Council that owns Grenfell Tower faces mounting pressure to account for its actions over blaze that killed at least 80 people

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Kensington and Chelsea council has come under increasing pressure to account for potentially deadly cost-cutting at Grenfell Tower and its slow response to the devastating blaze. On Thursday, the council cabinet controversially blocked the media and residents from its usually public meetings – and when it was told it had to admit journalists, the meeting was cancelled.

Questions about the council’s decisions have been mounting since the deadly fire on 14 June. Here are the key ones that need to be answered:

Why did Kensington and Chelsea council opt for cheaper, less fire-resistant cladding?

Cladding proposed for Grenfell Tower during a multimillion-pound refurbishment was changed to a cheaper, less fire-resistant version to make a saving of less than 4% of the final cost of the project, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

The documents suggest contractors working for Kensington and Chelsea council were asked in 2014 to use aluminium cladding instead of zinc to save almost £300,000. The wider refurbishment cost was £8.6m.

Why was councillor Rock Feilding-Mellen apparently pushing for the cost of the refurbishment to be cut?

Documents from June and July 2014, seen by the Times, allegedly show that Grenfell Tower refurbishment consultants Artelia UK were pressured to reduce costs. An “urgent nudge email” about cladding prices from Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) to Artelia says: “We need good costs for Cllr Feilding-Mellen and the planner tomorrow at 8.45am!”

Feilding-Mellen is the deputy leader of the council and chairman of its housing committee and oversaw the refurbishment of the block.

The cost-cutting drive jars with the council’s “usable reserves” of £300m in its 2015-16 accounts.



Why did the council bar the media and residents from its first cabinet meeting since the devastating fire?

Kensington and Chelsea council attempted to hold a private cabinet meeting to hear an oral report about the fire, citing the potential for disorder and previous threats against staff. Such meetings are usually open to the public.

The meeting was to be led by the council’s Conservative leader, Nick Paget-Brown, who has been widely criticised in the wake of the fire.

Why did the council cancel the meeting once its media ban was overturned by a high court judge?

A judge ordered the council to lift a ban on the media reporting on the meeting, after a legal challenge by the Guardian and other media groups.

Shortly after the meeting opened, Paget-Brown adjourned the hearing, claiming it could not continue with journalists present, as this could prejudice the official inquiry, which will be led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, a retired appeal court judge.

How can the council account for its immediate response to the fire?

Kensington and Chelsea council was relieved of responsibility for taking care of the survivors of the disaster. The work was handed over to a new Grenfell fire response team, made up of representatives from central government, the British Red Cross, the Metropolitan police, London-wide local and regional government and the London fire brigade.

Opposition councillors were angry at the way council leaders had appeared to freeze when confronted by a disaster on the scale of the fire. They said they had been kept in the dark and repeatedly given incorrect assurances that accommodation had been found for residents. The Conservative-led administration had failed to return calls from neighbouring councils offering to provide accommodation and other help, the councillors said.

Other criticisms included a failure to communicate with survivors and their families, a lack of visible staff on the ground providing advice, a failure to distribute any of the money being donated and a failure to ensure that surviving residents were allocated suitable accommodation nearby.

What progress is being made in rehousing tenants displaced by the fire?

Sixty-eight flats in a luxury apartment complex where prices start at £1.6m were being made available to families displaced by the fire.

The homes are within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea but in the more affluent south end. They have been purchased by the Corporation of London and will become part of its social housing stock.



Initially, the council had suggested it would rehouse displaced tenants outside the borough but backtracked.