Written Statement: Building Safety

Today the Building Safety (Wales) Bill and its Explanatory Memorandum have been laid before the Senedd.

The lessons stemming from the Grenfell Tower tragedy included the critical importance of ensuring that safety is paramount throughout all aspects of a building’s lifecycle. As one of our Programme for Government commitments, the Bill aims to improve building safety in Wales through the introduction of a new building safety regime covering the occupation and ongoing management of multi-occupied residential buildings. 

The Bill builds on the 2021 Safer Buildings in Wales White Paper.  It has been informed by extensive stakeholder engagement and is a key element of the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Hackitt Review, and the work of the Welsh Government’s Building Safety Expert Group.

The three key principles of the Bill are safety, accountability and resident voice. The Bill will require fire and structural risks to be assessed and managed whilst buildings are in occupation, for the benefit of residents and others, with a robust enforcement regime to back that up. It will establish clear lines of responsibility in multi-occupied residential buildings, by creating new roles and responsibilities for those that own and manage these buildings. The Bill will also empower residents and give them a stronger voice in matters that affect their home.

In summary, the Bill will establish a regime that will:

• identify those on whom statutory duties under the Bill are to be placed.
• require the registration of certain regulated buildings i.e. those at least 11 metres in height or which have at least 5 storeys with a building safety authority.
• confer new functions on the building safety authority, which are each of the local authorities in Wales.
• confer new functions on the fire safety authority in Wales, which are each fire and rescue authority for an area in Wales or a fire inspector (with regards regulation of Crown buildings).
• create duties to assess and manage fire safety risks in all in-scope buildings.
• create duties to assess and manage structural safety risks in in-scope buildings that are at least 11 metres high or which have at least 5 storeys.
• put in place new rights for residents and place duties on them in respect of all in-scope buildings.
• put in place a new enforcement regime to enable action to be taken if the new duties are not met.

I look forward to scrutiny of the Bill by Members, and to continuing to hear the views of stakeholders, delivery partners, and the public during the legislative process. 

Today, I am also pleased to publish the Welsh Government’s response to the Phase 2 recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. 

The Phase 2 report was published in September 2024. This comprehensive report provided a detailed examination of the causes and circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Since then, we have worked closely with other UK governments to ensure alignment. 

These are important milestones on our journey to ensuring the highest standards of building safety for residents in Wales.