Grenfell Tower: Fires

(asked on 22nd November 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the timetable for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to rehouse Grenfell Tower households in permanent accommodation; what assessment he has made of the capacity of that local authority to meet that timetable; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 30th November 2017

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has committed to provide survivors from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk with a permanent new home in social housing within one year of the fire. We are working closely with RBKC to support them to deliver this commitment, and receive regular updates on rehousing progress, which we continue to monitor carefully.

Following the fire, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government set up the independent Grenfell Recovery Taskforce to provide assurance that RBKC has the capacity and capability to deliver an effective long term recovery plan for its residents, taking into account their views. In his statement to the House on 6 November, the Secretary of State echoed the conclusion of the Taskforce’s first report that the pace of delivery by RBKC was too slow and needed significant improvement. I expect the Council to do whatever is necessary to ensure households can move into settled homes as swiftly as possible. It is important that the rehousing proceeds at a pace which respects the needs, wants and situations of survivors but we have been equally clear that bureaucratic inertia must not add delay.

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