Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Pwrpas ein dadl heddiw ydy amlygu’r angen am system well o gynllunio ar gyfer sgiliau a hyfforddiant, yn ogystal â gwella arferion caffael yn y sector adeiladu yng Nghymru. Mae nifer o brosiectau isadeiledd ar y gorwel dros y blynyddoedd nesaf sy’n cynnig cyfle euraidd i gwmnïau adeiladau ar draws Cymru—cwmnïau mawr a bach—yn ogystal â’r gadwyn gyflenwi ehangach. Mae rhai o’r prosiectau yma yn cynnwys y morlyn morlanw posib yn Abertawe, metro Caerdydd a’r Cymoedd, ffordd osgoi’r M4—pa bynnag opsiwn sy’n cael ei ddewis, bydd rhaid i rywun ei adeiladu—trydaneiddio rheilffyrdd Cymreig, ffordd osgoi Llandeilo a nifer eraill o brosiectau. Felly, i sicrhau bod Cymru’n elwa’n economaidd o’r prosiectau yma mae angen i Lywodraeth Cymru wella arferion caffael a sicrhau bod y sgiliau angenrheidiol a’r arbenigedd yn y gweithlu ar gael yma yng Nghymru. Mae angen gwneud gorau o’r cyfleoedd yma. Mae’n cynnig ni heddiw yn galw am fwy o wariant cyfalaf ar isadeiledd yng Nghymru i roi hwb ychwanegol i’r sector ar draws Cymru.

Y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, fe wnaeth yr OECD gynhyrchu adroddiad a oedd yn crybwyll y dylai economi fel y Deyrnas Unedig fod yn gwario rhyw 5 y cant o’i incwm cenedlaethol—GDP, felly—ar adnewyddu a moderneiddio ei seilwaith. Yn y flwyddyn honno, gwariwyd 1.5 y cant o werth GDP, sy’n is na’r ffigwr o 3.2 y cant yn 2010. Mae’r ffigwr yn is fyth yma yng Nghymru. Mae’r uchelgais yma wedi’i deall gan Lywodraeth yr Alban, sydd wedi datgan eu bod nhw’n creu rhaglen isadeiledd o dros £20 biliwn fel rhan o’i rhaglen lywodraethol dros y pum mlynedd nesaf. Os ydym ni yn mynd i ddod â blynyddoedd o ddirywiad economaidd yma yng Nghymru i ben, mae uchelgais yn hollbwysig. Mae angen i ni yng Nghymru godi ein gwariant ar isadeiledd i raddfa debyg ac uchelgais tebyg i’r hyn sy’n cael ei ddangos gan ein cefndryd Celtaidd yn yr Alban.

As part of our vision for a national infrastructure commission for Wales, we raised the need for the Welsh Government to jump on the opportunity provided to us to increase levels of capital spending in order to invest in our nation’s infrastructure. We are currently living in an era of cheap money with historic levels of low interest rates, which means there has never been a more cost-effective time to invest in infrastructure. In a country like Wales, some of the most basic infrastructure—the ability to traverse one’s country by rail from north to south, for instance—is missing, let alone the kind of infrastructure one needs and expects in the twenty-first century.

Wales’s construction sector faces significant challenges over the coming years in ensuring it has the necessary capacity to utilise the coming opportunities. In order for the sector to be able to meet these needs, improving productivity levels within the construction industry is paramount. Poor cash flow, often caused by poor payment practices along the supply chain, is a major barrier to productivity improvement. The construction sector in Wales is largely dominated by small to medium enterprises, many of whom play critical roles through the supply chain in delivering our public sector construction contracts. These small businesses are fundamental to the economic well-being of Wales and Plaid Cymru are determined that public procurement policy is used to support these businesses right across Wales.

Efficient cash flow is vital to smaller sub-contractors and it’s only fair that they receive prompt payment in accordance with contract performance for helping deliver the construction and infrastructure projects that are key to Wales’s economy. The use of project bank accounts in construction contracts is a commitment of the construction procurement strategy from July 2013 and also supports the Wales procurement policy statement that was issued in December 2012.

Let me just quickly explain why project bank accounts are so important for Welsh SMEs. With public sector construction projects, it is extremely unlikely that the client, such as the local authority, can go bust. Therefore, in that sense, the tier 1 constructor is protected against any possible upstream insolvency. However, those engaged in the supply chain, the majority of which will be small and medium-sized companies, are provided with no such protection. A project bank account is a secure pot, which ensures that everybody in the supply chain is paid, as the moneys do not have to go through the different tiers of contracting, and that’s why we support it. In January 2014, the former finance Minister announced three pilots across three different local authorities for the use of project bank accounts. However, since then, as far as I’m aware, there has been no movement, since then, to move forward and mandate project bank accounts across the board, as is the case in Scotland and Northern Ireland. By mandating project bank accounts in the public sector, the Welsh Government can, at least, afford protection to SMEs in Wales and improve their cash flow and payment certainty.

Action must also be taken in relation to cash retention. The withholding of retention is an outdated practice that is unnecessary in the modern construction industry. The best guarantee of quality lies in the choice of a competent and qualified supply chain that is committed to seeking to attain the highest applicable standards in health and safety, training and technical performance. An accreditation system and licensing regime, as in the US and Australia, could alleviate this problem entirely. Not only would this improve cash flow within the sector, but it would also improve health and safety standards, which is something we should all be championing.

In order to ensure that Wales reaps as much economic benefit as possible from future infrastructure projects in Wales and beyond, we need a construction industry that is leaner and fitter, with SMEs that are empowered to play a more productive role. In closing, improved construction procurement, through having integrated project teams involving all the supply chain, is the ideal—and produced this Senedd Chamber that we stand in today. Diolch yn fawr.