Carl Sargeant: I think there’s a little bit of both between home builders and developers and the general public. It’s about acceptance that there’s an opportunity to build and construct with other methods of construction. That’s where the innovation fund—. I’ve started that, and I’ll be making some announcements very soon on new opportunities. I’m sure the Member will be delighted when she...
Carl Sargeant: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. As I said earlier in a debate today, Welsh Government is absolutely committed to supporting the increase of housing supply. You will recognise we are taking a comprehensive approach with our housing offer, seeking to address the wide range of housing needs, and I thank Mike Hedges for raising that debate today. I spoke earlier of the significant investment we’re...
Carl Sargeant: Of course.
Carl Sargeant: Of course, and it was remiss of me in the earlier debate that we had in terms of that, because I didn’t recognise your contribution in terms of not giving money for brownfield sites for regeneration. We do that in some cases already in Wales, and we have done with some—certainly in regeneration funding. There’s one I can think of in Torfaen where we’ve aided the ability to gain access...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Llywydd. Everyone is, of course, horrified by the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in west London last week. On behalf of the Welsh Government, and, I’m sure, those of the whole Assembly, I should like to convey my deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by it. Everyone wants to understand what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. This is just as true in...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his questions and the conversations that we’ve had offline of Plenary. First of all, the issue of sprinklers and the installation and appropriateness of them. As the Member will be aware, we introduced a Measure for new builds and retrofit builds. Some of the high-rise blocks have been already installed. That will be part of the investigation by the team and the chief...
Carl Sargeant: Of course, and I thank the Member for her constructive questions. In terms of the detailed questions on the building regulations specifically, they do lie with Lesley Griffiths. What I will do is ask the Minister to write to you, but put a copy of those responses in the library for Members too. In terms of fire and fire application, what happened in Grenfell Tower fire was tragic. It’s...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you. The Member will be aware that we already fund tenants participation groups to feed back into Government and also to local authorities and RSLs, in the way that operates. Already, RSLs do work very closely with their groups, independently of the tenants participation groups, in addition to that. The nature of the sprinkler programme—some buildings are affected for future use by...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for her questions and the conversations we’ve had, also, around this. On the issue of six-monthly testing of both alarms and sprinkler services, we have to be a little bit cautious that what we don’t do is push the testing system into a frenzy. What happened in London was tragic, and we have to learn about what the events were that led to that process. It is clear that...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for her comments. I think today, certainly, is not a day for the politics of sprinklers. We in Wales made a conscious decision to introduce sprinklers into legislation, and it hopefully will have a positive effect in terms of the relationship that the Member makes reference to. What we’ve got to remember is that these buildings—particularly around Grenfell Tower and...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you. As I indicated earlier, I agree with the Member with regard to the make-up of the composite of the materials, and I’ve asked for samples to be taken from all of the buildings that hold lagging—multi-storey buildings—for inspection. They will be tested, irrespective of what we understand of the product already, although we do know that it’s not the same system that was used...
Carl Sargeant: I thank Ann Jones for her contribution again, and, I suppose, congratulations—only last week the Member received an award, an international award, based on the legislation that she pursued as an individual Member’s debate. As a former firefighter, I have never seen such a ferocious fire as I saw at the Grenfell Tower block fire. Something significantly went wrong in that space, and I pay...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his question. I spoke to the UK Minister, as I said, on Saturday afternoon, and the Scottish Minister yesterday. We are in early discussions about what that review may look like and how the interfaces between the three Governments will look at that, and I will continue to inform the Assembly of the detail of that as that comes forward. As to the Member’s latter...
Carl Sargeant: Formally.
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I’d like to thank the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee for their considered report on refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. I’m also grateful for the time and effort given by those working in public services and refugee support organisations to ensure this process was as comprehensive as possible. The Welsh Government is committed to...
Carl Sargeant: One second; I will. Of course, where appropriate, we will also encourage refugees to access Welsh for adults provision, in that principle. On my visit to one of the centres in Cardiff, I did see volunteers working very hard, including refugees supporting other refugees, in the ESOL programme. I’ll take the intervention.
Carl Sargeant: I will take note of the Member’s contribution, and I will write to the Member in terms of the detail of why we came up with the 2018 date. It is something to do with the funding streams around that, but I will look at that more carefully. I also accept the principles behind the committee’s recommendations regarding guardianship, the guardianship service and a destitution fund. We will...
Carl Sargeant: Happy to do so.
Carl Sargeant: Following on from the discussions I’d had previously with Bethan Jenkins in terms of whether we could include these within the Rent Smart Wales scheme, I’ve asked my team to give me further advice about where this might just fit in, to see whether there is more regulation that we can impose on this principle. But as Bethan Jenkins did mention, we have had discussions with some local...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I start by thanking Vikki Howells for bringing forward this important debate today, and Members who’ve contributed? As you’ll know, Dirprwy Lywydd, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure now leads on these issues, but I’m very happy to stand in for him today. I want to begin my contribution by saying that we’re incredibly proud of the...
