Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Hayes Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

1. What recent discussions he has had with the chair of the Grenfell Tower inquiry on the timetable for publication of the phase 2 report.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with the chair of the Grenfell Tower inquiry on the timetable for publication of the phase 2 report.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Alex Burghart)]

The Grenfell Tower inquiry is a statutory inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the Act, the drafting of an inquiry’s final report and the timing of that process are rightly matters for the independent inquiry chair. In its November 2023 newsletter, published on its website, the inquiry confirmed that

“the report will not be published before April next year but the Panel hopes to be able to send it to the Prime Minister before the next anniversary of the fire with publication soon thereafter.”

[Alex Burghart]

The hon. Gentleman will have seen, further to what I have just read out, the report that was published in November, in which the chair explained that rule 13 of the inquiry rules requires the inquiry

“to write to those who might be subject to criticism”

and give them fair time to respond. The newsletter states:

“The rule 13 process is proving time consuming.”

However, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will be reassured by the dates that I have read out.

[Helen Hayes]

The Prime Minister assured the public that the Grenfell tragedy would not be forgotten, yet across many different areas of concern—the lack of resolution on the future of the Grenfell Tower site, the many buildings that have been evacuated because of structural concerns, and the lack of justice for survivors—we see a lack of urgency in addressing the concerns raised by the inquiry. When will the Government act to rebuild public confidence and ensure that the necessary measures are taken to prevent a similar tragedy happening in future?

[Alex Burghart]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, but I think it is deeply unfair to suggest that there has been a lack of urgency from the Government. The then Prime Minister announced the inquiry the day after that terrible event, and we have taken huge action to provide compensation for people and to ensure that no qualifying leaseholder living in a building above 11 metres will face the cost of remediation for unsafe cladding. Of course we are eager to get the response from the official inquiry, and we will take action thereafter.

--- Later in debate ---

[Johnny Mercer]

We made a commitment that this Christmas we would end rough sleeping for veterans in the UK because of a lack of provision, and we met that promise. We housed 407 of the most desperate, most vulnerable veterans across the UK and I am incredibly proud of that. The charge towards ending all homelessness across the UK is clearly something we are all engaged in, but I am incredibly proud of the team at Op Fortitude. I pay tribute to Lee Buss-Blair and the Riverside Group who worked throughout Christmas to achieve that objective. It is a fantastic base to build from and I look forward to the day when these services are no longer required.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

T5. This week, the head of the National Audit Office told Parliament that between £4 billion and £8 billion of annual efficiencies could be achieved by better use of competition. When so many areas of our public services are on their knees and would benefit from that funding, can the Secretary of State set out what steps he is taking to stop this colossal waste of taxpayers’ money?

[Alex Burghart]

Better competition and better procurement are at the heart of the Procurement Act 2023, which the hon. Lady will have seen go through the House of Commons and the House of Lords last year. The Act creates a world-leading framework for the good use of public money in acquiring goods and services.