Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 14 June 2022.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. I welcome the statement made by the First Minister about an hour ago, saying that we should expect a statement on building safety before the end of the month—we need some clarity exactly when on that. It is disappointing that today's announcement was pulled. It's five years since the Grenfell tragedy. Seventy-two people tragically lost their lives and, of course, today our thoughts are with their loved ones. These people suffered and died because other selfish people cut corners and put their own greed before the well-being of others. This should never happen again. People continue to live with anxiety and fear today. There's more that both Governments can do, and we need to a sense of urgency in order to resolve this. Leaseholders today are already paying thousands of pounds extra for remediation works, on top of the service charges costs, which they shouldn't have to pay for. Often, this cost is transferred to the tenants. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with those selfish and devious developers and their companies. Those who refuse to take responsibility and pay for the works needed to correct these faults should be banned from any further developments here in Wales, and their directors should have their bank accounts frozen. Then they would realise how these innocent leaseholders and tenants feel. The fact that Michael Gove has gone ahead and secured an England-only developer pledge shows how little the UK Government cares for Wales as well. So, as part of the statement, will the Minister therefore provide us with an update on how the Government's discussion with the UK Government on this England-only approach is going, and can she give us the next steps that are planned to urgently resolve this issue?