2. Will the Minister provide an update on the building safety fund? OQ58400

Thank you. Our Welsh building safety fund is open for responsible persons to submit an expression of interest for residential buildings 11m or more. To date, 261 expressions of interest have been received and 163 require an intrusive survey. This survey work is ongoing and scheduled for completion early autumn.

Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. Now, you may be aware that, last month, there were two balcony fires in the Victoria Wharf development, not far from here, in Cardiff Bay. Taylor Wimpey, the developer of that development, said over two years ago that they would be willing to do the remediation work there, but it still has not started. Now, I'm on record as saying that I wanted a Welsh Bill with regard to building safety, but the Government disagreed. When will you enact the legal protections within the UK Government Building Safety Act 2022?

Thank you. As a Government, we were very concerned to hear of the recent fire you refer to at Victoria Wharf. I understand it may have been a result of the sun shining through an open balcony door and igniting some loose flakes of wood on a balcony and that led to the fire. I'm very relieved no one was hurt and the fire was put out quickly.

The Minister is continuing to work closely with UK Government colleagues and will be bringing forward the issue that you raise in the very near future. You'll be aware that we have our own Welsh building safety fund, which opened on 30 September last year, and it's good to see those expressions of interest that I referred to in the opening question. I think that's absolutely a starting point for accessing support, and I'm pleased to see that people have really grasped the importance of this.

Minister, the fact remains that delays to the implementation of the Welsh Government's building safety fund has meant that many residents and owners of flats across Wales have been put into precarious financial positions, been unable to sell or remortgage their properties because lenders outright refuse to lend money when EWS1 certificates are not available, and surveys have not been carried out. The situation has been made worse because no definitive timeline has been given and people have been left in limbo for years, not knowing if the situation will ever be resolved. Not only is this devastating for those who own and bought their properties in good faith, it has stagnated the property market to such an extent that many future flat owners may be put off from purchasing in Wales. The fact of the matter now is that it's destroying what was once a healthy property market. Minister, what assessment has this Government made of the impact of the delay in providing fire risk surveys and assessments, and of the impact that building safety passports has had on the property market in Wales? Thank you.

I don't recognise the scenario the Member describes; 163 buildings have been identified for intrusive survey work already. Whilst I appreciate that work was hoped to be completed by the end of the summer, as I say, it is extended into the autumn. That's largely due to the need to secure permission from responsible owners to access buildings. The Minister continues to work very closely with developers in Wales and with the Home Builders Federation in respect of the developers pact. I think that's a very important piece of work that will bring forward a lot of comfort to many of the people that you refer to. The contracts will be signed very shortly, and I know the Minister is down to meet with the developers next month, in early October. I think you need to look at the significant work we've done in relation to this. This is a very important piece of work that's a priority for this Government, and the work is ongoing.

May I extend my best wishes to the Minister for Climate Change, who I know can't be here today, and thank you for taking the questions? I just want to echo the concerns of my colleague Rhys ab Owen in relation to the fire that happened recently. A fire is a fire. However it started, the concerns were that it could have spread and we could have ended up in a terrible situation, as was Grenfell five years ago. There are many aspects to this and I just wanted to pick on one, if I may. Many homeowners have taken developers themselves to court. Those developers have told the Welsh Government that they will, of course, make good their properties and abide by the developer agreement. We know that people cannot afford to just sit and wait, both physically, in terms of their own safety, and emotionally as well, with the stress that they're under. We know that there are six developers, who have been named, who are yet to engage in the list that was published in July. I just wondered, in the interests of transparency, whether you can commit to publishing a list of which developers have agreed to sign that developer agreement, which have refused or nor engaged, and what the consequences could be. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you. I share your concerns about the fire in Victoria Wharf. I'm sure the Minister will certainly consider your request. Certainly, from the information I have here, I think we're awaiting confirmation from one more developer around medium or high-rise buildings. I know the Minister is aware of some instances—I think a number of instances—where the responsible person and the managing agents have engaged with consultants privately to undertake that survey work, and I know the Minister is looking at reimbursing survey costs and looking at retrospective funding. I think she's always made it very, very clear that leaseholders should not be made to pay for fire safety issues that are not of their making, and I know she has another meeting, as I said, planned with developers.