Will the Minister confirm when remediation funding from the Welsh building safety fund will be made available to leaseholders, and make a commitment to enacting critical leaseholder protections in Wales like those in the UK Building Safety Act 2022?
Our Welsh Building Safety Fund launched on the 30 September 2021, asking that Responsible Persons of buildings 11 metres and above submit an Expression of Interest. This is the starting point for accessing support from the Welsh Government.
The fund, in the first instance, will pay for survey work to understand any fire safety issues present and provide a comprehensive and consistent report for Responsible Owners of buildings. This will, in turn inform, the wider programme of remediation work needed to address fire safety issues identified in medium and high-rise buildings in Wales.
To date, we have received 261 expressions of interest. All 261 expressions of interest have had a digital survey completed, and our consultants have identified 163 buildings which require further intrusive surveys. These began in March 2022. We anticipate they will be completed in the autumn, subject to access to buildings being granted.
I have been clear I expect developers to step up to their responsibilities and address fire safety issues in buildings they have developed. As the surveys are taking place, I have been working with developers and the Home Builders Federation to secure signatures to the Welsh Government Developer’s Pact, which is a commitment that developers will remediate buildings of 11 metres and above, which they have developed over the last 30 years.
I am committed to supporting leaseholders and residents in Wales and continue to drive this programme of work forward to address building safety issues both in existing buildings and in new buildings developed in the future. I have repeatedly said that I do not expect leaseholders to pay to rectify fire safety issues that are not of their making. I am exploring all options available to me, including legislation, to ensure developers engage with the Welsh Government, Responsible Owners and leaseholders on this matter.
In addition to the survey work and work with developers, the Building Safety Act 2022 includes a number of provisions intended to add further protection for leaseholders in Wales:
- The significant extension of time periods within which action can be taken under the Defective Premises Act 1972.
- The provision of ‘anti-avoidance’ building liability clauses where developers have sought to limit liability through the creation of contractual arrangements such as special purpose vehicles.
- The provisions for a New Homes Ombudsman will apply to Wales.
We are now looking to introduce changes to the building control system and building regulations via the development of secondary legislation. This will include consultation with stakeholders and the public on the key matters
While we work with other governments where our policy objectives align, we have chosen to go further in some respects and take a different approach in other respects. This reflects our commitment to taking a holistic approach, our different policy landscape and the Welsh context.