The Government should introduce an independent national oversight
mechanism and not be ‘left marking its own homework' when
implementing the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower inquiry,
says the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government
(HCLG) Committee in a letter to Secretary of State published today (Wednesday).
A month ahead of the eighth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower
fire, the Committee expresses its hope that the Government will
introduce an independent mechanism in the upcoming ‘Hillsborough
Law and that this will apply to the implementation of the
recommendations of all public inquiries.
The Committee's letter to the Secretary of State (and to , Minister for Building Safety,
Fire and Local Growth) says that the introduction of an
independent mechanism will help reduce the risk of future
governments, ‘repeating the catastrophic mistakes which have
historically led to state-related deaths, from Hillsborough, to
the infected blood scandal, to the Grenfell Tower fire itself'.
Following a short inquiry on the Government's response to the
Grenfell Inquiry, the Committee has today shared a series of key
findings. The Committee's letter outlines recommendations to
Government on areas including engagement with Grenfell residents,
capacity in the building control sector, the work of the Building
Safety Regulator and delays in the sign off on the safety of
buildings, Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPS), the
Building Safety Levy, and on fire and rescue services.
, Chair of the
Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG)
Committee said: ““It's right that the Government have
accepted all the recommendations from a Phase 2 report that
outlined deep failings that led to the Grenfell disaster. But how
can the loved ones of the Grenfell victims be asked to trust the
Government to mark their own homework when they have spent nearly
eight years fighting for answers as to why people were denied the
most basic level of safety? That's why as a Committee we strongly
endorse calls for an independent mechanism to hold Government to
account on implementing the Phase 2 recommendations.
“Unfortunately, it's clear that there are still groups,
particularly those from minority ethnic backgrounds, who feel
that they have not been able to fully contribute to these
processes. Before making any future decisions as part of its
management of the Grenfell site, the Government must take steps
to address these issues, including by ensuring they have
up-to-date contact details of those affected by the fire and that
everyone on this list is contacted and their input sought.”
“The Grenfell fire highlighted the toxic stigma too often faced
by those living in social housing, where resident concerns were
cruelly dismissed, neglected and ignored. As a Committee, we are
determined to shine a light on this issue and to hold the
Government to account for their role in addressing the systematic
failings in building safety, product standards and testing, and
fire safety exposed by the tragedy at Grenfell. Never again must
people be left without such basic levels of safety in their own
home.”
In the letter to the Secretary of State, the HCLG Committee
express deep concern at the comments at the Committee's evidence
session from Andy Roe, Commissioner, London Fire Brigade,
regarding how fire-safe existing care homes are (which the
Commissioner said “keeps me awake at night.”). The Committee
question the wisdom of the decision not to mandate sprinklers in
existing care homes and calls on the Government to urgently
review the decision to mandate sprinkler installation in new care
homes, but not existing care homes.
ENDS
Further information
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee held two
evidence sessions for its short inquiry on the Government's
response to the Grenfell Inquiry recommendations (Phase 2). The
Committee also took the opportunity to explore progress on the
wider programme of work around building and fire safety and
remediation.
On Tuesday 1 April (transcript), the
Committee questioned , Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Local Growth and Building Safety, alongside MHCLG
officials, Ben Llewellyn, Interim Director General for Buildings,
Resilience and Fire, and Catherine Adams, Director of Building
Systems and Insight (Buildings, Resilience and Fire Group).
On Tuesday 18 March (transcript), the
Committee heard from a range of witnesses, including from the
Grenfell community, Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, the
London Fire Brigade, and from building safety and building
control representatives. Full witness list on Tuesday 18 March:
Edward Daffarn, Survivor and Spokesperson, Grenfell United;
Deborah Coles, Executive Director, INQUEST; Peter Apps,
Journalist and author, Show Me the Bodies; Karim Khalloufi,
Bereaved family member and spokesperson, The Grenfell Next of
Kin. Councillor Kim Taylor-Smith, Deputy Leader, Kensington and
Chelsea Borough Council; Andy Roe, Commissioner, London Fire
Brigade; Philip White, Director of Building Safety, Building
Safety Regulator; Dr Lorna Stimpson, Chief Executive, Local
Authority Building Control.
