I do believe that this report's publication is a landmark for everyone concerned to ensure that people living in buildings like Grenfell Tower, but in the private sector, are safe and feel safe, and I do hope that the Minister will continuously update this Assembly on the progress that the Government are making towards implementing the recommendations. I think it was one of the first acts you made in your new responsibilities to reply to the report, and it is broadly positive.

Something that was very clear to me, Deputy Presiding Officer, throughout the evidence sessions was that the current system simply isn't fit for purpose. And it's painful that it took an event like the Grenfell fire for us to realise that, but it does, I think, mean that we have to have a comprehensive and robust approach now to reform in this area. We in the Welsh Conservatives completely agree with the conclusions of this report and support the principles behind its recommendations for such a new and more robust system. We agree with the call for greater clarity and accountability over who is responsible for building safety during the construction, refurbishment and ongoing management of high-rise homes.

Can I also take this opportunity to thank all the witnesses who came in and gave evidence on what was one of the most important committee investigations I've been involved in? We heard evidence, I think, of the highest quality and also a very considerable degree of consistency in what the witnesses told us.

I would like to pick out a few of the recommendations and concentrate on those, and, indeed, the ones I've selected I argued for strongly in the report, and I think all Members were convinced by the evidence that we'd heard on them. I do hope that the Minister will be able to say a few more words in her response to this debate on these particular issues, and indeed several of them have been referred to by the Chair already.

So, recommendation 3 in particular was a real eye-opener for me. I'm very pleased that we have made a stronger recommendation than that contained in the Hackitt review. I don't think many people out there would believe that the fire safety Order does not place any requirements on the competence or qualifications of a person undertaking a fire risk assessment, or indeed on the frequency of those assessments. Recommendation 3 in our report would rectify this, and it seems like an obvious and sensible reform to ensure that buildings are constantly monitored for fire risks.

In the committee, we believe that the lack of basic requirements set out in legislation was a clear gap, and was not in line with other comparable works such as gas safety checks, for instance, so I'm pleased that the Government does accept this recommendation in principle, although I note what the Welsh Government has said on the timescale and complexity of this work, and the Chair has referred to this. I hope the Minister in her response will outline how she plans to take this forward and to what timescale she imagines it will be carried out. It is, I think, one of the more practical changes that we can get in place quickly, I hope, and I'm confident that it would make a substantial difference to the fire safety of high-rise buildings. I do share the aspiration of the Chair that we could see legislation within this Assembly, and I can assure you that you'd get full co-operation from the Welsh Conservative Party—and, I'm sure, all parties represented in this Chamber—if you do set that as an ambition for this Assembly.

Deputy Presiding Officer, in the build-up to the recent publication of the Welsh Conservatives' housing strategy, I had several discussions with the construction industry with regard to the lack of upskilling opportunities in Wales so that older workers can modernise their methods, and I believe this is an issue throughout the UK, not just in Wales. This is something I think the Minister also mentioned in her response to recommendation 8, regarding the quality assurance of building works. I would be interested to see if the Minister would be willing to expand in her response, perhaps in writing or directly today, to highlight the conversations officials are having with UK Government and the industry to get these training opportunities in place.

I am disappointed that recommendation 6 has only been accepted in principle. I think the joint competent authority model was consistently backed in evidence. The model looks at the whole life cycle of a building and involves local authorities, building control, fire and rescue and the Health and Safety Executive to oversee the management of safety, and I think the key movement there was to look at buildings in their whole life cycle. 

So, I would appreciate a full response, if possible, at least of the direction of travel the Minister will now be going in, the speed she'll carry out the recommendations, and then also further information on the ones that have only been accepted in principle. I think this will go a long way to ensure that those who live in high-rise buildings can have a secure home and have the security and peace of mind that they deserve. Thank you very much.