MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Housing and Local Government: I am delighted the Senedd has given
Stage 4 approval to the Building Safety (Wales) Bill, a vital
pillar of our response to the Grenfell Tower fire in which 72
people tragically lost their lives. I would like to express
my gratitude to the housing sector, the Fire and Rescue Service
and partners in local government for their enthusiastic
engagement and supportive challenge which has enabled the
development of this important piece of legislation. The work to
implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry
continues; our progress update can be found in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Phase 2 Report.
Meanwhile the Welsh Building Safety Programme remains central to
our commitment to ensuring residents across Wales live in safe
homes. I feel deeply for people who continue to endure the
stress and expense of waiting for their homes to be remediated
but I am also keenly aware of the huge logistical challenges of
delivering the programme.
Of the 4701 buildings in the programme works have been
completed or are underway at 219. Each signatory to
the Welsh Government developer contract has committed to ensuring
works are underway by December 2026 at every development they are
responsible for in Wales. Our Building Remediation
progress statistics contain a detailed breakdown of the
programme data.
I am pleased to see progress being made and determined to see all
barriers removed to ensure the pace of remediation increases. I
am aware there have been challenges agreeing the works licences
at some developments. To help tackle this I have commissioned
bespoke guidance to support responsible entities to navigate what
can sometimes be a challenging process.
I am completely committed to ensuring the safety of our medium
and high-rise residential buildings and am proud to have been
able to work with members across the Senedd to introduce a
landmark piece of legislation which will help deliver on that
aim. As the Building Safety (Wales) Bill moves into the
implementation phase, it is vital we all continue to work in
partnership to ensure the fire safety issues at all buildings in
the programme are remediated as quickly as possible.
1 Previous data releases have reported 473 buildings
in programme including 163 in the developer contract
category. This has been reduced to 160 as 3 buildings
having been confirmed to be below the 11-metre threshold.
