£6.3m expenses for Grenfell Tower victims

HOTEL BILLS and expenses resulting from the Grenfell Tower fire have so far cost the local council more than £6.3m, figures reveal.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has paid out more than £4.2m on emergency accommodation for hundreds of survivors since June 14, data obtained by the Press Association shows.

The majority of those left destitute by the deadly blaze remain in hotels 10 weeks later. Figures acquired under the Freedom of Information Act show the council spent £4,259,172 on rooms in 49 hotels between the night of the fire and August 21.

Other costs include £98,730 on payments to survivors to cover their basic needs, £15,034 on travel and £415,084 on site work at the gutted tower.

Labour’s Dent Coad claimed the sum could have instead been used to buy houses for survivors.

She said: “First off we have to say that the survivors and evacuees have had such a terrible time we shouldn’t be counting the cost of that – that must be the first thing.

“But secondly, the council for many years has been involved in ‘spend to save’ exercises, which has always gone wrong. This looks more like ‘save to spend’.

“The small amount that they saved on the cladding system, if indeed they did, has cost lives and so far nearly £7m and it will cost a lot more.”

Council leader Elizabeth Campbell said on Wednesday a total of £30m had been earmarked from the council’s reserves for the rehousing process.

A further £76m was later made available to buy homes from private social housing providers and the marketplace, as well as to help leaseholders secure new properties.