Published: Wednesday 27 November 2024
Updated: Wednesday 27 November 2024
Council Leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell used her speech at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 27 November to reflect on the Grenfell Inquiry report. This is a transcript of her words. The actions and changes since 2017 are also available to read in our newsroom, or see the full response on our committee pages.
Mr Mayor,
Tonight I will be setting this organisation’s full and final response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
It is a seminal moment.
And one that will shape the Council I lead in the months and years to come.But before I do – we also need to touch on something that has become all too present.
Mr Mayor
On Sunday night, yet another shooting. Yet another child caught in the crossfire. This time, just eight years old.
I said in a statement on Monday that we are all shocked to hear of this mindless violence – but on reflection, are we?
In a matter of months, nine shootings in our borough. People being shot at, and killed, with increasing regularity, and on our streets.
Now, a child and father shot and injured just a few streets away from where Rene Graham, aged 15, was shot and killed at a family fun day.
It is beyond belief that a child has been caught in the crossfire of violence on our streets once again.
My thoughts are with all those affected. And residents are concerned. In fact, more than concerned.
For many years, we have been told the crime problem in Kensington and Chelsea is one of ‘perception’.
It is not the case.
Guns and knives are on our streets, crime is the problem and we need to see an immediate response.
I have asked for an urgent meeting with the local chief inspector, and I am writing to the Mayor of London and the chief of the Met Police.
At the moment, whatever the Mayor of London thinks he is doing, it is not working.
I refuse to sit by, and accept a London like this.
I expect a visible police presence to remain in place for the foreseeable future, in an area of London that should now be flashing bright red on the Met’s priority list.
Mr Mayor, it is impossible to make a sufficient bridge from that topic to the one I expected talk about tonight.
So I hope colleagues forgive me for diving straight in. Especially with the time allowed.
Mr Mayor, our values at the Council are, respect, integrity, working together and putting communities first.
It is with those values in mind that I want to start off with a thank you to those who have helped us shape this formal response.
Thank you to the bereaved and survivors of Grenfell Tower.
Thank you to the hundreds of people who came to community meetings.
Thank you to members of staff at the Council, and to the councillors who helped us shape this response.
We have already moved at pace to bring this to full council.
This is an indicator of the way we want to finish what we started.
Change and improve this organisation for the long term, quickly, and in partnership with our communities.
So far, we have found – at every step – a huge willingness to work with us.
In the same way our communities show their commitment to us, we have to now demonstrate our commitment to them.
Mr Mayor, you can only inspire a better future, when you honestly face up to the past, as we have.
In September, and again in our response tonight, we fully accept the findings of the Inquiry, and without question.
I believe we are the first organisation to do so, and to lay out what we will do next.
I will also say this the deafening silence from the companies involved in the Inquiry has been palpable and our communities have felt it.
Two of our main commitments tonight centre around this aspect, and I want to be clear on them this evening.
One – we will rapidly set out policy to extend our ban on using companies involved in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
Two – residents will be involved in selecting and managing future contracts.
Mr Mayor, our response sets out what we will do, but it is also important to reflect on what has been done.
The changes at Kensington and Chelsea have been significant.
We have implemented the recommendations of the Inquiry’s Phase one report.
We have made major changes in housing management – bringing housing services back in house to continue building a more direct relationship with residents.
Safety is now a fundamental part of our culture and we are spending over 350 million on improving housing and safety across the borough.
We have established a dedicated in-house fire safety team, with fire risk assessments carried out by external experts.
Our resilience function has been strengthened, working in partnership with communities to ensure we are better prepared for future emergencies.
We have improved and professionalised our communications service, and it is now led by community voices and responsive in times of emergency
We have made changes to building control to ensure staff are properly trained and to prioritise safety and we involve residents in decision making in line with a well-established Charter for Public Participation.
What remains now, is a third commitment tonight – a commitment to review and improve our culture as an organisation.
The way we do things, will often be more important than what we actually do.
Mr Mayor, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report set out failings that led to the deaths of 72 people, including 18 children.
The formal response and our commitments tonight are a statement of our ambition to honour their memory.
This is not an end point, but an important step. We must become the best Council we can possibly be.
Living up to the challenge set by bereaved and survivors.
Of course Mr Mayor , in becoming the best, success or failure will ultimately be judged by residents and whether they see and feel it, and that is my challenge to officers and councillors.
Live and breathe these commitments – make them a reality.
Be proud when going over and above, strive for high class service always, and work with residents to solve problems and meet emerging challenges.
Mr Mayor, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry should be a defining moment not just for this Council and the community we serve, but for local government and social housing providers across the country.
The findings should make every local authority and social landlord examine their own practices and culture.
The basic failures identified by the Inquiry in safety, in resident engagement, in professional standards and in emergency preparedness, could exist in any organisation that has not consciously worked to prevent them.
We therefore urge those across local government to go beyond minimum compliance.
Treat the Inquiry's recommendations not as a ceiling but as a floor.
I know that this will always be more profound here in K&C.
It is not just change and culture.
It is legacy.
We know that for bereaved families and survivors, no words or promises can ever change the past.
And many still feel the absence of justice and accountability.
Trust in the Council of course remains fragile.
But we commit to implementing not just the letter of the Inquiry's recommendations, but the spirit of them; to maintain the highest standards of safety across all our properties, embrace resident voice and power throughout our organisation, build a workforce that combines technical excellence with care, competence, and humanity.
The memory of those who lost their lives at Grenfell Tower must always remain in our hearts.
Thank you