Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she last met with families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire; and whether she consulted those groups before making a decision on the future of the tower.

Learning the lessons from the Grenfell tragedy and ensuring lasting change are key priorities for the government. The Deputy Prime Minister and the Building Safety Minister have hugely valued hearing directly from bereaved families, survivors and residents in the immediate community and would like to thank them for this.

The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for Grenfell Tower and for making a decision about its future.

This is a deeply personal matter for the people affected and she is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this process.

In November last year, the Deputy Prime Minister explained she would listen to the views of the community, and consider expert information, before making a decision on the future of the Tower in February. She offered bereaved and survivors the opportunity to meet in-person, or online, at different times and individually when families felt more comfortable with this. She has also spent time with representative groups, residents’ associations, schools and faith leaders. She is grateful to everyone who shared their view and especially to the bereaved and survivors.

Last December, the department published an update of information that would inform her decision to make it available to the community: The future of Grenfell Tower: advice that will inform a decision. Information about how she has taken it into account in her decision is here: Update on the future of Grenfell Tower - GOV.UK

Over the last week, the Deputy Prime Minister has met bereaved families and survivors, and residents in the immediate community, to explain her decision that Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down. Her priority has been to ensure the community hear this first.

This government remains committed to responding to the needs of the community and will ensure bereaved families, survivors and residents continue to have opportunities to speak with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Building Safety Minister on issues that matter to them most.