Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Galw'r Aelodau i drefn.

Yr eitem gyntaf ar ein hagenda ni y prynhawn yma yw'r cwestiynau i'r Gweinidog Cyllid a'r Trefnydd, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Nick Ramsay.

I thought Lynne Neagle was going to be answering the questions there for a moment.

Thank you. The 2019 budget, approved by the Assembly in January, provides £7.4 billion for core NHS funding, representing record levels of investment in the NHS in Wales.

Thank you, Minister. In yesterday's statement, I asked you about the way that the future generations legislation was being incorporated into the budget. Another area of concern that's been under some criticism from the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is that of moving the focus of healthcare towards the preventative agenda, which hasn't always happened in the past, and which we clearly need to do in the future, with restricted resources. So, can you tell us, with the supplementary budget and, indeed, last year's main budget, what discussions have been held in terms of extending that preventative agenda so that we can put the health service in Wales on a more sustainable footing in the future, because we know costs are only going to increase?

Thank you very much for raising this, and for your interest in the way in which we are making the future generations Act come to life through the budgetary decisions that we make here in Wales. I've had a recent meeting with the future generations commissioner to explore how we can better incorporate the Act within our budgetary decision making at the earliest possible opportunity. And it's certainly one of the areas that I will be talking to my ministerial colleagues about as we enter our next budget round. But, looking back, we'll be holding a round-table with the commissioner and a number of senior finance officials very shortly to have a lessons-learned kind of exercise to explore what we did well this time in terms of considering the Act, but also how we can improve things in future.

We worked very closely with the future generations commissioner to come to an agreed definition of preventative spend, which has very much guided some of our thinking. So, some of the additional funding announced for health and social services in 2019-20, for example, comes very much within that preventative agenda. The £192 million to take forward the implementation of our long-term plan for health and social care, 'A Healthier Wales', is part of that, because that piece of work really does try to refocus our efforts, really, at the preventative end. Because we know, in the long term, clearly, it's better for people, but obviously, in terms of our budgets, it doesn't store up problems for the future.

We're investing in our high streets through a range of measures, including up to £100 million over three years through the targeted regeneration investment programme, £26 million next year to provide further business rates relief for businesses across Wales, and £31.5 million for a town-centre loans scheme.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. Sir John Timpson, chairman of the Timpson chain, has said that making town centres more friendly to motorists will stop the rot of the high street. He doesn't subscribe to the simplistic assumption that the death of the high street is down to online retail—'You can't get keys cut online', he says—but it's largely down to motorists preferring to go somewhere they can easily access by car. That's why Timpson says 40 per cent of their trade is done out of town, and that's expected to rise to 70 per cent over the next 10 years. A couple of years ago, Timpson opened 95 new shops, shops that provide services not available to buy online, and yet only four of the new stores were on high streets—the rest being in or near out-of-town supermarkets. This is because, he says, local authorities are killing off the high street by making shopping inconvenient to the motorist. Increased trade on high streets leads to improved employment levels and increased business rates for local authorities. So, will you pledge to help fund de-pedestrianisation in dying town centres across Wales?

Thank you very much for that question. It is really important that we work very hard to increase the footfall in our town centres across Wales, and there are various ways in which we can do that, including through the investment that we are making in active travel, but also making sure that we have better interconnectivity between our various towns and communities. So, I think that the answer here isn't a simplistic one. It is about using our investment that we do have through the Building for the Future programme, to ensure that we have jobs in the city centre, and the investment that we make through our housing programme to ensure that we turn some of our empty properties into homes in our towns and city centres.

So, the answer really to having thriving vibrant high streets in the future is multifaceted and will require work across Government, and we are undertaking that work. The targeted regeneration investment scheme, for example, is a fantastic example of how we are rejuvenating high streets right across Wales, but also putting the power and the decision making there in the hands of local authorities so that they can come together and work out for themselves what their particular local priorities are, and then we'll support them to deliver them. 

Trefnydd, I believe that business improvement districts are a good way of seeing businesses and local community councils working together, and it's a good model I do believe, and Newtown is going through that process at the moment. Is it intended that any of the financial proceeds from a potential bid will be channelled through town and community councils so that they can work on behalf of their communities to influence the impact of other outcomes of bids? And, also, can you give consideration, along with your colleagues, of course, to provide further funding to extend this model to other towns across Powys through the allocation of the funding for specific area-based improvement district schemes, because I think they are very beneficial, particularly for, for example, improving tourism in a town centre? 

Thank you very much. I share your enthusiasm for business improvement districts as being a mechanism which brings local businesses and other stakeholders together with the aim of improving their trading environment and, again, making shopping a much more pleasant experience for the people who use those business areas and to attract more footfall to those areas. And that's one of the reasons why we have a revenue budget of £620,000 in 2019-20 to support wider community regeneration efforts, which do involve the expansion of business improvement district programmes to other areas. Certainly, were there to be other areas in Powys that would be interested in exploring how business improvement districts could work for them, I know that Welsh Government officials would be more than happy to develop those proposals with them. 

Minister, you will be aware that funding has been invested in trying to regenerate Swansea High Street. However, while there have been some improvements, we are still faced with a row of deserted crumbling old buildings in that area, as you know. Among them, we have the site of the historic, but now overgrown, Palace Theatre still dominating the area, which is a sad reflection on the city. Will you, therefore, commit the Welsh Government to having further discussions with Swansea Council and provide the necessary funding in order to tackle the remaining unsightly buildings along this key gateway to our city? 

Thank you for raising the issue of Swansea High Street. Certainly, it's an area I'm very familiar with, and I have seen the major improvements that have started to take place there over the past couple of years in particular, and I know that Swansea Council has particularly ambitious plans for the city as a whole. I'm quite excited by the housing-led regeneration that is taking place on Swansea High Street. I think that's a good model for other parts of Wales to look to, in terms of having more people living in our town centres, where the footfall is there then in order to make the most of all of the town's cafes and shops, and so on. I'd certainly be happy to have further conversations with Swansea to explore how we can support the regeneration efforts on High Street. 

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth.  

Diolch yn fawr. I have some questions on post-Brexit funding. You will be very aware of the £1.6 billion post-Brexit towns fund for England. Could you update us on Welsh consequentials that we can expect as a result of that? 

Thank you very much. This announcement came out of nowhere to us and we're still trying to work through with the UK Government to what extent the funding is new money. I understand that around £1 billion of that is potentially new money. So, I think we would be looking at  consequentials of around the region of £50 million, if our understanding is confirmed to be true. The other £600 million, I understand, would be for towns to bid into, and we would be able to bid in to that, or potentially have consequential funding from that, but unfortunately it's proving extremely difficult to get clarity from the UK Government on this. I see this very much as a bribe to towns across England. It offers nothing like the kind of funding that we would have, in Wales certainly, attracted from the European Union—£350 million a year. So, the £50 million consequential is just a drop in the ocean, should that figure be the correct figure.

And, of course, I agree that it will be very difficult for us to maintain the kind of funding levels that we have benefited from due to our membership of the European Union. There are other funds also. We had a funding package announced for local authorities in England with ports in them recently. There's the £140 million package for Northern Ireland announced recently. Could you update us on the consequentials of that for Wales?

Yes, with regard to the ports funding, our understanding is that that funding isn't new money; it's just reannounced money. So, there'll be no consequentials coming to Welsh Government as a result of that. 

With regard to the £140 million that has been provided to the Northern Ireland budget in 2019-20, that is a matter of huge concern to Welsh Government because we have a quite clear agreement with the UK Government in terms of of our statement of funding policy. Our statement of funding policy is there to offer fair funding across the nations, and this certainly is not within either the spirit or the letter of that. 

Welsh Government would have expected in the region of £246 million in consequentials for the additional funding that Northern Ireland has been given. We raised this particular issue in terms of the fairness of the funding that's gone to Northern Ireland during our finance quadrilateral. Scottish Ministers are equally as frustrated as we are, and we continue to press this. I wrote to the Chief Secretary of the Treasury just this week, expressing our deep concern and offering the Chancellor the opportunity to use the spring statement to right what is clearly a wrong.

I sympathise with Welsh Government's frustrations, clearly, but so much of this is about Welsh Government being reactive. The question is here: who is being proactive in seeking deals for Wales on funding, post Brexit or now for that matter? I've been holding discussions with some individuals this morning about the notion of free zones for trade or free ports. Where are the bids being prepared for Wales for potentially taking advantage of those kinds of new models. The north-east of England already has a bid prepared for taking advantage of perhaps the development of new free-port areas.

The question is: who can we depend on to fight for Wales? It seems to me that we can't look to the Secretary of State for Wales, because the office of the Secretary of State for Wales is redefining itself very much as UK Government's voice in Wales rather than Wales's representation at the UK Cabinet. So, we have to look to Welsh Government to go out there and seek deals for us. It seems to me that 10 members of one political party in Northern Ireland are using more leverage than the Government of our country. So, when can we expect a ramping-up of efforts by Welsh Government to be more proactive in putting together and putting forward cases for additional funding for Wales at this hugely crucial time for us as we face the uncertainty of Brexit?

I would reject any suggestion that Welsh Government hasn't been working at pace and with real energy on this particular issue for a long time now. There are numerous meetings between the First Minister, the Prime Minister, the Brexit Minister and his counterparts, and between me and my counterparts, and all Ministers with a particular portfolio interest in this area. 

During the finance quadrilateral, we talked particularly about the potential for a 'no deal' Brexit. We were very clear that, should there be a 'no deal' Brexit, there should be additional funding coming to Wales in order to help us deal with what would be a catastrophic result. The Chancellor has previously said that the spring statement that will take place next week could be a full fiscal event, yet the Chief Secretary to the Treasury tells us that the spring statement will be nothing more than an administrative event that doesn't even warrant a phone call to Welsh Government because there will be no particular areas of interest to the devolved nations. 

So, Welsh Government has been working very hard in order to ensure that Wales's voice is heard and that the seriousness of the issues facing us is heard. But that doesn't mean that we're not using the funds that we do have to develop innovative ideas in order to address the risk of a 'no deal' Brexit but also the challenges that will be posed in any Brexit, which is why, of course, we have our £50 million European transition fund, which is making allocations across the breadth of Welsh life in order to ensure that we are well prepared for Brexit—well prepared to make the most of any opportunities that might arise, but also well prepared to deal with the catastrophe that might be a 'no deal' Brexit.

Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Nick Ramsay.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I'd like to ask you about procurement. Can you provide us with an update on Welsh Government plans for the future of the National Procurement Service, the NPS, and public procurement in Wales in general? 

Yes, certainly. You'll have heard the First Minister's statement when he was in the finance portfolio back in September, which outlined the fact that we're taking a new approach to procurement in Wales, and that we'll be operating a smaller unit that will be much more focused, reducing the number of large contracts from around 60 to around 30 in order to have a more focused approach, and an approach that takes greater account of local and regional interests, which is what our stakeholders told us they wanted from procurement when we asked them towards the end of last year.

Thank you, Minister. When I asked your predecessor—you referred to the statement—now sitting on your left—sitting there anyway—about Welsh Government plans for the future of the NPS—physically, that is—in October 2018, he told me that customers felt that

'a collective approach to public procurement in Wales was better secured through a strengthened regional tier'— 

you've just alluded to that—

'rather than discharging things at a national level'.

And consequently, the

'NPS will not continue in its current format, and it will migrate to being an organisation with a stronger regional and local presence, and an organisation that is better placed to make sure that those organisations across Wales that spend public money are well equipped to respond to the new opportunities'

ahead. Minister, specifically, how do you see the public procurement regime in Wales working in future on the regional basis that you've just mentioned? How will that regional base be supported, and how will those plans dovetail with the new approach to regional economic development, as outlined in the Welsh Government's economic action plan?

Thank you very much. So, as we move to transitioning the NPS and Value Wales teams into new functions, we'll certainly be taking into consideration the recent Public Accounts Committee inquiry into procurement, which concluded in February. We'll be considering the observations that PAC has to make in terms of helping us shape our way forward. But we have engaged with the support of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies to help shape our future approaches, and we're very keen to draw on their particular experiences, having worked on procurement initiatives across the UK and across the EU. The example of Preston has often been given as one that has been seen as particularly successful in terms of ensuring that procurement benefits the local community.

We'll also be looking at the work we've been doing through our Better Jobs Closer to Home pilot programmes. I think that they offer us particular opportunities to maximise the benefit from our investment, not just in terms of ensuring that money circulates within the local economy, but actually benefits people who are currently out of work, for example, people who are furthest currently from the employment market, and also exploring what more we can do to use procurement as a lever in terms of our decarbonisation agenda. 

Diolch. I always like it when Ministers refer to public accounts inquiries, clearly with my Chair of that committee hat on as well. Aside from the work that public accounts has done into this area, according to a recent written Assembly question and answer to that question in 2018, 22 per cent of procurement spend by the Welsh Government on construction contracts worth over £500,000 went to firms based outside Wales—you've just mentioned that issue. That leakage represents a lost opportunity for investment in Welsh supply chains and, consequently, lost opportunities to further strengthen the economy of Wales. Now, I know when we've mentioned this previously in the Chamber, you and your predecessors have said there are, of course, issues in terms of giving contracts to English firms. Of course, that is a vital part of the UK economy as well, but I'm sure we would all like to see greater support, greater opportunities for Welsh firms and local firms.

You've mentioned the regional basis and the public accounts inquiry. Without pre-empting your reaction to that, could you tell us how you see the economic action plan and other aspects of Welsh Government policy ensuring that the Welsh firms, local firms, do get a fair share of the cake when it comes to the distribution of future procurement contracts in Wales?    

Thank you very much for that, and I'm sure that the work that we're doing in terms of improving and increasing the community benefits as a result of our investment is one way in which we can ensure that local firms and local people do benefit. So, as of the end of December, 519 projects have created 2,465 job opportunities, with over 102,000 weeks of training also provided. So, there's certainly a lot of work that we could be doing in terms of community benefit, and a great deal of work that we could also be doing in terms of the ethical code of practice to ensure that those people throughout the supply chain, whether they are based in Wales or elsewhere, are treated well, paid well, and, obviously, have their rights at work respected.

So, I think that procurement is an area really ripe for a real focus by Welsh Government in terms of ensuring that we can circulate as much money that we invest, keep it circulating in Wales, but also look at the huge range of other benefits that we can achieve from procurement. 

Llefarydd UKIP, Neil Hamilton.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I've been looking at the Minister's list of responsibilities and they include, amongst many other things, strategic direction and management of Welsh Government resources, strategic investment, financial accounting and audit, and value for money and effectiveness.

The Wales Audit Office has recently published a report called 'Welsh Government Financial Support for Business' and I'd like to ask a few questions arising out of that. The principal criticism that the Auditor General for Wales had in that report was that

'The Welsh Government did not fully translate its vision for economic renewal into a co-ordinated programme of financial support to businesses',

and that the Government

'has monitored individual projects separately but has not managed financial
support to businesses as a programme'.

We've seen a number of fiascos, which are listed in the report, including: the well-known one of Griffin Place Communications, the £600,000 set-up grant for 127 jobs, which was all lost; Oysterworld, a computer game developer, which had £1.5 million altogether; Mainport Engineering, a fabrication engineering company; and Kancoat, of course—another well-known case—a metal-coil-coating production line. These are very, very diverse grants and loans that have been given. I wonder if the Minister can tell me what steps she's taken and what discussions she might have had in Government since that report was published a few months ago, to ensure that any future support for businesses by Welsh Government isn't a piecemeal ragbag of grants, but a co-ordinated programme with clear vision and proper control.

I would disagree with the characterisation of the way in which Welsh Government provides support for business, but this is an area that I've taken an interest in since coming into portfolio, and I'm exploring what more we might do in order to satisfy ourselves when grants are being made and, indeed, when business loans are being made, that we can be sure that we're investing in the right company and taking the right level of risk with those companies.

So, one thing that we could, potentially, be looking to ensure is that we have named officials dealing with specific projects, who Ministers can meet with regularly in order to oversee those loans. I do have to say that there is a huge structure of auditing already in place within Welsh Government in terms of ensuring the correct and good investment of the money that we invest.

I'm not entirely satisfied that we're making any great deal of progress as yet from that answer, regarding it as work in progress. But the auditor general's recommendations concerning Welsh Government risk management are also important. He says that

'the Welsh Government’s Sectors and Business Team only assesses risk for individual projects in isolation and does not have a defined risk appetite across its programme of providing financial support to businesses.' 

That's a broad point about the whole structure or the theoretical basis on which the Welsh Government's financial support for business is based. I've looked through the Assembly's Record of Proceedings and the Welsh Government website, and there's very little there to confirm what the approach is to risk management and risk appetite. So, what exactly is the Minister doing within Welsh Government to ensure that there is a clear and robust approach to Welsh Government financial support? Because we're dealing with significant sums of money here, which, of course, if they're put at risk, means that we can't spend them on other worthwhile things.

Thank you. So, when Welsh Government does make an investment or offer a grant or a loan over a certain amount of money, then I oversee and I have a view to take on each and every one of those decisions that are made by my colleagues. And I provide challenge to my colleagues, asking about affordability, about payment profiles, about value for money and efficient spending, and exploring to what extent those funding decisions that are made, or those grant decisions that are made, represent value in terms of being in line with our overarching Welsh Government priorities as found in our programme for government. So, there's certainly a level of personal interest that I take in this, but, clearly, individual funding decisions taken by individual Ministers have to be done within the context of their own budgetary management as well.

I recognise that this is a subject in which the Minister has taken a considerable interest, and I do find that reassuring, but I think we're still a long way from being reassured that this is going to produce any practical results. The auditor general also said in this report that

'The Welsh Government has not put in place systems and processes to produce information for publicly reporting on whether overall, its financial support for business contributed to achieving its intended outcomes'.

In other words, a progress report on how successful the project has been altogether.

Much of the information that has been extracted, in some cases, had to be extracted, not from the Welsh Government's own proactive publication of information, but had to be extracted by journalists and opposition political parties in freedom of information requests. For example, the online food ordering service, kukd.com, had £1 million, failed to create the promised 100 jobs; and Bad Wolf—a well-known case of course—£4 million given to the company, out of which nearly half was paid to the executives themselves. The company ultimately showed a loss of £3.1 million. So, these are cases where the taxpayer's been fleeced for no advantage whatsoever. In such cases, surely it's vitally important in order to secure public confidence in the way that public money is being spent for the Welsh Government to be as upfront and open as possible.

So, can she assure me that, as regards value for money and effectiveness, the public reporting of business grant moneys is going to be improved in future?

Thank you for raising that, and I'll certainly give further thought to what action might be able to be taken in terms of increasing transparency, but within the confines, obviously, of the commercial sensitivities for those businesses involved and also within the context of the auditor general's report.

Cwestiwn 3, Lynne Neagle.

Thank you. I understand, Presiding Officer, that you've given your permission for questions 3 and 4 to be grouped together. Together, the Minister for Housing and Local Government and I met representatives of local government at the finance sub-group on 23 January, where we discussed a range of matters, including the funding challenges facing local government.

Thank you, Minister. Because of Tory austerity, Torfaen council yesterday were forced to put up council tax by 5.9 per cent in order to protect vital public services, especially schools and social care. I'm very proud to represent a Labour council that is fighting so hard to protect local services, and although I welcome the additional funding the Welsh Government announced for local government after the draft budget, it is undoubtedly the case that local authorities are facing huge funding pressures, especially in education and social care.

In terms of education, you may be aware that the Children, Young People and Education Committee is currently conducting an inquiry on school funding in Wales, and I have to say that the evidence we've received so far from teachers and school leaders paints a very worrying picture. 

Hear, hear.

Can I ask what discussions the Minister will have with both the Minister for Education and the Minister for Housing and Local Government, and what assurances you can give that ensuring sufficient funding for our schools will be a priority for you?

Thank you for raising this, and I do find it quite staggering to hear the shouts of 'good question' and 'hear, hear' from the Conservative benches when, as a result of austerity, funding per head of the population for day-to-day devolved public services, such as schools in Wales, will be 7 per cent lower next year than it was a decade ago. Between 2010-11 and 2019-20, the Welsh budget will have fallen by 5 per cent in real terms, when repayable funding's excluded. So, that's equivalent to £850 million less to spend on public services every year, but nonetheless, we're clearly prioritising the NHS, we're prioritising education, and we're prioritising social services.

So, with regard specifically to schools, we are directing to local authorities all of the £23.5 million announced by the UK Government last September towards funding school teachers' pay award in 2018-19 and 2019-20. And, in addition to this, we've gone further and announced an additional £15 million of funding that is being deployed over this financial year and next to help local authorities meet those cost pressures associated with teachers' pay in particular.

However, I do absolutely recognise the huge pressure that local authorities are under at the moment. We've given the best possible settlement, but we're under no illusion that it does mean difficult choices for our local government colleagues.

Minister, one of the consequences of Tory austerity is not only does the Assembly have less money, but also it means that local government has less money. And, of course, one of the pressures is on the leisure centres that are provided, which are of considerable public value to our communities. We are already seeing leisure centres having to close or be transferred into trusts. What I'm asking you, Minister, is to consider this: there is an opportunity, by removing the obligation in respect of council tax on local authority leisure centres, to actually put them on a level playing field with trusts. That would save, certainly in my council of Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the region of £800,000 a year. If those authorities have to actually close or transfer those leisure centres into a trust, we lose that money in any event. So, this would be, I think, an imaginative way of actually supporting our community publicly owned leisure centres where we pay decent pay—decent conditions, accountable to the community. And, by removing the obligation and creating a level playing field, we could do a lot to protect them and to protect this element of public service.

Thank you very much, and I know that you raised this particular issue in the Chamber with me a week or so ago, and I've certainly had some further opportunity to explore the issue further. I think that what we have to remember is that all non-domestic rates revenue received in Wales is distributed to local authorities to help fund local services. So, the vast majority of local authorities in Wales will receive more as a result of the payment of non-domestic rates than they see paid out within their own areas. Providing rates relief or exemptions to councils or other public bodies could distort competition and markets, giving publicly run facilities an unfair advantage over the privately run ones, and that could have some state-aid implications, as I've been told. But, obviously, I know that this is an area of particular interest to you; I'd be more than happy to continue that conversation.

Minister, council tax payers in south-east Wales are facing huge increases in their bills thanks to the Welsh Government's inadequate local government settlement. People living in Newport, Torfaen and Merthyr Tydfil are facing bills increased by nearly 6 per cent, and Caerphilly council is set to rise by nearly 7 per cent. Given that the Welsh Government 5 per cent cap has proved to be just a PR exercise, I think, what discussions has the Minister had with her colleagues about the devastating effect that these huge increases will have on hard-pressed families often in the poorest parts of Wales?

I think the brass neck on the Conservative benches is quite incredible this afternoon. If public spending had kept pace with growth in the economy, we would have an extra £4 billion to spend next year, and imagine how generous we could be to local authorities then. But I do have to say to the Conservatives, if the Conservatives want more money for any area of Welsh life, be it local authorities or the NHS or anywhere else, then they would have to tell us where the cut would fall.

Minister, the Welsh Local Government Association is always pleading with the Welsh Government to reduce the amount of specific hypothecated grants allocated to councils on an annual basis. They argue, obviously, that this funding should instead be provided directly by the revenue support grant, giving local authorities as much freedom as possible to respond to local need. Now, do you recognise this call, and, given the current state of local government finance, will you commit to listening to local authority leaders on this point during the next budget-setting process?

Thank you very much. It is always the case, obviously, that local authorities would like to have as much of the funding in the revenue support grant as possible, and we have taken steps, on an annual basis I think, to explore what more we can do in order to give local authorities the kind of flexibility they need. We have a further meeting of the finance sub-group coming up very shortly, and I'd be more than happy to pursue that conversation there.

Despite all authorities seeing increased financial demands, it's widely known across Wales now that, as regards social care, we have a ticking time bomb. Local authorities just cannot manage their social care budgets. We now know, as of a protest in north Wales this weekend, and through speaking with unions and people, teachers and leaders within our educational area, that we have an educational funding crisis within our local authorities.

Now, you must be aware that local authorities such as Conwy County Borough Council have already striven to make serious financial savings: £15.6 million this year alone. So, there's nothing left for them to trim. Now, as a result of that, a 9.6 per cent council tax increase in Conwy, Ynys Môn 9.5 per cent and Flintshire 8.75 per cent. Yet many local authorities, and those with over £100 million in actual reserves—they received an increase in their funding. At what point will this Welsh Labour Government look across the whole of Wales and actually provide the financial funding that's required on a demographic base need, and stop this political meandering of actually rewarding local authorities that are Labour-led? And really, frankly, you are letting down local authorities in north Wales, and none more so than my own in Aberconwy.

Well, look, there's absolutely no truth whatsoever that there is any politics involved in the local government funding formula. The local government funding formula is developed in collaboration with local government. The local government Minister and I have been very clear with local government that, if they want to come forward with a different way of apportioning funding amongst local authorities, then we would be happy to have those conversations, but such an idea and such proposals have not yet come forward.

I met the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 15 February and pressed for clarity on Brexit-related financial issues, including the possibility of an emergency budget. The message was clear: a full fiscal event is not on the agenda, adding to the uncertainties facing us.

I welcome the fact that both the Minister in front of us and her Scottish counterpart have both now raised it directly with Liz Truss, the relevant Minister, in their discussions, but I'm very disappointed with the response. Back on 28 October last year, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, made it clear in response to an interview that there would indeed be need for an emergency budget in the case of a 'no deal' Brexit. Because the economy is expected to contract—we don't know how much, but it will contract—there will need to be an expansionary budget. It is not for the Welsh budget to pick up the pieces of that; it's for the UK Treasury to pick up those pieces. Now, if Philip Hammond feels that—and he surely would be the person that knows, although I note that within 24 hours No. 10 had slapped him down—then, surely, as part of the 'no deal' planning, the UK Government, the Treasury, Ministers and others must be working through the options of a 'no deal' could also mean the case that they have to pump money into the economy. It seems ridiculous that they're not considering that possibility. 

Thank you, and I completely agree with every word that you say, and I would be horrified if they were not working through every possibility in terms of the measures that the UK Government could take in terms of supporting the economy in the event of a disastrous 'no deal' Brexit. We've been clear, time and time again—and I'm grateful for the support of the Finance Committee, and for yourself and for Members of the Assembly who have been making the case to the UK Government—that an emergency budget must be forthcoming, additional funding must be forthcoming, in the event of a disastrous 'no deal' Brexit.

Well, Minister, I have to say I find it a bit rich that you're warning about the disasters that would follow from a 'no deal' Brexit. I agree there would be incredible dislocation and we don't know how deep that would be, and I would never take that risk, but the only way to prevent that is to have a deal. There's only one deal that's been negotiated by the British Government and—remember—by the European Union, and, if that deal doesn't go through, then the sort of disaster that you're predicting is going to be more and more likely. Your duty is to row behind the UK Government at the moment, and get this deal through.

With respect, I think our duty as a Welsh Government is to ensure the best possible future for the people of Wales. A 'no deal' Brexit certainly isn't that. Welsh Government, alongside Plaid Cymru, worked very quickly following the referendum to set out what a best possible Brexit would look like for the people of Wales in 'Securing Wales' Future'. The UK Government has only managed to deliver on a small part of what we set out would be the best possible way forward, and, actually, our plan has remained incredibly robust in terms of the kinds of challenges that we're facing and the discussions I think the European Union would have been open to having, had the UK Government had the sense to follow our plan.

The funding of social care is a key focus of the inter-ministerial group on paying for social care, of which the Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services and I are members, alongside the Minister for Housing and Local Government. It last met on 7 February, and will convene again next week.

I'm very grateful to you for your answer, Minister. Can you give us some indications of the timescale under which that group is expected to report? Because I'm certainly being told that we are, in some parts of Wales, facing a crisis in social care, one of the major issues being recruitment of staff. Of course, there's a Brexit element to that, but, in the context of this question today, one of the other major issues is the lack of parity of pay as well as parity of esteem between those who do identical jobs in the health service and those who do exactly the same roles in the care sector, where the work is less secure, where the terms and conditions are less favourable. And I'm constantly being told by care providers that they are training staff and then losing them to the NHS because the conditions are so much better there.

Is the working group that you've just mentioned addressing those parity of pay issues? If it isn't doing so at the moment, can I ask you to commit to doing so? Because, in the end, the quality of our care services, as of our health services, is entirely dependent on the people that provide them. Everything else you can do, but, unless you get the people right, you really can't provide the service that people need, particularly in terms of caring for the elderly. If you've got a constant turnover of staff, the effect that has on quality of care and the well-being, the emotional well-being, of individuals is devastating.

So, can I ask both for a timescale and that the working group does address those issues? We hear a lot about parity of esteem between health and care, but we say in Welsh 'diwedd y gân yw'r geiniog'—at the end of the song is the penny, and I don't think that people working in care care quite so much as about esteem as they do about what's in their pay packet.

Thank you very much for raising that. The main focus of the inter-ministerial group is very much on the challenge of paying for care, and that would be looking at how care is paid for in the future, very much in the context of the Holtham report on paying for care and the Finance Committee's report on the cost of caring for an ageing population. That said, however, there are a few streams of work involved, one of which is purely financial; the other really is about what the offer is.

So, if we are asking people in future to pay, potentially through a social care levy—that's one of the ideas that Gerry Holtham put forward, but it's not the only one, but, nonetheless, people will need to know what the offer is, what the deal will be for them. I think part of that conversation certainly is about the quality and the qualifications of the staff who would be looking after them in future. So, we are at the start of a journey on this particular piece of work. It is a wide-ranging piece of work. I would expect that it would be informing all of our thoughts as we move towards the next election in terms of what we might be offering to people. I'd be more than happy to have a further meeting with you to talk about what we've been learning so far through our discussions and the kind of big questions that we are exploring.

Nid yw Neil McEvoy yma i ofyn cwestiwn 7 [OAQ53494]. Cwestiwn 8, felly, Jenny Rathbone. 

Our 2019-20 budget included an additional allocation of £192 million to implement 'A Healthier Wales', our long-term plan for health and social care in Wales. Decisions on the allocation of funding to deliver policies are a matter for the Minister for Health and Social Services.

One hundred and ninety-two million pounds sounds a lot of money, but the size of the problem is enormous. We have nearly 7,000 people under the age of 25 with type 2 diabetes and 1,500 of them are under the age of 19. That is a very, very serious statistic. So, it seems to me that we are going to need to roll out across Wales, proper weaning advice for all new parents, as well as cookery classes in all our schools to ensure that people aren't eating things that are literally killing them. So, I appreciate that the consultation hasn't yet closed, but presumably—is there any possibility that, were the health Minister to identify additional needs over and above that £192 million, that that might be a conversation you'd be prepared to contemplate?

Thank you for raising the consultation. As you say, it hasn't yet closed, but I know that your views will be very keenly received by that consultation. There have been some immediate measures that have been agreed by Cabinet, because, like you, we recognise that this is one of the issues that can't wait. So, proposed initial actions that we would take would be, for example, to increase daily activities through schools' environments. So, we currently have 303 schools now signed up to undertake the daily mile across Wales, and if we see this is effective, and I understand that it is, then we will be looking to double the number of participating schools by 2021.

We also, as you know, want to support more active travel and remove the barriers to walking and cycling. We've also committed to reviewing the delivery of the national exercise referral scheme and to work with partners to expand opportunities for social prescribing and delivery of initiatives to engage with people who currently have multiple barriers to engaging in activity. Another one of the initial, immediate actions that we wanted to take forward was to create new loans and grants for small physical activity-related businesses and clubs, and Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales are exploring this at the moment. Another area that we want to take forward is for Sport Wales to provide more proactive planning advice. So, we want to strengthen and enhance their capacity to engage proactively with developers and local authorities on their local development plans, and also with developers, universities, schools and colleges in order to plan in physical activity at the start of that planning process in a much more strategic way. So, although the consultation is ongoing at the moment, there are some initial plans that we have put in train.

Ac yn olaf, cwestiwn 9—Suzy Davies.

It is always our ambition to provide long-term clarity over budgets whenever possible. However, this must be balanced with realistic and sensible planning assumptions. The UK Government's austerity agenda, coupled with the uncertainty regarding Brexit, constrains our ability to do this.

Thank you for that answer. You'll be aware, of course, and we've heard today about the serious concerns now being expressed about school funding, and one of the things that we hear is that schools can find themselves in receipt of extra money at very short notice at the end of the financial year, which makes it very difficult for them to spend it in-year effectively. It also has the unintended consequence of artificially inflating reserves at the end of the year.

Now, I appreciate the timing of this extra money isn't entirely down to Welsh Government because it does depend to a degree on when the UK Government passes money on, but there is still some time lag that is exacerbating the problem. Assembly terms are now five years. The Welsh block figure goes up in actual terms every year. Is there anything legislative that is preventing you from allowing schools to plan on two-year cycles with an indicative third year figure in a cycle that would help them solve the late windfall problem, help schools plan better, and safeguard their funding from being raided by councils to meet other demands?

Thank you very much for raising that. I'll explore the specific question you raised with my colleague the education Minister. I would say we are very sympathetic to the calls from the public sector for budgeting over a longer period whenever possible in order to have more straightforward financial planning. However, the continuing uncertainty that we are experiencing at the moment is causing a great deal of concern. We have the comprehensive spending review coming up later on this year. We still don't even know, at this point, what period that comprehensive spending review will cover. Despite this, we have ensured that the chief economist's report, which was published alongside the draft budget, does provide an analysis of the medium-term fiscal projections, so that will provide us with some of that information we need to predict, I suppose, as far as we best can, some of those scenarios moving forward, which you described as being useful for education. But, in relation to your specific question, I will have a discussion with the Minister.

Diolch i'r Gweinidog Cyllid.

A'r eitem nesaf, felly, yw'r cwestiynau i Weinidog y Gymraeg a Chysylltiadau Rhyngwladol, ac mae'r cwestiwn cyntaf gan Janet Finch-Saunders.

I have regular discussions with my colleague the Minister for Education to ensure that, as a Government, we're all working together to create an education system to increase the number of Welsh speakers that supports and encourages the use of Welsh within schools, in communities and also in workplaces.

Thank you. According to the Welsh Government, Welsh-medium immersion education is the principal method for ensuring that children can develop their Welsh language skills and for the creation of new Welsh speakers. Now, I agree with the importance placed on Welsh-medium education, however, we are seeing the number of Welsh-medium schools fall from 434 in 2013 to 389 in 2018. Moreover, despite the number of children being taught in Welsh having increased, many are now concerned that the impact of Welsh-medium schools closing has not been fully considered. Therefore, what assessment have you made of the impact of these continuing school closures and the impact on the use of the Welsh language—how this is impacting on the use of the Welsh language and how it will ultimately impact on the aim of achieving a million speakers by 2050?

Well, thank you, and thanks for your interest in this area. I think what we've got to do is to keep an eye on the big picture, which is how we increase the number of Welsh speakers in our schools. And what's important, therefore, is the number of pupils, rather than the number of schools. And that's why we're focusing very much on increasing the number of pupils who are having their education entirely through the medium of Welsh from 20 per cent to 40 per cent by 2050. And what we have is a very clear trajectory in terms of how we're going to make that happen. That's why we have allocated an extra £46 million in terms of capital funding to open new schools, to allow an extension of schools that already exist, because the demand is there. What we are doing is to create, for example, an extra 2,800 school places with that extra money that we've given. That's 41 extra projects. So, I think that the key thing, as far as I can see, is to keep our eye on not just meeting the demand, but what we're trying to do now is to get ahead of the demand. That's why we've created the Welsh education strategic plans so that we are asking councils to actually create the demand, rather than just meet the demand. And it's a very different philosophy and a different approach. And what's great is it's really transformed the way that local government in Wales is thinking in relation to the provision of Welsh-medium education. 

Minister, I recently met with the headteachers of the Welsh-medium schools from Bridgend county borough, who were concerned over the impact cuts were having on Welsh-medium education. Upon visiting Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd, I was shocked at the poor state of repair of the building and the school's resources. Minister, what assessment have you made of the impact local authority cuts are having on the ability to teach through the medium of Welsh and the effect that will have on the wider goal of creating a million Welsh speakers?

Thank you. I'm sure that the Member is aware that, actually, unlike in England, we have given a massive injection of money to really transform the provision of school estates in Wales. It's something that is absolutely the envy of the rest of the United Kingdom. So I don't think we've got anything to be ashamed of in this area. 

Now, of course, there are still some schools where we do need to ensure that we improve the facilities, and there is a programme of work that is being undertaken. There is an order of priorities, based on the conditions of the schools, largely. But, as I say, what we've done recently is to provide this additional funding specifically for Welsh language schools because there is increasing demand. So, I think we should be really proud of the fact that that capital expenditure that simply doesn't exist in England that is transforming not just our educational establishments but also is having an impact on the economy in the area because we've got local people building those schools, apprentices. So, there's a lot, I think, we should be proud of. 

Mae cynllun gweithredu 2018-19 strategaeth Cymraeg 2050 yn seiliedig ar raglen waith 2017-21. Byddwn yn adrodd ar y cynnydd yn erbyn yr amcanion yn yr hydref wedi i ni gasglu a dadansoddi’r data. Mae’r amcanion yn canolbwyntio ar greu galw, cynyddu'r niferoedd a chynyddu defnydd.

Diolch. Edrychwn ymlaen at y diweddariad yna, felly. Yn ôl eich rhagflaenydd, Alun Davies, un o ddibenion Bil y Gymraeg oedd, a dwi'n dyfynnu,

‘creu sefydliad o'r radd flaenaf a rhyngwladol ei fri a fyddai'n dwyn ynghyd y màs critigol o dalent ac arbenigedd i arwain cynllunio ieithyddol i lefel newydd ehangach a mwy soffistigedig.’

Er bod y Bil wedi mynd erbyn hyn, ydych chi'n cytuno ein bod ni'n parhau i fod angen corff hyd braich o Lywodraeth, yn ychwanegol at y comisiynydd, i wneud y gwaith cynllunio iaith y mae Alun Davies a minnau'n credu sy'n angenrheidiol i lwyddiant eich strategaeth miliwn o siaradwyr? 

Wel, dwi'n derbyn bod angen i ni wneud lot mwy yn y maes cynllunio ieithyddol. Dwi wedi gofyn i'r swyddogion ddod ymlaen â syniadau ataf fi ynglŷn â lle fyddai'r lle mwyaf priodol i osod hynny. Dwi'n awyddus i drafod gydag arbenigwyr yn y maes i weld ble yw'r lle gorau. Mae rhai yn credu dylai fe fod yn hyd braich o'r Llywodraeth. Mae rhai eraill yn dweud, 'Actually, mae'n rhaid iddo fe fod yn rili agos at y Llywodraeth achos dyna ble mae'r levers i gael i wneud y newidiadau.' Felly, dwi'n awyddus i weld beth yw'r opsiynau yn gyntaf cyn gwneud penderfyniad ar ble ddylai'r sefydliad neu'r arbenigwyr newydd yma fod o fewn y system, ai tu fewn y system neu led braich. 

Un nod i'r cynllun yw, wrth gwrs, cynyddu darpariaeth dysgu Cymraeg ar ôl 16 i helpu pobl i ddefnyddio mwy o Gymraeg yn y gweithle, ac rwyf fi'n falch—rwy'n credu fy mod i'n falch anyway—i weld syniadau fel llinell ffôn cymorth i helpu darparu gwasanaethau cyfieithu am ddim i fusnesau bach ac elusennau, er enghraifft, ond cam bach iawn, iawn yw hynny tuag at darged 2050. Beth ydych chi'n ei ddweud wrth fusnesau bach tebyg, sydd ddim wedi clywed am neu gan eich swyddogion Cymraeg i fusnes am sut i fanteisio ar adnoddau bach fel y llinell ffôn cymorth, heb sôn am gymryd y naid i fod yn cymryd o ddifrif y ffaith bod gyda nhw rhywbeth i wneud i helpu creu'r nifer o bobl sy'n siarad Cymraeg i gyrraedd y targed? 

Diolch yn fawr. Dwi'n meddwl bod lot o waith yn cael ei wneud yn y maes yma, ac mae'r rhan fwyaf o'r gwaith yna'n cael ei wneud gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Un o'r pethau rŷn ni wedi gwneud, wrth gwrs, yw cael hyd i tua 12 o bobl sy'n mynd o gwmpas Cymru i roi cyngor i bobl ym maes busnes ynglŷn â sut maen nhw'n gallu ehangu defnydd o'r Gymraeg tu fewn i'r gweithle. Wrth gwrs, mae hefyd gyda ni ddarpariaeth i bobl ddysgu Cymraeg yn y gweithle, a dwi'n awyddus iawn i sicrhau bod pobl yn gwybod am y gwasanaethau hyn, a dyna'r sialens nawr. Nawr, rŷn ni eisoes yn gwneud lot i sicrhau bod pobl yn gwybod am y llinell ffôn. Dwi'n meddwl bod rhaid i ni wneud mwy o fasnach yn y maes yma i sicrhau—. Mae hynny yn digwydd eisoes, ond, wrth gwrs, mae'n rhaid i ni drio gwneud mwy i godi'r profile fel bod pobl yn ymwybodol bod y gwasanaeth yma'n bodoli. 

Cwestiynau nawr gan lefarwyr y pleidiau. Llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr, Darren Millar. 

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, can I ask you—? As 29 March approaches, there will clearly be some opportunities for Wales as well as some of the concerns that have been raised. One of those opportunities is the opportunity for the United Kingdom to strike its own trade deals with other nations around the world. What are you doing as a Welsh Government to make sure that Wales can be at the vanguard of those trade decisions and the opportunities that they might present?

Well, we're already having extensive conversations with the Minister responsible in the Department for International Trade about how we can engage with the process. So, we're in the process of establishing a very formal structure, so that we can not only have an input into what should be the priority areas for the Welsh Government, in terms of countries that will have an impact—and they won't necessarily always be the same thing as the rest of the United Kingdom. The United States, for example, is at the top of the list for the United Kingdom; that's not necessarily where we would have our priority at the moment. So, we want to be able to influence, first of all, who we make trade deals with, but then to influence the debate, and the question then is to what extent we can influence that—can we be at the table, which of course would be our preferred option? If not, then how close can we get to the negotiation? But one thing we made absolutely clear, and that is, if there's any area where there's a devolved responsibility, we would expect to be a part of that discussion before they enter into conversation with any third country.

I'm very pleased to see that you've recognised the need to be at the table, and it's been interesting to see the noises that have been made by Business Wales, which have obviously been encouraging and promoting trade, in a very different way to the sorts of messages that we've heard in this Chamber from the First Minister and members of the Cabinet on occasions, which have been predominantly very negative about Brexit and the opportunities that it might present. Now, my party, of course, has put forward a suggestion that there ought to be trade envoys in many different parts of the world, shouting up for Wales, involved in the discussions, working very closely with British embassies in those different nations of the world where trade opportunities are there for Welsh businesses. What consideration have you given as a Welsh Government not just to supporting the infrastructure that you have already in the Welsh Government offices in different nations, but supporting the infrastructure within British embassies too, to make sure that the Welsh voice—the distinctive Welsh voice—is heard?

Thank you, Darren. I don't want you to get the impression that I'm keen to be making trade deals with other countries for the sake of it. I am absolutely clear that the priority for the Welsh Government should be in ensuring that the most important trade relationship—our relationship with the European Union, where 60 per cent of our goods goes—should be the priority, above all other priorities. And it is, I think, very disturbing that we are less than 30 days away from a situation where we could be leaving the EU with absolutely no idea about what that relationship looks like. So, I have huge concerns about that relationship. But, in the meantime, we understand that there are conversations going on by the UK Government, and we don't want to be left out of those. So, I just want to make sure that that's clear.

In terms of trade envoys, I think that you're absolutely right—there's a real opportunity. One of the things that I'm clear about is that, actually, we have Welsh people all over the world who have great expertise in a lot of areas, and we need to be using that expertise in a way where some of our generalist officials can't get us into the kind of top-level companies. But if we have people who have contacts, they can get us to the absolute top in these organisations. So, we will be working on how we develop a diaspora strategy—what is our relationship. But I'm absolutely clear that that diaspora, and those trade envoys, whatever form those take—so, it may be something very unofficial, it could be something a little bit more formal; we still have yet to map out what that might look like—are absolutely key.

But the other thing that you point out, which I absolutely agree with, is that what we have is a network of British embassies around the world, where they are massively resourced, and we need them to be doing a lot more work for us. So, we will be doing a lot of work in really trying to give them a lot more guidance in terms of what we're looking for from them as a Welsh Government.

Clearly, Minister, there are businesses in Wales that are already trading with the wider world, even in the absence of distinctive trade deals with many of those nations. What work are you going to do to harness the opportunities that that presents, where people have already got a foothold, if you like, into trading with some of these very significant economies around the world where there aren't already trade deals in place? I'm thinking particularly of Australasia, other parts of the North American market. I heard what you said about North America not being a priority for the Welsh Government in the future. I think that that is a great disappointment actually, because I think there are huge opportunities for Welsh businesses in North America. Of course, we have got to make sure that any future trade deal is in good shape and is in the right shape to benefit Wales, but clearly there are opportunities because of existing business relationships. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the CBI, with the FSB, with the Institute of Directors, to make sure that we're harnessing the existing relationships that are already there, not just in terms of the diaspora, but in terms of those existing discussions that are already taking place and trading relationships that are already available to us? 

Well, I actually don't think you always need a trade agreement to be having very strong trade relationships. An example of that is the United States. So, we have more investment from the United States into Wales than any other country around the world. I'm not saying that we shouldn't trade with the United States; I'm just saying we don't necessarily think having a trade agreement is the priority. What I think we can do, and what we are doing already, is to put Welsh companies that have an interest in expanding into the US market in touch with operators in that market who are already there who have Welsh contacts, who can get them into a level of discussion and debate in terms of how to access the market, and what we have to do is duplicate that around the world. So, part of what we need to be doing in the next few months and years is to just make sure that that database of contacts is really up to speed so we know exactly who is actioning where and who has got the appetite to help us as a nation. 

Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Delyth Jewell. 

Diolch, Llywydd. Rwy'n siwr bod cefnogwyr ar hyd a lled y wlad wedi bod yn dilyn datblygiadau ym myd rygbi Cymru'r wythnos hon gyda chymysgedd o ddryswch, cyffro, gobaith ac ofn. Bydd trigolion y gogledd yn siwr o fod wrth eu boddau bod posibiliad y byddan nhw'n cael rhanbarth proffesiynol o'r diwedd, a fyddai'n golygu bydd rygbi yn gwbl broffesiynol ar lefel genedlaethol gan ysgogi cyfleon ar gyfer datblygu chwaraewyr ifanc ar gyfer y dyfodol. Ond, daeth ymateb chwyrn gan gefngwyr y Scarlets a'r Gweilch, gyda phryderon y bydd y cynlluniau yn dinistrio hunaniaeth y timau maen nhw wedi eu dilyn ers amser maith, ac yn niweidio'r gêm ar lefel llawr gwlad. Hoffwn ofyn i'r Dirprwy Weinidog pa drafodaethau sydd wedi eu cynnal rhwng Llywodraeth Cymru ac Undeb Rygbi Cymru ynghylch y cynlluniau ac a oes gwirionedd y tu ôl i'r adroddiadau bod yr undeb wedi gofyn am gymorth ariannol gan y Llywodraeth er mwyn bwrw'r cynlluniau yn eu blaen.

Gaf i yn gyntaf ateb rhan ola'r cwestiwn? Does yna ddim unrhyw gais am gymorth ariannol ychwanegol wedi dod i Lywodraeth Cymru eleni gan yr undeb rygbi. Rydym ni wedi cyfrannu i'r undeb y swm arferol, £880,000—£853,000, mae'n ddrwg gen i—eleni. Dŷn ni hefyd wedi cyfrannu tuag at Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy, lle rydw i yn digwydd byw—mae'n well i mi ddatgan didddordeb felly—ar gyfer gwaith i ddatblygu Parc Eirias. Mae hwnna'n fuddsoddiad cyfalafol. 

Dwi'n siarad yn gyson â'r undeb rygbi, fel rydw i'n siarad â Chymdeithas Bêl Droed Cymru a nifer o fudiadau chwaraeon a thimau a chymdeithasau o bob math, ac, wrth gwrs, Chwaraeon Cymru. Ond does yna ddim trafodaethau wedi bod, a byddwn i ddim yn disgwyl trafodaethau, gan ei bod yn amlwg i fi nad yw'r undeb rygbi unwaith eto na'r rhanbarthau wedi cytuno beth maen nhw'n dymuno ei wneud. Fel un sydd yn cofio'r trafodaethau a fu o'r blaen, yn ôl yn nechrau 2003 yn arbennig, dwi'n meddwl ei bod yn bwysig iawn bod y trafodaethau yma yn cael eu cynnal rhwng y clybiau ac, wrth gwrs, y bwrdd proffesiynol newydd fel y gallan nhw ganfod ffordd ymlaen cyn eu bod nhw yn ystyried unrhyw fath o gyllid. Dwi'n dymuno'n dda iddyn nhw yn y broses o wneud hynny, oherwydd dwi eisiau gweld cryfhau'r gêm. Ond, mae eisiau ei chryfhau hi drwy Gymru, ac rydw i'n dal i edrych ar lwyddiant Iwerddon—y sefyllfa ddiddorol yno—lle mae'r timoedd rhanbarthol yn cael eu perchnogi gan yr undeb rygbi. Dyw e ddim yn lle i fi, fel Gweinidog chwaraeon, i argymell unrhyw lwybr o'r natur yna yng Nghymru, ond mae yna fodelau gwahanol o gefnogaeth yn bosib.

Rwy'n diolch i'r Dirprwy Weinidog am ei ateb. Hoffwn droi y nawr at y maes darlledu. Yr wythnos diwethaf, clywsom y bydd darllediadau boreol Cymreig ar orsafoedd Heart a Capital yn cael eu dirwyn i ben, gyda darllediad Prydeinig yn cael ei ddarparu yn eu lle. Yn amlwg, roedd llawer o bobl yn siomedig tu hwnt â'r cyhoeddiad hwn. Y rheswm pam bod y cwmni rhiant Global wedi gallu sgrapio’r rhaglenni hyn yw bod Ofcom yn ddiweddar wedi llacio rheolau er mwyn lleihau y nifer gofynnol o ddarllediadau sydd wedi eu creu yn lleol. 

Yn ogystal, mae llawer o sylw wedi bod i'r rhaglen BBC Cymru newydd, Pitching In—rhaglen wedi ei hysgrifennu yn Lloegr, o bersbectif Saesnig, gyda hunaniaeth Ynys Môn, lle mae'r rhaglen wedi ei lleoli, yn cael ei neilltuo'n llwyr. Yn wir, mae'r prin gymeriadau Cymreig ar y rhaglen ag acenion y Cymoedd ac mae’r rhaglen yn portreadu darlun o'r gogledd-orllewin sy'n gwbl ddieithr i drigolion yr ardal. Mae Ofcom hyd yma wedi gwrthod gosod rheoliadau o ran gorfodi cynhyrchwyr rhaglenni o'r fath i gastio'n lleol. Petai hyn yn digwydd, byddai'n osgoi llanast o'r fath rhag digwydd eto gan y byddai lleisiau lleol yn cael eu clywed o'r dechrau. Dro ar ôl tro, mae rheoleiddwyr Llundeinig yn blaenoriaethu buddiannau cwmnïau masnachol cyfoethog yn hytrach na lles dinasyddion Cymru. Pa gamau y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'u cymryd hyd yma i roi pwysau ar Ofcom i ystyried lles cynulleidfaoedd a'r sector greadigol Gymreig wrth wneud penderfyniadau, a pha gamau rydych chi'n bwriadu eu cymryd yn y dyfodol er mwyn dadwneud y niwed hwn a cheisio sicrhau y bydd blaenoriaethau Cymru yn cael gwell gwrandawiad yn y dyfodol?

Mae gan Ofcom gynrychiolydd o Gymru ar fwrdd Ofcom yn ganolog. Mae gan Ofcom hefyd bwyllgor ymgynghorol sy'n cynrychioli Cymru. Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y materion yma yn cael eu trafod yn y ffordd briodol o fewn y cyrff yna.

Fel mae'n digwydd, mae gen i un o fy nghyfarfodydd rheolaidd efo Ofcom yn digwydd yn ystod y pythefnos sydd yn dod ac mi fyddaf i'n sicr yn gwrando i gael gwybod yn fanylach sut y mae Ofcom yng Nghymru yn ceisio dylanwadu ar Ofcom yng ngweddill y Deyrnas Unedig. Dwi ddim yn meddwl bod y drefn sydd gyda rheoleiddio darlledu yn drefn sydd yn gweithredu er lles darlledu Cymreig ar ei orau, ac felly dwi'n awyddus i weld unrhyw argymhellion sy'n bosib eu gwneud i gryfhau'r sefyllfa. Ac os yw hi'n wir—i ateb yr ail gwestiwn neu'r trydydd cwestiwn—fod y lleihad mewn deunydd Cymraeg a dwyieithog—a gwnaf orffen nawr mewn dau funud—neu nifer yr achlysuron darlledu Cymraeg a dwyieithog ar radio masnachol lleol wedi lleihau oherwydd penderfyniad gan Ofcom, yna dwi'n meddwl bod hwn yn fater y dylem ni allu ei drafod yn fanwl gydag Ofcom. 

Mae gen i rywfaint o brofiad yn y maes yma fel cyn-gyfarwyddwr cwmni Marcher a greodd yr orsaf radio nid anenwog yn ei ddydd, Champion FM, yng Nghaernarfon. A dyma'r pwynt roeddwn i am ei wneud: bwriad yr orsaf honno oedd darlledu yn ddwyieithog. Hynny yw, darlledu yn Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg mewn brawddegau gwahanol ond agos at ei gilydd gan gynnwys, wrth gwrs, lawer iawn o gerddoriaeth yn y ddwy iaith er mwyn creu radio masnachol dwyieithog y byddai pobl mewn cymdeithas lle mae'r iaith yn cael ei newid yn gyson ar draws yr ardal—bod yr ieithoedd yna yn cael eu gwrando fel bod mwy o bobl yn gwrando ar Gymraeg nad sydd efallai yn gwrando ar ddarllediadau Cymraeg yn benodol, fel rydym ni'n eu cael gan y BBC, gan Radio Cymru.

Felly, dwi'n meddwl bod yna lawer mwy o waith i'w wneud yn y maes yma ynglŷn â sut ydym ni'n cynyddu'r dwyieithrwydd sydd yn ein darlledu ni mewn ffordd sydd yn sicrhau bod y gynulleidfa, sydd yn raddol gynyddu o bobl ddwyieithog, yn gallu defnyddio'r cyfrwng a manteisio a chlywed y Gymraeg a Saesneg Cymreig—mae hynna'n bwysig hefyd—yn hawdd.

Rwy'n diolch i’r Dirprwy Weinidog am ei ateb eto, ond mae’n ymddangos i fi bod hyn yn achos o gau drws y stabl wedi i’r ferlen adael, os maddeuwch i mi am ddefnyddio idiom Saesneg. Y gwirionedd amdani yw mai’r unig ffordd o sicrhau bod lles cynulleidfaoedd Cymreig a’r sector greadigol Gymreig yn cael eu gwarchod yw trwy ddatganoli darlledu i Gymru.

Byddai datganoli darlledu yn ein galluogi ni fel cenedl i adrodd ein straeon ni o’n safbwynt ni, gan roi gwell dealltwriaeth i’n dinasyddion o’n cyfoeth diwylliannol, o realiti bywyd yn y Gymru fodern. Dyma fyddai’r ffordd fwyaf effeithiol o fynd i’r afael â’r diffyg democrataidd gan fod tystiolaeth ddiweddar yn dangos bod o ddeutu hanner y boblogaeth yn dal i gredu mai yn San Steffan mae ein gwasanaeth iechyd yn cael ei reoli, er bod y pŵer wedi’i ddatganoli ers 20 mlynedd. Mae gan hyn effeithiau difrifol ar atebolrwydd gan ei fod yn anodd i etholwyr ddwyn gwleidyddion i gyfrif os nad ydynt yn sicr pwy sy’n gyfrifol am redeg gwahanol wasanaethau cyhoeddus.

Yn y dystiolaeth a gafodd ei darparu ar gyfer y comisiwn Silk, roedd 60 y cant o ymatebwyr o blaid datganoli darlledu, ac mae arolygon barn yn darganfod dro ar ôl tro bod cefnogaeth eang dros fwy o ddatganoli i Gymru. Gan ei fod yn amlwg bod Llywodraeth San Steffan yn methu yn ei chyfrifoldeb tuag at ddarlledu Cymreig, a bod cefnogaeth eang dros roi mwy o bwerau i‘r Senedd hon, a yw’r Dirprwy Weinidog yn cytuno ei bod hi bellach yn angenrheidiol bod darlledu yn cael ei ddatganoli i Gymru cyn gynted â phosib?

Wel, nac ydy, oherwydd dwi’n meddwl ei bod hi’n bwysig iawn yn y maes yma ein bod ni’n edrych nid jest ar ddarlledu ond ar yr holl gyfryngau cyfathrebu digidol. Yr hyn sy’n bwysig i mi yw bod y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg Cymreig yn ymddangos ar y mwyaf posib o gyfryngau, ac y mae hynny’n cynnwys, yn arbennig, y cyfryngau cymdeithasol a’r cyfryngau drwy’r sgriniau yma y mae pobl yn cysylltu â nhw’n gyson, nid jest edrych ar faes darlledu. Ac mi fyddai ceisio rheoleiddio darlledu ar ei ben ei hun, ar wahân i unrhyw ddulliau eraill o gyfathrebu a mathau eraill o ddiwylliant clywedol a gweledol—. Fe fyddai hwnna yn gamgymeriad, dwi’n meddwl, oherwydd nac ydyn ni, mewn gwirionedd—os ydych yn sôn am y ceffyl yn dianc o'r stabl, wel, mae hynny'n sicr—. Mi fyddai mynd ati i geisio datganoli darlledu yn unig ar hyn o bryd yn gam gwag, yn fy marn i.

Ond, wrth gwrs, mae polisi diwylliant yn gorfod cynnwys dealltwriaeth o gyfathrebu. Mae gen i drosolwg o ddarlledu, er nad ydy darlledu—gan nad ydy o ddim wedi’i ddatganoli—ddim yn fater sy’n perthyn i’n hadran ni, ond rydyn ni’n cael trafodaethau defnyddiol a chyson gyda’r darlledwyr Cymreig. Beth fuaswn i’n annog ydy i chithau, ac i Aelodau eraill, drafod y materion yma, bob cyfle y cewch chi, gyda’r darlledwyr, gyda’r cyrff, fel yr enwais i yn yr ateb cyntaf, sydd yn gyfrifol am fynegi barn ymgynghorol i’r awdurdodau—yn yr achos yna, Ofcom—ac, yn yr un modd, mae yna drefniadau tebyg ym maes darlledu ac ym maes teledu, fel bod y gynulleidfa, a barn y gynulleidfa, yn cael ei hadlewyrchu gennych chi fel Aelodau etholedig i’r cyrff sydd yn gyfrifol am ddarlledu.

Dwi’n meddwl—. Dŷn ni ddim yn defnyddio digon ar y strwythurau atebolrwydd datganoledig sydd gyda ni, ac, yn sicr, dwi’n ceisio manteisio ar bob cyfle i wneud hynny er mwyn cael trafodaeth ffurfiol ac anffurfiol. Mae yna le arbennig gan bwyllgorau’r Cynulliad, wrth gwrs, fel mae’r pwyllgor diwylliant wedi bod yn ei wneud yn ddiweddar yn yr astudiaeth ar radio ac ar bethau eraill, i ddilyn y cyfeiriad yna. Diolch yn fawr.

UKIP spokesperson, Gareth Bennett.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, it's World Book Day tomorrow, as you probably know. Can we have an update from you on what new work and new projects the National Library of Wales will be undertaking in the coming year?

The National Library of Wales has a new chief executive, and I'm sure that that new chief executive will be, in the next few months, setting out a programme of activities, and I do hope that a recognition of the role of women in Welsh life will be a part of that.

Thanks. Thanks for that answer, and I look forward to the new programme when the new chief executive gives us that announcement. Do you agree that—? Aberystwyth, of course, is where the national library is, for perfectly good reasons, but, of course, it isn't that accessible for people in many other parts of Wales, so it is important that the national library undertakes outreach projects so that people throughout Wales can benefit from its cultural heritage. Do you think it's important, going forward, that there is an outreach role for the national library?

I do, but I think what's more significant and more important is for the national library to make sure that they digitalise their resources and that that is made accessible to the people of Wales. And I know that that has been a task that has been undertaken by the National Library of Wales over the past few years. There's been a huge task of work to undertake that, and that now, I think, is how the majority of people will be able to access that invaluable resource, which is one of the great treasures of Wales.

Yes, I agree that online technology is going to be crucial as well. Now, one factor that we have had in recent years, with local government finances being stretched, is there is an unfortunate consequence of the closure of many local libraries, among other local facilities. Wales has lost quite a lot of libraries—I believe a sixth of Welsh libraries have been closed since 2010. So, thinking about your previous answer with digitalisation—obviously that is going to help to mitigate the problem to some extent, if that programme is rolled out effectively—are there other ways in which the national library can help to mitigate the problem of communities losing their local library?

Well, I think it's a real tragedy that we're losing so many of our libraries around Wales and, of course, that is a consequence of the austerity that has been imposed on our country over the past 10 years. Of course, we all know that it's the non-statutory areas that are the first to be cut, and that's why libraries have really suffered in some of our local communities over the past few years. There are some really good models, I think, of communities getting together to ensure that they can continue with their library provision, and I think there's a lot that we can do to learn from each other across Wales on how we can ensure that that provision, as far as possible, can be kept open for the public. Of course, the real answer to this is that we need to see a reversal of the austerity that has been imposed on our country for such a long time.

Thank you. Question 3—Michelle Brown.

Well, since devolution, we've worked hard to develop relationships with countries around the world. Last year, as a part of the Brexit preparedness work, we opened two new offices—one in Qatar and another in Canada. We undertook 10 trade missions to non-EU countries and, of course, we maintain strong diplomatic links with non-EU consuls and embassies.  

Thank you for that answer, Minister. A recent media report shows that the UK public finances are on the mend, recording a healthy surplus in January on booming tax receipts. Employment—[Interruption.] Read the papers. Employment is at record levels with real-wage growth at a two-year high. Despite a global slowdown, Britain expanded 1.4 per cent last year, recording just 4 per cent unemployment. Yet Germany and France are on the brink of recession, the Italian economy is contracting, and eurozone joblessness is twice as high. It's clear that Labour's wish to stay in the EU against the wishes of a majority of Welsh voters is economically flawed. Although we can't enter into trade deals separately to the rest of the UK, we can forge lasting and productive relationships that result in inward investment from countries that are on the up, including those in the Commonwealth. So, what is your assessment of the scope for trade and investment between Wales and key economies in the Commonwealth? 

Well, I think this is one of those old chestnuts that's been pushed by members of UKIP and other Brexiteers over the years. They want to hark back to this ideal of when Britain was great and we ruled the world and we had empires, and, actually, the world has moved on since then. What we have now is a globally interconnected world where we are totally dependent on each other. And you can see that what's happened in recent weeks is that companies like Honda have recognised that, because of the links and the supply chain that can't be cut off, actually, that interconnectedness and the fact that we don't have an interconnectedness if we leave the European Union will cause problems and will cause unemployment. And you're absolutely right: I think we should be proud of the record levels of employment that we have in Wales at the moment, but we do still have issues with low pay, and that's why what we're doing now is we're trying to focus attention on trying to create new jobs that are high-skill, highly paid jobs, and I think that, actually, I've got to tell you that in my recent dealings with trying to speak to inward investors, the real issue is how we keep people who've invested here already here when they know that, actually, there could be barriers to trade in future. It's a very, very difficult message for us to sell at the moment. I'm confident that, actually, we have the skills, the ability and the talent in Wales that people will continue to invest in our country, but I've got to tell you that Brexit doesn't make it any easier.

Minister, I know that, in the international strategy you're developing, you will have regard to 'Selling Wales to the World', the report of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, and I think it's really important in developing these export strategies that we realise that, as well as the big companies—they're very, very important—SMEs in higher level high-value manufacture and in digital industries are key, really, to our future growth. And I do hope when you're choosing trade missions that you will give full recognition to the needs and desires and the recommendations that SMEs are making for markets that could be more open to Welsh trade.

I think that's absolutely right, and I think, if we are going to make an impact globally now, we're going to have to learn to really specialise. That's the way that we're going to really make an impact globally, and I think your emphasis on digital is crucial. I think we probably need to go even more detailed—. I would like to see us specialising absolutely in cyber security, for example—really digging in on an area like that, making sure we have the skills available amongst colleges and universities here so that we can really attract companies. It's not just about attracting companies here that are high-skill, high-tech that can be nimble and quick—those SME companies—but actually what we want is for our SME companies to be selling their skills across the globe. And I think you're right: I think what we're going to need to do in future is to perhaps focus not just on randomly going round the world on trade missions, but to really focus on where do we want to make an impact, going to trade fairs where you can meet a whole load of different companies at the same time, but take then specialised companies in those areas. So, that's certainly something I'm exploring in the context of the new international strategy.

Minister, I think it's important that we do look beyond the EU as to where our next markets are, and your strategy will hopefully prioritise those countries very much so. Last night, at the meeting of the cross-party group on STEM, we had Newport Wafer, who were in talking about their expertise, their skills and how many overseas countries and staff wanted to work with them here in the UK and in Wales. Now, it's that type of approach that we need to take. Are you therefore meeting with our businesses here in Wales to see the countries that they are talking to, the countries that they are working with, so we can ensure that we do target the right areas for employment and high-skilled jobs here in Wales?

In relation to the Commonwealth, we met with the New Zealand ambassador when we were in Brussels a couple of weeks ago, and it was quite clear that they have different agendas as well because they recognise the distance between us and New Zealand, and they have an agenda focusing more on the Pacific. So, it's clear that we need to focus upon the businesses that want to come here, the businesses that are working with Welsh businesses, but also markets that are close at hand so that, when we do want to sell, particularly agricultural goods, we have the businesses to sell them to.

So, I think these are slightly different markets. So, there are areas where, clearly, what we need to do is not lose the market share that we have in Europe at the moment. We have 60 per cent of our trade with the European Union, and we don't want to lose that. So, part of what we need to be doing over the next few weeks and months is to lock down that relationship, irrespective of what happens in relation to Brexit. That's got to be one of the priorities. But it's back to this: what are those companies where we have real expertise, real specialism—like you've mentioned, the semiconductor operations we have here—that are world-leading? It's not necessarily about going to a particular country. It's perhaps about linking up with relevant companies, universities, researchers in those areas. And I do think that that we probably have to change our mind frame slightly, because I'm not sure if it's always going to be about choosing a country that we think might grow in future. I think we have to understand that the world is becoming a lot more specialised and, if we want to make an impact, we have to specialise also. Semiconductors is, apart from cyber security—those are two of the absolute key top priorities that I would see that we need to really focus on.

Question 4 [OAQ53512] has been withdrawn. Question 5, Rhianon Passmore.

Thank you. I'm sure that the Member will be aware that I've just returned from a successful visit to the United States where I was promoting the benefits of Wales as an inward investment destination for American companies, and I'm sure that you'll be pleased to hear that companies from the US have made about 168 investments into Wales in the past few years, and around 10 per cent of them are in Islwyn, you'll be pleased to hear.

Notwithstanding the huge existing trading bloc with the European Union and how critically important that is to Welsh business and the Welsh economy, as you say, Minister, you visited the United States of America recently in your appointment on international trade for Wales. During that four-day visit promoting Wales proactively, I believe you held meetings, as you've alluded to, with United States companies that already have a presence in Wales, or are considering expanding to Wales. So, can you update the National Assembly how the Welsh Government intends to now follow up those specific and targeted proactive meetings and this important work? And, can you outline to me now how the Welsh Government can introduce United States businesses to the skilled and loyal workforces of the communities of Islwyn, further to the statistics that you have quoted, who would give a warm Welsh welcome to United States businesses that wished to set up further in the Gwent Valleys?

Diolch yn fawr. I will be producing a written statement on my visit in the next few days, but just to make it clear that one of the sectors that I was really targeting and looking at was the cyber security sector where we already have a great deal of expertise. One of the things, as a follow-up, that I'm very keen to do is to speak to our higher education establishments and further education establishments to just see what precisely they are offering in terms of the courses that they are providing to people.

The message we got very clearly is that, actually, there's a real shortage of people with cyber security skills, so if we produce those cyber security skills here in Wales, those companies will come. They made that absolutely clear to us so what we now need to do is to make sure that the kinds of courses we are putting on are absolutely relevant to what businesses and the market are looking for. So, that's a conversation that I'll be having in the next few weeks, just gathering together, knowing exactly what's happening, and seeing if there is scope to expand that opportunity. And I hope that some of those colleges in the Valleys will also engage in that development, because there's a whole world out there that is looking for skills in this area, and we've got to remember that Welsh young people are as bright, as clever and as able as anyone else in the world, we just need them to believe that and give them the courses where they can develop that expertise.

Minister, in July 2017, the USA and United Kingdom Governments launched a US-UK trade and investment group to provide commercial continuity for businesses, workers and consumers in both countries, as the UK leaves the EU, and to explore ways to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries. What study has the Minister made of the potential investment benefits to Islwyn, south-east Wales and other parts of Wales together from these positive moves by the UK and US Governments, especially given that Mr Morgan, not long ago, couldn't sell Wales to America, but I'm pretty sure that your talents will and that our economy will boost in south-east Wales?

Thank you. I think that that relationship between the UK and US is crucial. I think we already have a huge amount in common. One of the things that I'm really keen to do is to leverage the Department of Trade and Investment much more than we do already. They have a vast network. So, whilst we have 20 different offices around the whole world, they literally have hundreds, with thousands of people working in them. So, if we can give them a very clear message as to what we are looking for from them in terms of the UK Government, I think we should be able to leverage that expertise that exists within the UK Government. And I do think that, again, what we need to do is to just come back to the specialisation, make it absolutely clear: what is it we're trying to sell? What is it that we want in terms of investment into Wales? But I've got to tell you, once again, that this, in terms of investment—it is a really difficult time when we have literally no idea what our relationship with the rest of the world looks like in terms of trade. That is a really, really hard sell at the moment.

Well, we're committed to building on Wales’s recent success in hosting major sporting events, and we're proactively working with partners in Wales, the UK and internationally—including numerous international sports federations and rights owners—in order to identify and pursue new opportunities for attracting major sporting events to all parts of Wales.

Thank you, Minister, for that answer. Wales has been relatively successful over recent years in bidding for a whole host of events, from golf to the ocean-going races out here in Cardiff Bay, to major footballing events. One of the blips, though, was the previous Minister's decision not to continue a bid for the Commonwealth Games. I wonder whether you've had a chance to make an assessment as to whether Wales, in the future, will be in a position to bid for a future Commonwealth Games, or to look at partnering to make a bid for the Commonwealth Games, given that cities in England are prepared to put bids in, yet we as a country seem to be unable, at this juncture, to put a bid together that ultimately would be very prestigious for Wales and beneficial in promoting the value that we have here in Wales.

Thank you. Well, this is a question that I was discussing with my officials earlier in the week. I think that part of the problem here is that the cost of putting on the Commonwealth Games for us would be huge, partly because we simply don't have the infrastructure in Wales, in Cardiff—let's be honest, that's the only place that we could hold it. We don't have the infrastructure even in Cardiff to put on all the events that you would need to put on in relation to the Commonwealth Games. You have to have certain-size swimming pools and you have to have cycle routes and this, that and the other. So, the infrastructure—the cost of developing the infrastructure I think would be prohibitive for us at the moment as a Government. Maybe when austerity ends, it's something we could consider.

Thank you very much, Minister.

Item 3 on the agenda is questions to the Assembly Commission. All the questions this afternoon will be answered by the Llywydd. Question 1, Dai Lloyd.

Dim asesiad. Mae'r Comisiwn yn darparu'r eiddo, y staff a'r gwasanaethau sydd eu hangen at ddibenion y Cynulliad, waeth beth fo ymlyniad gwleidyddol Aelodau unigol yn y Cynulliad yma.

Diolch yn fawr iawn am yr ateb yna. Nawr, yn naturiol, yn ddiweddar, wrth ymateb i'r ffaith bod Aelodau Seneddol Llafur wedi gadael y blaid honno yn Llundain a'u grŵp seneddol, dywedodd y Prif Weinidog, Mark Drakeford, a dwi'n dyfynnu:

os ydych chi'n cael eich ethol yn gynrychiolydd plaid benodol ac eich bod chi'n penderfynu nad ydych am wneud hynny yn y dyfodol, dylech fynd yn ôl at y bobl sydd wedi eich rhoi chi yno a gadael iddynt hwy gael y dewis hwnnw eto.

Dyfyniad uniongyrchol o eiriau Mark Drakeford. Nawr, dwi'n cytuno efo'r farn honno yn llwyr, ac oherwydd ein bod ni wedi gweld symudiadau tebyg yma yn y Senedd yma, pa asesiad, felly, mae'r Comisiwn am ei wneud o'r posibilrwydd o ddatblygu deddfwriaeth a fyddai'n gorfodi Aelod sy'n gadael plaid wleidyddol i wynebu is-etholiad? Neu ynte ydyn ni ddim ond i ddibynnu ar gynsail beth sydd wedi digwydd yn y gorffennol ac felly yn amddifadu pobl o gynrychiolydd o'r blaid y gwnaethon nhw bleidleisio drosti hi yn y lle cyntaf?

Wel, fel y dywedais i yn fy ateb i, does yna ddim asesiad wedi ei wneud hyd yn hyn o'r mater yma. Mae Bil Senedd ac Etholiadau (Cymru) wedi cael ei gyflwyno yn yr wythnosau diwethaf. Doedd yna ddim mandad o'r Cynulliad yma, unrhyw un o'i bwyllgorau, na chwaith oedd y mater yma wedi cael ei gynnwys yng nghylch gorchwyl adroddiad annibynnol Laura McAllister. Ond mae'n fater, wrth gwrs. Mae'n cael ei godi fan hyn o bosib am y tro cyntaf, neu un o'r troeon cyntaf. Mae'n fater efallai y bydd y pwyllgor sy'n scrwtineiddio'r Mesur sydd ar hyn o bryd o flaen y Cynulliad eisiau ei ystyried o bosib, neu mae'n fater i Aelodau yn y lle yma nawr fod y pwerau gan y lle yma ers Deddf Cymru 2017 i ni fod yn deddfu ar ein systemau etholiadol ein hunain. Felly, gaf i annog, os oes yna ddiddordeb yn y lle yma, i chi fod yn trafod hyn a dod ag unrhyw gynigion gerbron? Ond, tan i'r cynigion hynny ddod gerbron, fydd yna ddim mandad gan y Comisiwn i fod yn symud ymlaen â deddfwriaeth i'r perwyl yma. 

Cefais y fraint anhygoel o gadeirio cyfarfod cyntaf ysbrydoledig Senedd Ieuenctid Cymru yn y Siambr yma ychydig dros wythnos yn ôl. Efallai bydd yr Aelodau yn ymwybodol fod y Senedd Ieuenctid honno wedi cytuno'n ffurfiol ar dri mater blaenoriaethol i fynd ar eu trywydd: cymorth ar gyfer iechyd emosiynol ac iechyd meddwl oedd un o'r rheini; sbwriel a gwastraff plastig yn un arall; a sgiliau bywyd yn y cwricwlwm yn un arall. Bydd staff y Comisiwn a'r 60 Aelod o Senedd Ieuenctid Cymru yn cyfarfod yn y rhanbarthau nesaf ym mis Ebrill i lunio cynllun i ymgysylltu â phobl ifanc ledled Cymru ar y materion blaenoriaethol a ddewiswyd ganddyn nhw.

Thank you, Llywydd. I was very sorry to miss the first meeting. I was intending to be here but a family emergency took me away. I, like I'm sure many other Members, have been looking at some of the speeches online and I'm incredibly impressed by the quality and the depth and also the honesty of the young people's contributions. I'm very pleased to see that the work streams that they've chosen are being taken forward so quickly. What consideration is being given to putting the Youth Parliament together with the Assembly's committees and forming some kind of more formal link? I know that many Members are meeting our individual Youth Parliament representatives, but it seems to me there is an opportunity there potentially for the young people to help us set some of our agendas in our committee work and in our scrutiny of the Welsh Government. 

I am aware that there were discussions during the weekend residential that encompassed the formal meeting of the Welsh Youth Parliament on how the young people wanted to have an impact on the policy priorities that they had voted on. It is for them to decide how they want to make that impact, but certainly there is a very easy way of ensuring that in some of the committee work that's being done in this place, which may well mirror some of the priorities that the young people chose—that we facilitate, as part of our ongoing work with the 60 young parliamentarians, the way that they can make those important links to feed into actual policy making via committees and ultimately Welsh Government and National Assembly.

I think it's difficult for anyone not to be inspired, really, by what we saw that weekend. It was a phenomenal and historic success and I was particularly pleased that two of the areas that have been identified as priorities—the life skills in the curriculum and the emotional and mental health of children and young people—are issues that the Children, Young People and Education Committee are already taking a very keen interest in and are prioritising ourselves. Of course, it's for the young people to decide how they take their work programme forward, and I'm mindful also of your answer to Helen Mary Jones, but in areas where the committees are already working on particular topics, what particular consideration has been given to ensuring that the committees and the Youth Parliament Members can work together if that is what they would like to do?

When I was here chairing the discussion on mental health and young people, in the inspiring contributions from so many of the young parliamentarians on that issue, I was reminded of course of the work that your committee, Lynne, had done on mental health issues. There's a very clear early relationship there so they can feed into the continuation of your work as a committee. So, I think that my officials are already looking to create the relationship between the young parliamentarians, especially those who want to work on this particular issue, and your committee, and that's a very natural relationship. I am absolutely convinced that your committee will benefit from the very real-life experiences that these young champions want to progress.

Mae gan Gynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru brotocol baneri. Mae'n amlinellu'r trefniadau arferol ar gyfer arddangos baneri ar ein hystâd, a'r gweithdrefnau ar gyfer amgylchiadau eraill. Gall hyn gynnwys dyddiau arwyddocaol blynyddol a digwyddiadau nad oes modd eu rhagweld. Mae'r protocol yn nodi'r baneri sydd yn cael eu harddangos yn ddyddiol, ac mae'r rhain yn cynnwys baner yr Undeb Ewropeaidd. Bydd ein protocol yn cael ei ddiweddaru os cytunir ar ddyddiad i'r Deyrnas Unedig ymadael â'r Undeb Ewropeaidd.

Thanks for that answer. Of course, there is uncertainty, but we may well be leaving within a few weeks, so I'm glad to hear, Llywydd, that there are plans to update the procedure, and I look forward to seeing them in due course, and hopefully quite soon.

I'm not sure whether there was a question there for me to respond to, but Brexit is about much more than the colour of passports and the flying of flags, in my opinion. There will be a flagpole that may be without a banner, either in a few weeks' time, a few years' time, or possibly not at all. If that happens, then you may have seen, over the last week or so, that the Welsh dragon has, in a global poll, come out on top as the coolest international flag, and I think it's about time that we had at least two of those flags flying outside our building, if not four.

Like the Llywydd, I'm extremely proud of the Welsh flag, and very pleased to see that it was rated very highly in an international poll. Another flag that, of course, is extremely popular in Wales, particularly on St David's Day, is the St David's flag, the flag of our patron saint. It's not widely recognised, I'm afraid, around the world, unlike the saltire and unlike St George's flag. Can I urge the Commission to consider flying the St David's flag on a permanent basis on the Assembly estate in order to promote this important part of Wales and our identity?

I fear that I've set in train a competition now for whose flag is the favourite flag. I'll reiterate what I said: if the world thinks that the Welsh dragon is the coolest flag on earth, then I reckon we should fly it with pride.

Nid oes gan y Comisiwn gynlluniau ar gyfer cofeb o'r natur hon. Yn ddiweddar, rydym wedi cytuno ar bolisi sy'n nodi'r broses y bydd y Comisiwn yn ei dilyn i ystyried cynigion ar gyfer cofebion a phenderfynu arnynt. Mae'r polisi ar gael ar wefan y Cynulliad.

Thank you for that answer, Presiding Officer. I look forward to having a look on the website. I was unaware that there was a policy, so I look forward to seeing that. But I do think that that is a piece of architecture that we are missing on the Assembly estate. Thankfully, not many Members have died in post, but over the years four or five at least, I do believe, have passed away in post, and I think that, as a Parliament, we should be commemorating their service and the service that they’ve given, because it was whist they were AMs that they achieved so much, and with the passage of time it would be wrong to forget their legacy, if you like. As this was their home within their working life, I do think that that would be a noble gesture on behalf of the Commission, and I would implore the Commission maybe to put something together that could bring such a commemoration together.

I'd urge you to have a look at the policy. It is only recently agreed by the Commission, so many Members may not yet be fully aware of it. It's been put in place in order to have a framework for decision making around any memorial or plaque for any person or event to be placed on this estate. We remember our fellow Members sadly deceased with a great deal of fondness and we carry with us in our everyday life many of the aspects and priorities they brought to our discussions in this Chamber. I would urge you, if Members are supportive of an initiative such as this, to work with families and friends of those deceased Members—to work across political parties to make a proposal to the Commission, and the Commission will look at that when it comes before us. 

Diolch, Llywydd.

Item 4 is topical questions. There is one this afternoon, to be answered by the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism. Andrew R.T. Davies. 

Thank you very much. You will have heard me replying succinctly, briefly, about our relationship in response to an earlier question, so I can confirm that I have had regular meetings with the Welsh Rugby Union and, indeed, have discussed with them their development plans and their business model, including regional restructuring. However, I would emphasise that it is not my intention in Government, nor the intention of the rest of the Government for that matter, because we have discussed this at some length—we have no intention at all of being involved directly in any of the current discussions, and we shouldn't be. I do believe it is very important that, in matters of culture and sport, we maintain the arm's-length principle, which allows for independent businesses and independent organisations, whether in sport or in culture, to conduct their business as they think fit. 

On your sentiment there, Minister, I do fully agree with you. The governance of the game in Wales is completely in the hands of the Welsh Rugby Union, and so should be the case. But I think many fans are punch-drunk by some of the developments that have happened, and I saw just a couple of minutes ago a news report saying that the merger is off the table. But from the grass roots right up to international level, there is grave concern over the current proposals that have been put forward—whether they would be lasting, whether they would be durable. Again, I reiterate the point: I'm not calling on the Welsh Government to indicate that they've been involved in these discussions, but I would have thought that the Welsh Government would have a view as to how they would like to see the Welsh game develop given the strength of grass-roots rugby and, obviously, the implications for many of the messages that Welsh Government brings out about sport and inclusivity. And so, given that the Welsh Government put £853,000, I think, into the game, can you assure us that you will keep a watching brief on this particular subject? You did, in your earlier answer, indicate that you had had thoughts about the Irish model; are those personal thoughts of yours or are they thoughts that have been developed by the Government as maybe a solution to some of the challenges that the Welsh game faces?

No, those were very much personal thoughts. Also, it's an obvious personal thought of mine that I would like to see professional rugby in the north of Wales, and have wished to see that happen for many years. I'm now having to be at arm's length from myself and that particular view, but that will be no surprise to you. But what I would say is that there has been no discussion, but there has been very close involvement by our senior officials in ensuring that we were fully informed of the implications of what the Welsh Rugby Union is discussing. But, obviously, there would have to be a—. We have had a discussion, I should say, with Nigel Short of the pro rugby board and others, so we are aware of their intentions, but it's not at this stage that Welsh Government would be involved in any of the consequences. But I think, as I indicated in the earlier discussion, there might be a call on our resources, as we have done in the past, for investing in infrastructure in areas that would benefit from that in order to develop not just rugby but other sports. For example, we have invested substantially, as I indicated, in 3G facilities and in all-weather pitches in the north, and we've done it in Wrexham as well as in Eirias Park. 

Minister, I thank you for the answer you've just given. Clearly, the message we're now getting is that the merger is off, but we often talk about the two rugby teams, the Ospreys and the Scarlets, and we just think of those two teams, but there's a lot more behind the scenes than just those two teams on the pitches. The Ospreys have embraced the regional concept very much and they work with our local communities. They have Ospreys in the Community, they go and meet with the schools, they work with science, technology, engineering and mathematics groups and organisations to promote STEM and other career pathways. There is a lot more going on. They're actually one of the best at women's rugby in the area. They do a lot more than simply what we see with the 15 players on the field. And they are issues that the Government should be involved with, and it's the funding you give to the Welsh Rugby Union that feeds into that.

So, I think it is important the Government has a say on this to ensure that the services that the Ospreys currently give to the communities aren't lost. Because if the Ospreys disappear, Scarlets are going to have their own commitments already. They haven't got the funding to go beyond that, so what will happen to our region and those community services? And, therefore, the Government will need to look very carefully at what that actually means to the local communities—not just the fans, but the people who live in the area, the children in the area, the schoolchildren they get support from. And I'll declare an interest: my granddaughter actually very often goes to the Ospreys camps in her holiday time. These are services that people get a huge lot out of, and the Welsh Government should be looking at what happens to those as well.