- 26/06/2017
- Posted by: Mike Hedges MS
- Category: Uncategorized
Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant has announced he is setting up an expert group to examine all of the lessons coming out of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and their application to Wales.
MIKE HEDGES SAID… ‘I welcome this initiative from Welsh Government to clarify fire safety in Tower Blocks in Wales. I also welcome the work undertaken by Swansea Council to reassure residents of Tower Blocks in Swansea that cladding of the type used in Grenfell House Tower Block in London has NOT been used in recent tower block refurbishments in Swansea. Residents are rightly concerned following this terrible incident and I commend Swansea Council Housing Dept and Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Andrea Lewis for their swift response to residents’ concerns.’
The Cabinet Secretary made the announcement during an update to Assembly Members on the steps being taken in Wales following the Grenfell Tower fire.
The group will include representatives from the social housing and fire sectors and will be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.
A first round of urgent discussions with all residential social landlords in Wales has been completed. Social landlords have informed the Welsh Government that none of the 36 blocks of flats of seven or more storeys in Wales appear to have been fitted with the type of cladding used in the Grenfell Tower.
Seven blocks in Wales have been retro-fitted with sprinklers. Any new or converted blocks developed in Wales are required to include sprinklers under the changes introduced as part of the Welsh Government’s Domestic Fire Safety Measure (Wales) 2011, which was introduced by Labour AM Ann Jones. The requirements were introduced for flats and houses on 1 January 2016.
The expert group will also consider how prepared Wales would be to deal with an incident such as Grenfell should it occur.
