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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether officials of his Department have met with Professor Anna Stec to discuss her research into environmental contamination as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Government Chief Scientific Adviser has established an independent Science Advisory Group to quality-check the scientific methodology, testing process and analysis of results at each stage of the Government-led programme of additional Grenfell environmental checks. Professor Stec is a member of this group and MHCLG officials have attended meetings. The Science Advisory Group has reviewed Professor Stec’s research and reiterated their previous view that it does not change the approach or timetable of the Government-led environmental checks programme, on the basis that the research is preliminary which recommends the need for further investigations.

In February 2018, MHCLG officials participated in a multi-agency teleconference chaired by the West London Clinical Commissioning Group and including officials from Public Health England to discuss Professor Stec’s research. Professor Stec outlined her emerging research which had not been shared at this stage with Government, its agencies, the NHS or local authority.