Tower disaster inquiry attacked for excluding social housing issues
THE GRENFELL Tower public inquiry has come under attack from politicians for failing to include the issue of social housing in its terms of reference.
The Prime Minister set out the scope of the probe following recommendations from Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the retired Court of Appeal judge leading it.
It will examine the actions of authorities before the blaze, including Kensington and Chelsea Council, and how the aftermath was handled, but stops short of scrutinising broader social concerns. Theresa May said the problem would not be “unanswered”, instead allocating Housing Minister Alok Sharma to review social housing.
Emma Dent Coad, the Labour MP who represents the west London neighbourhood, said the development was “precisely what we feared”. She said: “We were told ‘no stone would be unturned’ but instead are being presented with a technical assessment which will not get to the heart of the problem; what effects, if any, the lack of investment into social housing had on the refurbishment project.
“The Government has delegated this responsibility to an in-house team. We have no confidence whatever in the ability of Alok Sharma and a few politically compromised individuals to take on the task of answering this most important question.” ‘Speed up report’:
MAYOR OF London Sadiq Khan called on Sir Martin Moore-Bick to “do everything in his power to deliver the inquiry’s interim report as quickly as possible”.
Mr Khan told inquiry chairman Sir Martin that residents urgently need answers and more that lives are potentially at risk if “we do not act quickly to establish the facts”.
“We need to ensure such a tragedy can never happen again,” he said. “There are some key concerns not covered by these terms of reference.
“It is vital that the wider questions around social housing are answered if the community’s shattered confidence is to be restored, alongside an investigation into our ability to respond to emergencies and the fire risk from household appliances.
“If these are not to be addressed in the public inquiry, the Government must set out urgently how it will make sure these critical issues are fully addressed in a parallel process.”
The fire on June 14 spread quickly through the tower block and killed more than 80 people,
Mr Khan was speaking after the Grenfell Tower public came under attack from politicians for failing to include the issue of social housing in its terms of reference. The Prime Minister set out the scope of the probe following recommendations from Sir Martin, the retired Court of Appeal judge leading it.
It will examine the actions of authorities before the blaze, including Kensington and Chelsea Council, and how the aftermath was handled, but stops short of scrutinising broader social concerns. Mrs May said the problem would not be “unanswered”, instead allocating Housing Minister Alok Sharma to review social housing.
Emma Dent Coad, the Labour MP who represents the west London neighbourhood, said the development was “precisely what we feared”.
She said: “We were told ‘no stone would be unturned’ but instead are being presented with a technical assessment which will not get to the heart of the problem: What effects, if any, the lack of investment into social housing had on the refurbishment project.
“The Government has delegated this responsibility to an in-house team. We have no confidence whatever in the ability of Alok Sharma and a few politically compromised individuals to take on the task of answering this most important question.”
The MP also criticised the apparent speed of the announcement yesterday, coming less than two weeks since the public consultation closed, having received more than 550 submissions.