<p>Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople</p>

Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children – in the Senedd at 2:33 pm on 28 June 2017.

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Photo of Bethan Sayed Bethan Sayed Plaid Cymru 2:33, 28 June 2017

But it would have been within your gift to have allocated that land for something else, prior to now having a prison. So, that’s something that we’ll argue about again, in the future.

I want to have one question about fire safety. Although you said last week that there were no buildings with the particular type of cladding used in Grenfell Tower, the BBC reported yesterday that tower blocks were being tested for similar aluminium composite material, ACM, cladding, such as in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board. I’d like you to clarify a number of things, if you could, because statements from the Welsh Government have been less clear than they should have been in recent days.

For example, you’ve initially suggested the testing was voluntary. You said last week that you would urge local authorities who want to test cladding to do so. Do you think a stronger statement from the get-go would have been better? There hasn’t been much clarification since. The Welsh Government has said that it is telling local authorities who suspect use of ACM in tower blocks that they need to test their buildings. But a Welsh Government spokesperson also added that the Welsh Government does not have the powers to compel any local authority to test their buildings, but added that it was encouraging them to do so. I’m seeing a variety of words—‘need’, ‘encourage’, ‘compel’. Can I get some clarity on what is actually being done, and what you have the power to actually do, so that we can satisfy our minds that, with regard to Welsh buildings, we’re doing all we can?