Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 18 October 2022.
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.