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Welsh government completes work on 16% of properties in Building Safety Programme
Work to improve the fire safety of potentially at-risk residential buildings has been completed on 64 social housing buildings and three in the private sector, the Welsh government has said.
There are currently 407 buildings in the Welsh Building Safety Programme, of which 238 are of a private tenure and 169 are social housing.
In a building safety update, the government said work had started on 103 buildings, plans were in development for a further 151 and seven buildings did not require any fire safety remediation.
Work is also under way to identify remediation needs on the other 79 buildings.
The Welsh government has come under criticism for the pace of remediation. Just last week, Senedd member Janet Finch-Saunders described the progress after seven years as “unacceptable”.
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However, all 12 large developers are now in contract with the Welsh government to remediate their buildings, after Watkin Jones signed the legally binding contract to remediate buildings over 11 metres in height with life-critical fire safety issues.
In March, former housing minister Julie James criticised Watkin Jones for the delay in signing the contract.
The building safety reform team is also continuing to develop the policy for the proposed Building Safety (Wales) Bill, which is set to be introduced in 2025.
The new regime will apply to all multi-occupied residential buildings, not just those 18 metres and over.
Jayne Bryant, the cabinet secretary for housing, local government and planning, said in a statement: “Whilst development of the bill is advanced, we will be taking the time to reflect on the recommendations to identify where we may wish to revise our policy.”
“The next stage of the new building control regime will look to introduce greater scrutiny and new duty holder responsibilities,” Ms Bryant said.
The government announced a consultation on the second phase of the new building control regime in Wales, due to be launched in late 2024.
“An area of current focus is the challenges faced by local authorities in their role as the regulator of the new regime. We will be working closely with local authorities to consider the skills, experience and qualifications required to fulfil their new functions,” the government said.
The consultation will cover dutyholder roles, including contractor, client and designer; gateways in the build process; the ‘golden thread’ of information; and mandatory occurrence reporting.
Fresh guidance for fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats is currently being developed.
The Welsh government said it is also planning the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, with a consultation to be announced in due course.
The legislation was included in the King’s Speech at the state opening of parliament on 17 July and will require much greater transparency over leaseholders’ service charges and administration fees.
A senior figure in the Welsh government recently acknowledged that it needs additional budget to deliver on its target of 20,000 low-carbon social homes or it risks falling short.
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