Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd dros dro. Ar ddiwedd mis Ionawr, cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru Bapur Gwyn ar ddiwygio llywodraeth leol. Roedd hwn yn nodi cynigion i sicrhau cadernid ac adnewyddiad mewn llywodraeth leol yng Nghymru, gan gynnwys trefniadau ar gyfer gweithio’n rhanbarthol a rhoi mwy o rôl i gynghorau a chynghorwyr. Heddiw, fe gyhoeddais adroddiad yn crynhoi bron i 170 o ymatebion a gafwyd i’r ymgynghoriad a gosodais y trywydd ar gyfer diwygio llywodraeth leol.

Hoffwn ddiolch i Gadeirydd ac aelodau’r Pwyllgor Cydraddoldeb, Llywodraeth Leol a Chymunedau a fu’n craffu ar y cynigion diwygio. Hoffwn ddiolch hefyd i Gadeirydd ac aelodau’r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus a ystyriodd nifer o faterion yn ymwneud ag agweddau ar y Papur Gwyn a rhoi eu barn.

Dirprwy Lywydd dros dro, there are three main threads to our proposals on which I aim to update Members today. Firstly, there is the reform of our town and community councils. Town and community councils are an integral part of local government. Geographically, they are closest to people and communities and can be uniquely placed to see and provide a range of services that can have a significant impact on the well-being of their communities. The White Paper described practical reforms we are taking now to strengthen the role of town and community councils and to improve their operation and governance, enabling them to take on a wider provision of a wider group of services and assets.

However, if the potential of town and community councils is to be more widely realised, we need a root-and-branch review of the sector. That review is now under way. In broad terms, it will explore the potential part to be played by local government below principal council level. It will define the most effective model and structure to deliver this contribution effectively and it will consider how this can be applied across Wales. I expect the review to reach out to all relevant stakeholders and for it to be completed in a year. I’m very grateful to Gwenda Thomas and to Rhodri Glyn Thomas for agreeing to co-chair the review. They bring a wealth of experience of government at all levels in Wales and a particular grasp of the issues at stake in strengthening and reinvigorating this most local tier of democracy in Wales.

Chair, earlier today, I issued a written statement on a series of proposals for reform to the local government electoral system, and this has now been formally launched for consultation. Proposals include extending the franchise, the registration of voters, the electoral process, as well as proposals about who can stand as a candidate and who can act as a returning officer. The purpose of reforming the electoral system is to make it easier for people to vote and to extend the entitlement to vote. The proposals include extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds and to all those who live, work and study in Wales. It explores options to make it easier for people to vote, such as all-postal voting, electronic voting and voting at places other than polling stations, such as supermarkets, libraries, leisure centres and bus and railway stations.

The consultation paper also proposes that individual councils should have the option to choose their system of election between the first past the post and the single transferable vote methods. Responding to clear views during the White Paper consultation, I now propose that this would require a two-thirds majority vote of a council’s membership, in line with the threshold for such a change to the National Assembly’s own electoral system.

Following consultation, Chair, I will seek to make legislative changes through a local government Bill. It is important for me to emphasise that any changes would apply to local government elections only. The National Assembly is considering reforms in respect of its own elections separately to this consultation, which the Llywydd herself is leading.

Chair, the third element in my statement today focuses on the reform of our principal councils, including a new approach to systematic and mandatory regional working to ensure that they are resilient, both financially and in terms of the services they provide. I intend to proceed with proposals that would see regional working becoming, over time, the norm in many areas of local government activity. This will build on the city and growth deals and will require economic development, strategic transport and strategic land-use planning to be undertaken on these footprints. These arrangements will operate under the direction of a joint governance committee for the area, comprising elected members of the constituent local authorities. Sufficient flexibility will allow the Swansea city bay region and Growing Mid Wales areas to operate with distinctive identities, but with a requirement for them to come together to consider the coherence of their plans across the south-west region as a whole.

For other services, mandated regional working, such as on education improvement, will be for regional joint governance committees to determine and to decide upon the most suitable collaborative footprint, within a statutory framework. There will also be scope for authorities to work across regions, for example, in developing the linguistic economic strategy for west Wales, as recommended by the report of the task and finish group on the Welsh language and local government.