English: So, again, Delyth, thank you. Obviously, I know where we are with council tax, but council tax is in the portfolio of my colleague Rebecca Evans. She's been recently able to announce another £33 million, I think it was - although you would have to ask her to confirm the actual figure; I'm trying to see if she's nodding at me - in assistance to councils for council tax relief funding and a number of other assistances to them, to make sure that the scheme is funded at the level it will be. You are absolutely right: the number of people applying for council tax relief has risen during the pandemic. I'm really delighted to say that we've kept council tax relief here in Wales when it was abolished across the border in England some considerable time ago. We did that because - you are absolutely right - we know that it is a regressive tax, and we absolutely accept that people need some assistance with it where their incomes are so challenged. As you heard my colleague Vikki saying just now, some councils have been able to do very good things inside a very reasonable council tax envelope, and we would expect councils to work very hard to make sure that they do that and to understand what their cost bases are. So, if they are struggling to cope with the level of increase that they have had - and bear in mind that this is the second good settlement in as many years that they have had - then we would be very pleased to work with them to understand why their cost base was so volatile. But, we would not expect, given the very generous settlement that the provisional settlement, at least, sets out, that very many councils would require enormous hikes in council tax in order to keep their services resilient. That is because, during the pandemic, we have been very pleased, through the local government hardship fund, to be able to fund all of the costs that have been additional to councils through the pandemic. I'm very pleased to have been able to do that. So, we've worked very amicably in local government to understand those charges and costs right across. We've been able to make up for lost income, both in general income from car park charges and so on, from car parks being closed, city centres not being in use, right through to council tax and NDR. So, I would be really surprised to find any council with enormous hikes. Having said that, you heard me say, in response to a number of colleagues earlier, that we do not believe in capping our councils because we believe in local democracy. The whole of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, which the Senedd has recently passed, is about empowering local democracy to make their decisions locally. So, I don't believe that it's the right role for the Welsh Government to put a cap on that where local, democratically elected councillors think differently.
Welsh: Felly, unwaith eto, Delyth, diolch. Yn amlwg, rwy'n gwybod am ein sefyllfa gyda'r dreth gyngor, ond mae'r dreth gyngor ym mhortffolio fy nghyd-Aelod Rebecca Evans. Yn ddiweddar, mae wedi gallu cyhoeddi £33 miliwn arall, rwy'n credu - er y byddai'n rhaid i chi ofyn iddi gadarnhau'r ffigur gwirioneddol; rwy'n ceisio gweld a yw hi'n ysgwyd ei phen - i roi cymorth i gynghorau mewn perthynas â chyllid rhyddhad y dreth gyngor a nifer o bethau eraill, i sicrhau bod y cynllun yn cael ei ariannu ar y lefel briodol. Rydych yn llygad eich lle: mae nifer y bobl sy'n gwneud cais am ryddhad y dreth gyngor wedi codi yn ystod y pandemig. Rwy'n falch iawn o ddweud ein bod wedi cadw rhyddhad y dreth gyngor yma yng Nghymru pan gafodd ei ddiddymu dros y ffin yn Lloegr beth amser yn ôl. Gwnaethom hynny - rydych yn llygad eich lle - oherwydd ein bod yn gwybod ei bod yn dreth atchwel, ac rydym yn derbyn yn llwyr fod pobl angen rhywfaint o gymorth gyda hi pan fo cymaint o fygythiad i'w hincwm. Fel y clywsoch fy nghyd-Aelod Vikki yn dweud nawr, mae rhai cynghorau wedi gallu gwneud pethau da iawn o fewn amlen dreth gyngor resymol iawn, a byddem yn disgwyl i gynghorau weithio'n galed iawn i sicrhau eu bod yn gwneud hynny ac i ddeall beth yw eu seiliau cost. Felly, os ydynt yn ei chael yn anodd ymdopi â lefel y cynnydd y maent wedi'i gael - a chofiwch mai dyma'r ail setliad da iddynt ei gael yn y ddwy flynedd ddiwethaf - byddem yn falch iawn o weithio gyda hwy i ddeall pam oedd eu sail cost mor gyfnewidiol. Ond ni fyddem yn disgwyl, o ystyried y setliad hael iawn y mae'r setliad dros dro, o leiaf, yn ei nodi, y byddai llawer iawn o gynghorau angen codiadau enfawr yn y dreth gyngor er mwyn cadw eu gwasanaethau'n gadarn. Y rheswm am hynny yw ein bod, yn ystod y pandemig, wedi bod yn falch iawn, drwy'r gronfa galedi llywodraeth leol, o allu ariannu'r holl gostau ychwanegol i gynghorau drwy'r pandemig. Rwy'n falch iawn o fod wedi gallu gwneud hynny. Felly, rydym wedi gweithio'n gyfeillgar iawn mewn llywodraeth leol i ddeall y taliadau a'r costau yn gyffredinol. Rydym wedi gallu gwneud iawn am incwm a gollwyd, ar ffurf incwm cyffredinol o daliadau meysydd parcio ac yn y blaen, yn sgil cau meysydd parcio, y ffaith nad yw canol dinasoedd yn cael eu defnyddio, yr holl ffordd drwodd i'r dreth gyngor ac ardrethi annomestig. Felly, byddwn yn synnu'n fawr pe bawn yn gweld unrhyw gyngor yn codi'r dreth yn helaeth. Wedi dweud hynny, clywsoch fi'n dweud, mewn ymateb i nifer o gyd-Aelodau yn gynharach, nad ydym yn credu mewn capio ein cynghorau oherwydd ein bod yn credu mewn democratiaeth leol. Mae Deddf Llywodraeth Leol ac Etholiadau (Cymru) 2021, a basiwyd gan y Senedd yn ddiweddar, yn ymwneud â grymuso democratiaeth leol i wneud eu penderfyniadau'n lleol. Felly, nid wyf yn credu mai lle Llywodraeth Cymru yw rhoi cap ar hynny pan fo cynghorwyr lleol, a etholwyd yn ddemocrataidd, yn meddwl yn wahanol.