Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 3:10 pm on 23 September 2020.
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?