In the first instance, we will secure immediate improvements in the here and now. In advance of more far-reaching reform, we will focus on generating culture change and making our existing processes work more effectively to ensure resident safety. We will bring forward amendments to existing legislation in support of this where required. I've already indicated that I aim to table amendments to the building regulations in order to ban the use of combustible cladding materials by the end of the summer. I'm also keen, as I stated last month, to promote the retrofitting of sprinklers. We know that such systems are among the most effective measures in preventing deaths and injuries from fire. Evidence also suggests that their presence dramatically reduces the cost and disruption caused by fire. So, there's not only a moral imperative for building owners to fit sprinklers, but a sound commercial case.

We'll be ensuring that this message is heard loud and clear in the coming months. To take account of developments in the market, we will issue new guidance on mist systems. We will also re-launch the ‘Householders Guide to Fire Sprinklers’, originally published in 2015, in the autumn. In collaboration with the fire and rescue service, we will take forward a targeted campaign to build awareness of this guidance and to encourage the retrofitting of sprinklers in private sector high-rise buildings. At the same time, we will also work with registered social landlords to build on the strong progress to date in retrofitting sprinklers in social sector high-rise blocks.

I will also bring forward amendments to existing legislation to make fire and rescue authorities statutory consultees in the planning process. This is an important step in managing changes in local levels of fire risk. As all significant planning applications raise issues such as access for fire appliances, our proposals will go much further than high-rise buildings, and I aim to consult on the detail later this year. This ambitious change will embed the principle of regulatory collaboration between local authorities and the fire and rescue service, which will be a hallmark of the new system in Wales.

In addition to these changes, we will develop an ambitious package of future regulatory reform. My officials are establishing two work streams, which will involve members of the building safety expert group as well as other practitioners from Wales and further afield. One work stream will consider the design and construction phase. A key task facing this work stream will be to refine and trial an entirely new building control process for higher risk buildings. This will build on the principles outlined in the expert group’s road map. This includes the need for a more robust inspection regime, stop points, and the central involvement of the fire and rescue service at key stages. The work stream will also feed into comprehensive legislative proposals to define duty holder roles and responsibilities to remedy the lack of clear accountability for safety outcomes in the current system. These are likely to reflect the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which have transformed health and safety in the construction industry.

The other work stream will focus on the management and regulation of fire safety in higher risk buildings when they are occupied. This work stream will, again, draw up clear roles for duty holders. It would also consider the shape of legislation to replace the current fire safety Order, which was designed mostly for workplaces and does not adequately protect private dwellings. Given that this will require primary legislation, it is unlikely that we will be able to complete this work during the current Assembly term. Where possible, however, we will use our existing powers to make regulations under the Order and issue guidance as interim measures. One of the strengths of the Welsh Government’s approach to date has been our ability to link together different phases of the building life cycle. This is reflected in our early commitment to amend or replace the fire safety Order as a key element of our reform package.

The occupation phase work stream will also consider how to enhance the role of residents by ensuring that their voices are heard and that they are provided with clear information about fire safety in their building. I'm pleased that the Welsh Government is taking forward this work with Community Housing Cymru in partnership with their member housing associations. The Welsh Government will work closely with stakeholders in both the social and private sectors to ensure that the best practice identified is embedded as widely as possible.

We will also address issues of overarching significance that cut across the building life cycle. A critical aspect of the Welsh Government’s initial stage of work will be to define the range of buildings in scope of reform. The expert group have made it clear that the 30m height threshold proposed by Dame Judith Hackitt in her review is not exacting enough in the Welsh context. I agree that we can and should go further in bringing additional buildings within scope. For this reason, we will consider the forthcoming proposals of the National Fire Chiefs Council in relation to a building risk matrix. We will also commission our own research into the full range of implications of each of the proposed options put forward by the expert group in its road map. These were the adoption of height thresholds of either of 18m or 11m, as well as the potential inclusion of additional buildings on the basis of risk factors other than height.

It is important that we make a considered decision that balances proportionality with the need to ensure resident safety. We are taking forward this work at pace and I will make a definitive announcement on a proposal for buildings in scope in the autumn. I am clear, however, that the threshold will be no higher than 18m. We will consult on the question of buildings in scope, alongside a wide range of other detailed proposals for reform, in the summer of 2020. This will be with a view to legislation in the next Assembly term.

The proposed legislation will be ambitious and far reaching. It will set out unambiguous roles and responsibilities for duty holders across the building life cycle. It will mandate robust fire safety checks. It will embed a new system of oversight and enforcement to reverse the race to the bottom and drive improved safety outcomes that will apply during design, construction, renovation and ongoing building occupation.

As I have said before, it is essential that we balance an appropriate sense of urgency with the need to get this complex and enduring package of reform absolutely right. The Welsh Government's phased approach to implementation will ensure that we strike the right balance. We will not compromise on effective delivery for the sake of quick fixes that we later find have failed to bring about the change required. In their road map, the building safety expert group set out a clear case for both interim measures to be turned around at pace and for ambitious regulatory reform in the longer term. This is exactly the approach that the Welsh Government will take in order to improve the safety of higher risk residential buildings and those who live in them. Diolch.