Grenfell MP Says Building Safety Crisis Must Be Top Of Government Agenda
Seven years since the fire, Grenfell campaigners have criticised the inquiry for taking too long (Alamy)
6 min read
Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater Joe Powell has said that the Grenfell Inquiry report coming out this week will be a “huge moment” for the community, and hopes it will lead to the Government holding a debate on building safety in Parliament.
A devastating fire broke out in the Grenfell Tower high-rise block in Kensington, London, on 14 June 2017, killing 72 people and injuring more than 70 others. It was the worst residential fire in the UK since the Blitz of World War II.
On Wednesday, Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be published, expected to look in more detail at the causes of the fire and the decision-making by authorities and companies which led to it. The report will be made available to bereaved and survivors on Tuesday before going public at 11am on Wednesday, with a Government statement expected later that afternoon.
The inquiry was originally set up by former prime minister Theresa May in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. The Phase 1 report was published in 2019, which presented evidence on the events which took place on the day and gave a number of recommendations on improving fire safety.
In the years since, many of these recommendations are yet to be implemented and thousands of buildings still have dangerous, flammable cladding similar to Grenfell Tower. Just last week, a large fire spread through the Spectrum Building tower block in Dagenham, London – a building which was in the process of having non-compliant cladding removed.
Powell was elected as the new MP for Kensington this year, with one of his key campaign messages being that he would “listen, support and amplify the [Grenfell] campaign for those responsible to be held accountable”.
“Wednesday is going to be about remembering the bereaved and survivors and the fact that it's taken so long to get here,” he told PoliticsHome in a sit-down interview in his new office in Parliament.
He added that it was important to put Grenfell “back on the political agenda”.
“Of course, part of my job is to ensure that it actually leads to change. For us, it's an absolutely crucial point in that journey for truth, justice and change for Grenfell.
“It's now over seven years and people don't feel like they've had truth or justice or change, and people look at other major state-involved deaths or tragedies like Hillsborough and they see how long it took and the fact that they don't really feel like they ever got justice. That's the concern: that the longer you wait, the harder it is to get justice.”
Referring to the fires at Grenfell and more recently Dagenham, Powell said that both incidents should act as a “powerful reminder for a new government that this whole building safety crisis has to be top of the agenda”.
“I think they know that,” he added.
Despite the Phase 1 report setting out a series of recommendations and the Building Safety Act coming into force in 2022, it is Powell’s view that many gaps remain in building safety legislation, and he expects the report to “heavily criticise” the companies who made the cladding, the building management, and Kensington and Chelsea Council.
“We're hoping that there will be a debate led by the Government,” Powell said.
“In October, there will be a chance for MPs to talk about how this has affected their constituencies, the sort of changes that they want to see and that will meet before the Government does its full statutory response. So I feel like [the report] kicks off the next few months of activity.”
He said that some recommendations from Phase 1 have been “kicked into the long grass”, including implementing personalised evacuation plans for disabled people and evaluating the fire safety protocol of telling residents to “stay put” and not evacuate. Fewer than 50 per cent of buildings with flammable cladding have had remedial work started on them, and most of these have not had the work completed.
Grenfell survivors, bereaved families and friends, and campaigners gathered for the seventh anniversary of the fire in June this year (Alamy)
“This is people's lives we're talking about,” Powell said.
“If Dagenham and Grenfell Phase 2 can increase the urgency of the remedial work that would be an important outcome.”
He added that the system of accrediting building materials was fundamentally flawed as the private companies carrying out the accreditation have little incentive to refuse the certification of construction products. Evidence shown to the inquiry has already found that the level of testing was insufficient and failed to guarantee safety.
Powell also advocated for leasehold reform and for more to be done to give tenants agency over their housing conditions. Since becoming an MP last month, Powell said he was faced with piles of casework relating to issues with damp, mould, repairs and poorly maintained estates.
“What I've heard from a lot of private renters is they're also sometimes nervous about reporting things because they're worried about eviction,” he said.
“And we know that rents have spiked so dramatically, people are very concerned if they have to go back to the market.
“The model that we ended up with makes it quite hard for people to have access to any sort of remediation. But there are things we can do about it: extending Awaab’s Law to private renters is a really good idea, giving a right to get damp and mould dealt with within a short period of time. And getting rid of Section 21 will also help.”
There is evidence that multiple Grenfell tenants had highlighted fire safety concerns before the events of June 2017, including concerns over a recent refurbishment and fire doors not working properly.
“The lack of respect and agency [for tenants] is a huge problem, and it hasn't gone away,” Powell said.
When you visit Grenfell today, the huge tower remains standing and the scars of the tragedy still run deep in the community. The local secondary school Kensington Aldridge Academy, which had five pupils die in the fire, looks out on what remains of the tower, with screens inside the windows to prevent children from having to see it during lessons.
“It's an incredibly resilient community in many ways, and there are a huge number of organisations and campaigns that came up after the fire to help,” Powell said.
“I was visiting last week an art therapy charity that's entirely grassroots run, and that worked with hundreds and hundreds of kids to support their mental health, using art as a way to express some of their emotions around the fire and and there are lots and lots like that. It did bring out this incredible solidarity.”
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