Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:43 pm on 16 September 2020.
Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. It's been a long day, I think it's fair to say, but we do end on a very important subject and I introduce this discussion on the need for a fire safety fund in Wales. I would like to give some of my time to Mike Hedges and Jenny Rathbone.
Llywydd, since the appalling tragedy of Grenfell Tower, we've become more aware of the failure of external cladding systems—aluminium composite material and other systems. Also, issues relating to the very integrity of the internal fire safety schemes in some high-rise buildings have also become starkly apparent. This has meant that those living in multistorey apartment buildings are at a much higher risk than was previously realised by many policy makers and I think this is a key point. Many policy makers and those who were scrutinising policy did not pick this up.
Before I set out the need for a fire safety fund, I want to quote the concerns of some of my constituents who are leaseholders facing the prospect of massive capital cost to make safe buildings that had recently been passed as safe by the building regulatory system. And these quotes—there are five—come from residents of the Celestia development and Victoria Wharf. We can practically see those developments—well, in fact, we can if we look carefully—from this Senedd building.
My first quote: 'As an NHS employee under substantial stress in the current climate, the long, ongoing issues with fire safety and accountability are causing a great deal of extra stress at home'.