Contributing to a Senedd debate on a Member’s Legislative Proposal which underlined the the need for a Bill to ensure the safety of cladding on buildings in Wales, the Welsh Conservative spokesperson for housing and Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has lent her support to proposals to ensure that the cost burden of correcting the issue does not fall on leaseholders.
Addressing her contribution outside the Siambr, Janet said:
“How can it be the case that, four years on from the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, whilst announcing that the Welsh Government will fund fire safety surveys for multi-occupied buildings over 11 metres, the Minister for Climate Change could not state exactly how many buildings are affected and to what extent?
“Such information is key to putting an effective strategy in place and so that we can recognise the costs required to implement change. Indeed, I welcome the fact that there is cross-party consensus on the need to ensure that the financial burden does not fall on the residents.
“This legislative proposal is a vital opportunity through which Wales could legislate to ensure that the burden to make sure that safe cladding is available falls with the developer rather than leaseholder.
“It could also be a means through which to further explore the proposal of a buyout scheme to support impacted leaseholders and go further to address safety issues such as compartmentation.”
In concluding her supportive speech, Janet suggested that this work could be -incorporated into ongoing work on Building Safety White Paper, which closed its consultation on 12 April 2021 and is pending review.
ENDS
Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS/AS
