Rwy’n croesawu datganiad yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet, am y rhesymau y mae ef ei hun wedi cyfeirio atyn nhw, sef, wrth gwrs, y gostyngiad dybryd o ran y symiau o arian sydd ar gael ar gyfer buddsoddi oherwydd y dirywiad yn yr arian yr ydym yn ei dderbyn o Lundain, a hefyd, wrth gwrs, y cyfle y mae gwariant cyfalaf mewn isadeiledd yn ei gynrychioli ar gyfer adeiladu’r Gymru yr ydym ni eisiau ei gweld, ond hefyd i roi hwb i’r economi mewn cyfnod dyrys iawn.

Mi oedd yn dda cael y cyfle i drafod â’r Ysgrifennydd Cabinet yn nhermau cyffredinol, heb fynd i mewn i’r manylion yr ydym newydd eu clywed, a hefyd mynd gydag ef i fynychu cyflwyniad gydag is-lywydd Banc Buddsoddi Ewrop yn Velindre—un o’r projectau cyffrous, gobeithio, fydd yn cael ei weithredu oherwydd hyn.

A gaf i ofyn iddo fe, ynglŷn â’r manylion, beth yw’r gwahaniaeth rhwng yr ateb y mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi’i ddyfeisio i’r cwestiwn yma o’r ailgategoreiddio drwy law’r Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol o’i gymharu â’r ateb y mae Llywodraeth yr Alban wedi’i gyflwyno, sef yr hwb sydd yn cynnig 60 y cant o siâr i’r sector breifat ac wedyn 40 y cant rhwng y Scottish Futures Trust, elusen a hefyd y sector cyhoeddus? Oes yna uchafswm y mae e’n ei ragweld ar gyfer y siâr mewn elw y byddai’r sector gyhoeddus yn berchen arni yng Nghymru, yn wyneb y ffaith bod Eurostat wedi gosod mas yn nhermau eithaf manwl pa effaith y byddai gwahanol ganrannau yn ei chael o ran y cwestiwn yma o ailgategoreiddio?

While welcoming in broad terms this statement, any move towards expanding our capacity to invest in infrastructure has to be welcomed and any move for innovation, in terms of our approach to this question, has to be welcomed. But the Cabinet Secretary will not be surprised to know that I would urge him to go much further than this because he referred to the fact, of course, in Scotland the current proportion of the budget that is allocated to the revenue financing of long-term debt is about four 4.5 per cent of their budget. He referred to the current position, which in the Welsh Government’s case is 1 per cent. We have a lot more scope and we have scope to do much more than has been announced today and we can do that by being more innovative again.

He referred to the European Investment Bank. Why don’t we set up a Welsh equivalent, which actually could use—? He referred to the difference between, of course, paid-in capital and subscription, which, of course, allows the paid-in capital, once accumulated, to be used to leverage. This is what the European Investment Bank does—it’s what every investment bank does. Why don’t we use that mechanism in order to create an even greater capacity to invest? And, similarly, why don’t we look at—? We have the power to establish Welsh bonds. The Welsh Government has that power and, indeed, so does the Scottish Government, and local authorities, of course, are actively looking at this mechanism. So, can we be more innovative, Cabinet Secretary, in order to maximise the capacity and have conversations with some of the Welsh pension funds, for example, that could be doing more to invest successfully in our community?

Finally, on the question of the future of the EIB, which is in question—well, if there is to be a UK successor body, an United Kingdom investment bank, why don’t we develop the reputation of being excellent at infrastructure finance by developing the range of mechanisms that I’ve just referred to, so we can make the case that that UK investment bank should actually be based here in Wales?