In my preparation for my remarks today, I was able to speak with a property management company that has quite a number of properties affected by cladding issues in England and in Wales. And though you might not expect this from me, I want to say that they had extremely positive feedback on the application process of the building and safety fund in Wales, and were happy that things were now progressing, and indeed progressing much faster in Wales than in England. Obviously, this is just anecdotal and just the experience of one person in one management company, who is not a leaseholder themselves. But I felt the need to highlight that someone, somewhere, does at least feel that you have done an agreeable job so far in dealing with the complexity of this issue.

However, while it is nice to receive positive feedback, I would like to reiterate, in the strongest possible terms, that there is still a long way to go, and leaseholders are still facing extraordinary circumstances with regard to some properties. As the Minister has previously recognised, unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are caught up in this cladding issue because they cannot sell their properties or remortgage them, which has meant that they are detrimentally exposed to higher interest rates, and they cannot move to larger homes to support a growing family, or move to access better employment opportunities.

Moreover, research has shown that leaseholders are now being exposed to considerably higher service costs, in part due to the increase in insurance and maintenance costs, which in some instances has increased by as much as 600 per cent. This, along with an additional and unprecedented rise in energy bills, means that owning these properties is likely to become unaffordable for many people. And I believe, Minister, that this Government should brace itself, as many leaseholders will likely face repossession as a result. Minister, we must also take into account that many people are still living in buildings that have unsafe cladding. Until these issues are rectified, residents still face the prospect of another catastrophe such as Grenfell, which we all hope and pray will never, ever happen again. Where we are today is a far cry away from when these properties were bought, in good faith, when people were expecting that they would have an affordable and safe place to live. It is disappointing that the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that nine out of 10 affected leaseholders have reported a deterioration in their mental health because of excessive worry and anxiety, with 23 per cent considering self-harm or suicide, and 32 per cent reporting an increase in their alcohol consumption.

The truth is, Minister, that while this Government is responding, and this is welcomed, time is running out for people, and the help identified is going to be, quite frankly, too late for many of them, who not only face the immediate effects of repossession but who will likely face detrimental repercussions for many years to come. Minister, there are thousands of people in Wales who are bearing the brunt of a situation that was not of their making. Therefore, I encourage this Government, with the utmost urgency, to keep the pressure on to remedy this situation as soon as possible, and agree to our motion. Thank you.