, Cabinet Secretary for
Housing and Local Government: The Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Phase 2 report was published earlier this month. I am grateful to
everyone who contributed to the inquiry which informed the
important recommendations.
Firstly, our thoughts are with all of those who were, and
continue to be, affected by the tragic events of that
night.
The report is extensive, providing a detailed examination of the
causes of the tragic fire in June 2017. The report underlines
once again the need for urgent and decisive action, and it
provides additional impetus for our work.
As a government, we are committed to ensuring the highest
standards of building safety for residents in Wales.
Officials are carefully considering the recommendations set out
in the Phase 2 report. Our initial view is that the report's
recommendations align well with our intended reforms in Wales.
Our positive response, and the actions we have already taken
following the Phase 1 report and Dame Judith Hackitt's “Building
a Safer Future” report, demonstrates our commitment to this
agenda.
We are pressing forward with the Building Safety (Wales) Bill,
which is scheduled for introduction in 2025. Whilst development
of the Bill is advanced, we will be taking the time to reflect on
the recommendations to identify where we may wish to revise our
policy.
The Building Safety (Wales) Bill, when introduced, will build on
the progress we have already made to secure the safety of
multi-occupied buildings in Wales. Through commencement of
relevant parts of the Building Safety Act 2022, we have
introduced reforms to the design and construction process,
including the regulation of higher risk buildings, as well as
changes to the regulation of the building control profession. The
next stage of the new building control regime will look to
introduce greater scrutiny and new duty holder responsibilities.
We intend to consult on these proposals before the end of this
year.
Our new regulatory regime will apply to all multi-occupied
residential buildings, not just those 18 metres and over, meaning
it will go further than the recommendations made by previous
reviews.
Alongside reforms to ensure the safety of future buildings, we
remain committed and are working at pace to make existing
buildings in Wales as safe as they can be from fire. In
Wales, all residential buildings over 11 metres now have a route
to addressing any fire safety issues related to the construction
of the buildings, not just unsafe cladding. Our Building Safety
Programme looks at both internal and external fire safety issues
in a whole-building approach that puts people's safety first.
Many of the issues and failings that led to the tragic events of
14 June 2017 are UK wide, which I have reiterated this week with
my counterparts at the British-Irish Council's Housing summit. I
welcome our continued close working with the UK Government and
other Devolved Governments to progress our policies on building
safety and to share best practices and learning from each other.
Building Safety is a priority for this Government, and we will
continue to drive forward our remediation and reform programmes
at pace.
