwyf yn credu ei fod yn gwestiwn pwysig i'w ailadrodd. Rwy'n credu y bydd gan undebau llafur ac eraill sylwadau pwysig i'w cyfrannu inni yn hyn o beth. Rwy'n credu ei bod hi'n iawn y dylai ymgeiswyr sy'n aelodau o blaid wleidyddol ddatgan hynny yn rhan o'u hymgeisyddiaeth. Nid oes unrhyw beth i atal unrhyw un rhag sefyll fel ymgeisydd annibynnol, ond yn fy marn i, os ydych chi'n cynnig eich hun fel ymgeisydd annibynnol ac wedi bod yn aelod o blaid wleidyddol yn ystod y 12 mis diwethaf, yna mae gan bleidleiswyr yr hawl i wybod hynny. Maen nhw wedyn yn gallu ystyried hynny gyda phopeth arall wrth benderfynu pwy i bleidleisio drosto. Rydym ni'n cynnig yn ein hymgynghoriad na ddylid cael mandad deuol, na ddylai pobl allu bod yn Aelodau Cynulliad ac yn aelodau o awdurdod lleol ar yr un pryd. Ceir y mater o gyflog, fel y dywedodd Gareth Bennett. Caiff Aelod Cynulliad ei dalu am wneud swydd llawn amser, ac rydym ni'n credu mai dyna ddylai'r swydd fod, ond ceir gwrthdaro buddiannau hefyd nad ydynt yn ymwneud â thâl yn unig. Rydym ni'n gwneud penderfyniadau pwysig iawn yn y fan yma sy'n effeithio ar awdurdodau lleol, ac rydym ni'n credu ei bod yn sefyllfa anghyfforddus i orfod gwneud y penderfyniadau hynny a hefyd eu derbyn, a'n cynnig ni yw na ddylem ni ganiatáu i hynny ddigwydd yn y dyfodol.