4. 3. Statement: Update Following the Grenfell Tower Fire

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:44 pm on 4 July 2017.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 2:44, 4 July 2017

Can I welcome this statement from the Cabinet Secretary and can I thank him for the briefing he gave opposition spokespeople this morning and the promise of further briefings from him and his officials? I do think it’s important we are kept informed of, as he said, what is a rapidly changing situation. Can I ask him, in terms of the immediate assessments that have been carried out, what conclusions have been reached about the role of cavity spaces, which, I understand, were key in the appalling tragedy at Grenfell Tower? This is where there is a gap, obviously, between the cladding and the main structure of the tower block, and this constituting a key risk. Are similar cavity spaces present in the Welsh tower blocks that have been inspected? Under what circumstances would the Minister advise social landlords to remove the cladding? I do understand there may be a danger that if cladding is just removed, then even more dangerous and inflammable material could be exposed beneath. Are there circumstances, therefore, under which the Minister anticipates relocation being an option if immediate assurances of safety cannot be established? I’m also advised that the cladding material on Grenfell Tower and—I don’t know, but I assume—the other cladding materials that are present in Wales, one of the difficulties with them is that they are designed to act as rain screens, which unfortunately means that when the fire service attempts to control and extinguish fires, they’re much less effective in the action they take as the water is being repelled. Obviously, containing and extinguishing fires is key to the general fire resilience of these buildings. Is there any difference in the cladding material acting as a screen in Wales, as seems to have been the case in London?

Cabinet Secretary, many tower blocks are in the private sector or are public buildings such as schools and hospitals. How are the assessments of these buildings being made? Does he have any further information for the Assembly this afternoon on this aspect of the challenge? Finally, how are the latest findings and the advice that emerges that was based on these findings being disseminated to tenants in a usable, reassuring but clear way, to private landlords and management companies that run many private blocks of flats, and also to those running schools and hospitals? Thank you, Chair.