4. Will the Minister make a statement on any consequential funding the Welsh Government has received as a result of the UK Government's remediation of non-aluminium cladding material buildings fund? OQ55537

As set out in my letter of 24 April to the Finance Committee, the Welsh Government received consequentials of £58 million capital and £1.2 million revenue as a result of the UK Government's building safety fund announced in March.

Thank you. Thousands of people in Wales live in flats that are at risk of fire. The properties are worthless. There is a Welsh Grenfell waiting to happen. I visited Victoria Wharf and shot a video showing the incredible toll this is having on residents, and 750,000 people have viewed the video, and saw and heard residents say that they wrote to you and the First Minister and, I quote, they've heard not a word back. They did get a response from Lynda Thorne, the cabinet member for housing in Cardiff, saying, and I quote again:

'The problem is that members of the Welsh Government are up for election in May next year, and so although' the housing Minister

'is committed, everything depends on the results of those elections.'

It's shameless that you seem to be trying to blackmail people into voting Labour instead of addressing the very serious problems. The Conservatives in London have introduced a £1 billion fund to start fixing the problems in England, but a civil servant in Wales has stated:

'While the Welsh Government will receive some consequential funding, it is for Welsh Ministers to decide how this money will be spent in Wales.'

So, have you actually decided now, and can the thousands of people—thousands—living in unsafe flats that are worth nothing expect some kind of Government help and Government action, and a response, whether there's an election or not?

Well, what's shameless, Llywydd, is that performance there, I have to say. You will have heard from the Minister for Housing and Local Government just last Wednesday that the Welsh Government is committed to exploring ways forward. We recently published our position statement, and that proposes a new building safety regime that puts the safety and well-being of residents at its heart to ensure that people feel safe in their homes regardless of tenure, and that the ethos applies throughout the design, construction and occupation of those affected buildings. Those reforms will go much further than just making improvements to high-rise buildings; this is about making sure that all residents in Wales are safe.

In terms of that piece of correspondence, clearly it would have had a response from the Minister for Housing and Local Government's department—if it hasn't arrived yet, I'm sure it will be on the way shortly—because obviously the Minister for housing is the appropriate person to address that issue. In the case of Victoria Wharf in Cardiff Bay, I do know that officials are due to meet with the chair of the residents' association shortly to discuss this issue further.

Minister, this is one of the most significant consequentials that the Welsh Government has received in the fifth Senedd, and whilst I can accept that you may not have needed the whole £58 million, because we have a different pattern to England, a substantial amount of that is required. As you dither and, frankly, deflect the concerns of the leaseholders into some sort of long-term plan to improve the system—which I agree with, incidentally—we have an immediate problem now. Fire insurance has gone up tenfold in some of these places, so the tenants are facing a £1,000 bill for their contribution to that aspect of the service charge. It's astonishing. And then the capital costs they face can go from anything from £10,000 upwards towards £40,000, and there is a fire enforcement order imminent. They need help now, you've been given the money, you should pass it on in an appropriate scheme now.

Okay. So, these are serious issues, and I will treat them with the seriousness that they deserve. And, as I said, the Minister's officials will shortly be meeting with the chair of the residents' association to discuss these issues in more depth, as the Minister who is responsible for policy in this area.

In terms of Welsh Government funding, the Member will be aware that, although we received additional capital in the UK Government's March budget, it didn't take account of the £100 million capital that the UK Government took out of our budget, and £100 million of financial transaction capital that the UK Government took out of our budget, right at the end of the financial year. So, I don't think that we can take consequentials quite in such simple terms.