1. Will the First Minister fast-track legislation on building safety in Wales? OQ58574

Llywydd, the reform of building safety legislation has already started through the Welsh clauses in the Building Safety Act 2022. Consultation is currently taking place on further legislative changes, and primary legislation in this field is planned for this Senedd term.

Thank you. I recently met with the Welsh Cladiators, and they are very much in despair at what they consider to be a lack of progress made in Wales. Of course, First Minister, you'll know that there are approximately 163 buildings across Wales where residents are still living in fear. Now, I appreciate £375 million has been made available to tackle some building safety aspects, but some leasehold management companies are currently liable to pay for these works. Now, apparently, this is a direct contradiction to the Welsh Government policy. Now, in April, the UK Government Building Safety Act received Royal Assent, and, for example, section 122 and Schedule 8 contain protections for tenants in respect of costs connected with relevant defects and impose liabilities on landlords. Such protections of leaseholders are not available in Wales because we have not passed the building safety (Wales) Bill. So, will you allow leaseholders the same protections—obviously, when any legislation comes forward—as they have in England, by replicating sections 116 to 125 of the Building Safety Act? Thank you.

I thank the Member for that question. She will know that the Building Safety Act 2020 does already contain several provisions to add to the protection of leaseholders here in Wales. So, we were able to secure those additional protections through the 2022 Act. The UK Government brought forward a whole series of very late amendments to the Act—to the Bill, as it was then—which we were not able to take advantage of, despite very significant efforts by the Minister involved to get Welsh powers in those additional areas. It does mean that, when our own legislation comes forward, we will look to make sure that we have in place that future system that we need for building safety here in Wales.

It's important, Llywydd, to separate two issues. There are things that we are doing in the here and now for people who are already affected in those high-rise buildings. Janet Finch-Saunders was quite right, Llywydd, to point to the £275 million set aside to help people in those circumstances. Members here will know that we had asked for expressions of interest for people who wanted the surveys to be carried out so we could identify the best way in which that help could be provided. There were 261 expressions of interest, and 163 of those require more intensive surveys in order to identify where the faults lie. I'm pleased to be able to say that we expect all urgent surveys now to be completed within the next two weeks, provided we have access to those buildings. And one of the reasons why there have been delays in getting some of those additional, more intrusive surveys completed is because we have experienced difficulties in allowing surveyors to get access to the buildings in order for that work to be carried out. We do expect in all urgent cases that that can be resolved within the next two weeks, and then we will move on to complete the surveys in those buildings where the issues are currently regarded as less severe. And then, in the legislation that we will bring in front of the Senedd, we will create a future regime with clear lines of accountability, stronger and more coherent regulation, and an enforcement and sanctions regime that make sure that, in future, those who are responsible for the problem also bear the costs of putting things right.

First Minister, this Senedd has the capacity to pass emergency legislation and legislation passed quickly. Now, an example of emergency legislation was the Agricultural Sector (Wales) Act 2014, and emergency procedures for the single-use plastic Bill. The argument for the use of the legislative consent motion process for buildings safety was that it would be quicker than legislating here in the Senedd. However, more than five and a half years since Grenfell, many people, living just a stone's throw from this building, are still living in fear in their homes. Why doesn't this Government, therefore, use the processes that the Senedd has to bring this nightmare to an end for thousands upon thousands of people? 

Llywydd, it is important, as I explained, to keep the two issues separate. When we're talking about legislation, we're not talking about what we are doing for people in the current situation; that is responded to through the funding that we have allocated and put on the table and the system that is currently ongoing. That doesn't depend on a change to the law. We are changing the legislation for the future, to create a new system to help people to avoid the problems that some people are currently facing. We have drawn down powers, as I said. I know that Plaid Cymru opposes every time we do that. So we have drawn down powers to Wales, when we had an opportunity to do that. We are going to legislate during this term, and, in the meantime, for those people who are suffering today, because of the problems that have arisen already, we are dealing with those issues with the funding and with the work that is currently being done.