Standards to be driven up by council in response to Grenfell Inquiry report
The Council has pledged to raise professional standards and address the power imbalance between residents and the local authority in the wake of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s phase two report. The Council has accepted the Inquiry’s findings, which highlighted serious failings in its Building Control department.
The report confirmed that the department had failed in its statutory duty to ensure that the design and standards of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment met building regulations. It also pointed to significant shortcomings in the Council’s immediate response to the tragedy, as well as issues in leadership, governance, and its relationship with residents.
In response to the Inquiry’s conclusions, the Council has been engaging with bereaved families, survivors, and residents since September. Public meetings, drop-in sessions, and written feedback have allowed the community to voice their concerns on how the Council should move forward. The meetings were independently facilitated by the Right Reverend James Jones KBE.
As part of its response, the Council outlined several key actions aimed at improving its processes and restoring trust with residents. These include commissioning a review of the Council’s internal culture, focusing on issues such as discrimination and the treatment of residents. Additionally, the Council is launching a comprehensive review of its complaints process, establishing an independent advisory panel made up of bereaved families, survivors, residents, and experts in social housing, safety, customer service, and organisational change.
The Council is also extending its ban on contractors implicated in the Grenfell Inquiry and setting up a new corporate resident procurement panel to give residents a real say in selecting and managing contracts. Staff in the Building Control department will receive training to achieve professional accreditation, while resilience and emergency response training will be incorporated into senior officers’ job descriptions.
Since 2017, the Council has brought housing services back in-house, enhanced its resilience team, prioritised fire safety standards within a £374m capital programme, and implemented Phase 1 recommendations from the Inquiry. These steps are part of a broader effort to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.
Image: ChiralJon
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