Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:41 pm on 23 May 2018.
Thank you for putting the question down today. I think we need to ask if the system is now fit for the future. It was clear at Grenfell that risks were not taken as seriously as they should have been and that safety was put on a secondary footing to cost in some key respects. I'd like to ask how the £400 million announced by the UK Government for cladding removal and building upgrades in England will affect Wales. Is any of this money going to be spent in Wales? And, if not, will there be a Barnett consequential for Wales? What is the latest assessment of the potential cost to Welsh local authorities of replacing cladding and carrying out any necessary safety upgrades? I note your announcement with regard to Newport, but I understand that no similar announcement has been made to assist Cardiff council in carrying out work on their six tower blocks.
Could you give us an update on the current situation regarding private tower blocks? I know you've mentioned it here briefly already, but you issued guidance and wrote to local authorities asking them to make the necessary assessments. So, what is your view on the problems that leaseholders face and those in private developments more generally? There hasn't been any action in terms of private dwellings from the UK Government, aside from urging developers and owners not to pass on the costs. However, this issue has now found itself in the legal system and one group of leaseholders have been ordered to pay the costs to replace cladding in Croydon instead of the building developer and freeholder, with residents facing costs of up to £25,000 each.
This may be an issue for some of the flats here in Cardiff, such as Prospect Place, where there's a new management agency called Warwick Estates, which is basically the residents' association because Bellway has now left the scene. Many residents in private tower blocks are going to be facing huge uncertainty over who is responsible for fire safety upgrades, and this will continue when and if fire safety standards are increased in the future. So, have you made any assessments of the potential costs to upgrade private dwellings in Wales that have failed any tests? Will there be money put in place for the current flats and any new builds also? What would be the difference in tack in relation to the current flats that are in existence and any new builds that are in existence?
I'd like to finish by saying that I was very, very concerned over the weekend to hear that, in the flats that I've mentioned previously in my question, some of those particular flats did not even have fire alarms in them, in this capital city. When we've had this whole focus on flats and safety, it's preposterous to me to imagine that those flats did not even have fire alarms. So, I would urge you to go back to talk to the private landlords in this instance and to exemplify the severity of the situation, because lives will be at stake if they do not up their game.