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Welcome to our Building Safety newsletter - designed to keep you regularly informed on the progress of the Building Safety Programme and fire safety matters affecting the people of Wales.
You can also follow us on X / Twitter using @WGCommunities
 On 26 February I issued a written response to the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report. Whilst the Inquiry’s recommendations are formally addressed to the UK Government and English bodies like the London Fire Brigade, many of its key recommendations have equal resonance to us here in Wales. We accept the Inquiry’s findings and stand ready to work with the UK Government, and the Governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland, to implement the recommended reforms.
To access my written statement in full, please see the link below:
Written Statement: Response to the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report (26 February 2025) | GOV.WALES
I was pleased to attend another meeting of the Building Safety Strategic Stakeholder Group in February. I will continue to attend meetings on a regular basis to discuss priorities and to hear the views of members.
Building Safety is a priority for this Government, and we will continue to drive forward our remediation and reform programmes at pace.
Working with the Welsh Cladiators, we are pleased to announce the establishment of the Leaseholder and Resident Group.
This Group will provide leaseholders and residents with an opportunity to share their experiences, seek support and inform national policy regarding building safety in Wales.
The first meeting will be held on 29 April 2025.
Production 78 will be facilitating the group on behalf of the Welsh Government. They bring a wealth of experience on running and managing events.
If you would like to take part and attend the first meeting of the Leaseholder and Resident Group, please book using the link below:
https://forms.office.com/e/5cNyy330Ka
Alternatively, you can scan the QR code here:
Leaseholder Support Scheme
In response to some of the difficulties leaseholders have been faced with, the Welsh Government launched the Leaseholder Support Scheme. The scheme was designed to help those in significant financial need as a direct result of fire safety issues affecting their property. Since the scheme opened in June 2022, it has supported 12 leaseholders. This lower than expected uptake is to be welcomed. We expect it has been supported by the introduction of the valuation guidance by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and all buildings in Wales over 11 metres now have a route to remediation. As such, and as previously announced the service will not extend beyond June 2025. Therefore, all new applications for support must be submitted before this deadline. We would urge leaseholders to check their eligibility for support at:
Leaseholder Support Scheme | GOV.WALES.
Tri Fire update
There has recently been media coverage and allegations made against Tri Fire and Adam Kiziak, further to his suspension by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE). We can confirm that Tri Fire has not been used by the Welsh Government and has never been on an approved list in Wales to undertake surveys.
If we identify buildings in the programme where investigations or surveys have been conducted by Tri Fire, these will be peer reviewed by a Welsh Government appointed contractor as part of our standard process.
Please be assured no buildings within our programme have been or will be signed off as complete using Tri Fire assessments.
Remediation Programme Data
There are currently 448 buildings in the Welsh Building Safety Programme. Of these buildings, 269 are private tenure buildings and 179 social buildings. The overall number of social buildings has reduced slightly this quarter as we verify and check eligibility for the programme. This verification has resulted in a reduction in the total number of buildings completed. This does not mean less buildings have been completed; however, duplicates have been removed.
Of the 448 buildings, 42% are either complete or works are underway, 50% of buildings are in the planning stages, with the remaining 8% either not requiring works, or remediation needs are yet to be identified.
These figures are subject to change as further buildings are identified, and more information is gathered.
 Developer Performance
We are pleased to be able to provide an update on the progress being made by larger developers who have signed the contract with Welsh Government and have committed to undertake the fire safety works they are responsible for.
As a result of the merger between Barratt and Redrow, reporting of performance has been combined, and going forwards the developer will be known and reported as BarrattRedrow.
The table below gives the total number of buildings for each developer.
Please note: Westmark has not signed the developer contract, however, does report to Welsh Government on progress in line with the contract requirements.
| Developer |
Total Number of Buildings |
| BarrattRedrow |
32 |
| Bellway |
22 |
| Crest Nicholson |
3 |
| Lovell |
5 |
| McCarthy Stone |
2 |
| Persimmon |
38 |
| Taylor Wimpey |
27 |
| Vistry and Countryside |
6 |
| Watkin Jones |
6 |
| Lendlease |
13 |
| WestMark |
2 |
The graph below shows the number of buildings at each of the various stages of progress for each developer. To ensure consistency of reporting for all buildings in the programme, the following descriptors are used when determining the stage of progress:
- Works completed: All necessary fire safety works have been completed
- Plans in Place – Works Started: Fire safety works have started and contractors are on site
- Plans in place – Works not Started: All required surveys are complete. Pre-construction activities underway such as detailed design, negotiating access licenses, tendering / negotiating contracts and planning permissions
- Plans in place – Awaiting surveys: The required surveys have been commissioned and/or scheduled, or they are complete and awaiting final reports
- No plans in place / Works not started: Building has been recognised as in scope for the programme, however no surveys or investigations have been undertaken to date – this may be due to lack of engagement for example
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Our Building Safety (Wales) Bill is on track for introduction in summer 2025. The Bill will establish a robust and coherent regulatory system, holding those responsible to account, ensuring accurate, up to date information is held and maintained for all in-scope, multi-occupied residential buildings.
In November 2024, we held workshops with local authorities to support the implementation of the Bill. Building on these workshops, we are developing a communications plan to raise awareness of the Bill and support all stakeholders, including residents, to take steps to prepare for the new regime.
Joint Inspection Team (JIT)
The Joint Inspection Team (JIT) continues to inspect buildings across Wales, with a programme of inspections agreed for the remainder of the year. We have commissioned Miller Research to undertake an evaluation of the JIT. This evaluation will support decision making around the future role of the JIT.
Further information on the JIT can be found on its website:
www.jit.wales; or www.jit.cymru, e-mail info@jit.wales
Several provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 have now come into force. This includes the removal of the ‘2-year rule’, which restricted access to leaseholders’ enfranchisement rights, as well as the expansion of qualifying criteria so that more mixed-use buildings can exercise the Right to Manage.
On 7 March, the Cabinet Secretary provided an update to the Senedd on implementation of the Act and future reforms. To access the statement in full, please see the link below:
Written Statement: Update on Leasehold Reform (7 March 2025) | GOV.WALES
A consultation has been published that covers a range of proposals for our next phase of implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022. The proposals cover topics such as:
- Dutyholder responsibilities for all building work,
- Golden Thread of higher-risk building information,
- Gateways Processes for a tighter building control regime for higher-risk building work,
- Compliance and Stop Notices that provide new enforcement powers for Local Authorities,
- Wider changes to building regulations.
We strongly recommend all interested parties read the consultation and provide a response, which will help inform the next important stage of reforming how building work is controlled in Wales.
The consultation and response form can be found here:
New building control regime for higher-risk buildings and wider changes to the building regulations in Wales | GOV.WALES
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