Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:03 pm on 14 December 2021.
Diolch, Llywydd, and thank you, Minister, for your statement. Our committee has agreed that building safety is a key priority over this Senedd term. We have already considered the LCM on the building safety Bill and will be reporting on that shortly, and we also expect to be scrutinising a Welsh Government Bill, of course, during this Senedd term. Our predecessor committee, which I also chaired, responded to the Welsh Government's consultation on the 'Safer Buildings in Wales' White Paper at the end of the fifth Senedd. So, I very much welcome the progress that you've set before us today, Minister, and the publication of the responses to the White Paper. It is vital that the issues raised in the responses are addressed going forward. I wonder if you could say a little bit more, Minister, about the Senedd building safety Bill, perhaps including some idea of the timetable that will be involved. And one thing we're very aware of as a committee is that, obviously, people do feel very strongly that they should be able to feel safe in their own homes, and that's of utmost importance to them. And that's why building safety has been such an urgent priority for all of us, including the committee, since the Grenfell tragedy. We are still as a committee receiving correspondence from residents frustrated by the slow progress in completing the remedial work and paying for that work.
You've mentioned working with residents and leaseholders. Minister, I wonder if you could just say a little bit more about that, because that engagement with residents and other stakeholders is absolutely key, and it's their input that will be crucial in ensuring that future measures do meet their needs. So, if you could say a little bit more about the engagement work that Welsh Government has undertaken and how their views will actually feed into future policy development, Minister, I would be grateful. And just finally, getting back to the developers, I know that you hosted a round-table event in the autumn, and as we touched upon already, you expressed a willingness, I think, to make public those developers that were not willing to join the discussion. I wonder if you could again say a little bit more about that, and what will be in the public realm. Diolch yn fawr.