English: Thank you very much for the opportunity to discuss the important issue of building safety in Wales. As many Members have already mentioned, building safety forms part of the co-operation agreement. Today, Llywydd, the Tories want to focus on sections 116 to 125, and I'm very pleased, Llywydd, that they managed to correct their original error when they tabled the debate. We are, in fact, debating the correct sections today. So, just to be clear, sections 116 to 125 of the Building Safety Act 2022 offer leaseholders in England some protections in having to pay for or limit contributions to the remediation works being undertaken on their buildings. The sections also provide a course of action where leaseholders can take legal proceedings at their own cost against developers who are not prepared to step up to their responsibilities. The Tory narrative that, for Wales, we should look to England, is just tired. For something as important as the safety of our buildings, it is absolutely essential that we look at the appropriateness and the necessity of sections 116 to 125 in Wales. In making comparisons to the protections available to leaseholders in Wales, we must first understand the scale of the issue. To illustrate this, Llywydd, in England 12,500 residential buildings of 18m and over in height have been identified, compared to around 300 in Wales. The scale of developers operating in this space is also huge in comparison to Wales, with 49 developers currently negotiating formal legal documentation in England compared to 11 in Wales. On this basis, I can understand the complexity and difficulties being faced by our colleagues in England in bringing those responsible to the table. Janet was asking me who has come to the table and who hasn't; I can just recommend that she does actually read the written statements that we put out regularly in this regard. The situation here in Wales is different. Here in Wales, we have always taken the position that leaseholders and residents in medium and high-rise buildings should not have to pay for fire safety works that are not of their making, and I am as committed to this today as I have always been. This is not just cladding in Wales; this is all of the issues that pertain to fire safety. It's a very important distinction. This is not a limitation on what payments leaseholders should pay. It is a simple premise that leaseholders should not and will not pay for fire safety works that are the responsibility of the developer. I'm really proud of our approach in Wales to go further to address fire safety issues, taking the needs of the whole building into account, irrespective of whether cladding is present. The work to support leaseholders in significant financial difficulties through our leaseholder support scheme recognises the needs of individual households, and in particular, Joel, I recommend that you have a look at that scheme. We are currently reviewing the eligibility criteria for the scheme, and leaseholders who find themselves in the financial difficulties you outline will be eligible to have their leasehold bought out by the Government. I'm also proud of the approach that we've taken to working with developers. To date, this has resulted in 11 developers signing up to the Welsh Government's development pact. We are working with one more, as well. The developer's pact is a public commitment that developers will rectify fire safety issues in buildings of 11m and over - not 18m, 11m and over in height - that they have developed over the last 30 years. This provides assurance for leaseholders they will not have to pay for fire safety works they are not responsible for -
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn am y cyfle i drafod mater pwysig diogelwch adeiladau yng Nghymru. Fel y mae nifer o'r Aelodau eisoes wedi sôn, mae diogelwch adeiladau yn rhan o'r cytundeb cydweithio. Heddiw, Lywydd, mae'r Torïaid eisiau canolbwyntio ar adrannau 116 i 125, ac rwy'n falch iawn, Lywydd, eu bod wedi llwyddo i gywiro eu camgymeriad gwreiddiol wrth gyflwyno'r ddadl. Mewn gwirionedd, rydym yn trafod yr adrannau cywir heddiw. Felly, i fod yn glir, mae adrannau 116 i 125 o Ddeddf Diogelwch Adeiladau 2022 yn cynnig rhai amddiffyniadau i lesddeiliaid yn Lloegr rhag gorfod talu am waith adfer neu i leihau cyfraniadau tuag at y gwaith adfer a wneir ar eu hadeiladau. Mae'r adrannau hefyd yn darparu llwybr gweithredu lle gall lesddeiliaid ddwyn achos cyfreithiol ar eu cost eu hunain yn erbyn datblygwyr nad ydynt yn barod i ysgwyddo eu cyfrifoldebau. Mae naratif y Torïaid y dylem edrych ar Loegr er mwyn gwybod beth i'w wneud yng Nghymru yn dreuliedig. Ar gyfer rhywbeth mor bwysig â diogelwch ein hadeiladau, mae'n gwbl hanfodol ein bod yn edrych ar briodoldeb ac angenrheidrwydd adrannau 116 i 125 yng Nghymru. Wrth wneud cymariaethau â'r amddiffyniadau sydd ar gael i lesddeiliaid yng Nghymru, rhaid inni ddeall yn gyntaf beth yw maint y broblem. I ddangos hyn, Lywydd, yn Lloegr nodwyd bod 12,500 o adeiladau preswyl yn 18m ac uwch, o'i gymharu ag oddeutu 300 yng Nghymru. Mae maint y datblygwyr sy'n gweithredu yn y maes hefyd yn enfawr o'i gymharu â Chymru, gyda 49 o ddatblygwyr wrthi'n trafod dogfennau cyfreithiol ffurfiol yn Lloegr o'i gymharu ag 11 yng Nghymru. Ar sail hyn, gallaf ddeall y cymhlethdod a'r anawsterau a wynebir gan ein cymheiriaid yn Lloegr wrth iddynt ddod â'r rhai sy'n gyfrifol at y bwrdd. Roedd Janet yn gofyn imi pwy sydd wedi dod at y bwrdd a phwy sydd heb wneud hynny; gallaf argymell y dylai ddarllen y datganiadau ysgrifenedig a gyhoeddwn yn rheolaidd ar hyn. Mae'r sefyllfa yma yng Nghymru yn wahanol. Yma yng Nghymru, rydym bob amser wedi arddel y safbwynt na ddylai lesddeiliaid a phreswylwyr mewn adeiladau canolig ac uchel orfod talu am waith diogelwch tân nad ydynt yn gyfrifol amdano, ac rwyf mor ymrwymedig i hyn heddiw ag y bûm erioed. Nid cladin yn unig yw hyn yng Nghymru; mae'n cynnwys yr holl faterion sy'n ymwneud â diogelwch tân. Mae'n wahaniaeth pwysig iawn. Nid yw'n gyfyngiad ar ba daliadau y dylai lesddeiliaid eu talu. Mae'n gynsail syml na ddylai lesddeiliaid ac na fydd lesddeiliaid yn talu am waith diogelwch tân sy'n gyfrifoldeb y datblygwr. Rwy'n falch iawn o'n dull o weithredu yng Nghymru i fynd ymhellach i fynd i'r afael â materion diogelwch tân, gan ystyried anghenion yr holl adeilad, ni waeth a oes cladin yn bresennol ai peidio. Mae'r gwaith o gefnogi lesddeiliaid mewn trafferthion ariannol sylweddol drwy ein cynllun cefnogi lesddeiliaid yn cydnabod anghenion aelwydydd unigol, ac rwy'n argymell yn benodol, Joel, y dylech edrych ar y cynllun hwnnw. Ar hyn o bryd rydym yn adolygu'r meini prawf cymhwysedd ar gyfer y cynllun, a bydd lesddeiliaid sy'n wynebu'r trafferthion ariannol a ddisgrifiwyd gennych yn gymwys i gael eu lesddaliad wedi'i brynu gan y Llywodraeth. Rwyf hefyd yn falch o'r dull a fabwysiadwyd gennym o weithio gyda datblygwyr. Hyd yma, mae wedi golygu bod 11 o ddatblygwyr wedi ymrwymo i gytundeb datblygu Llywodraeth Cymru. Rydym yn gweithio gydag un arall hefyd. Mae cytundeb y datblygwr yn ymrwymiad cyhoeddus y bydd datblygwyr yn cywiro materion diogelwch tân mewn adeiladau 11m ac uwch - nid 18m, 11m ac uwch o uchder - a ddatblygwyd ganddynt dros y 30 mlynedd diwethaf. Mae hyn yn rhoi sicrwydd i lesddeiliaid na fydd rhaid iddynt dalu am waith diogelwch tân nad ydynt yn gyfrifol amdano -