London Grenfell disaster, only 26 families rehoused

This BBC video from London, England says about itself:

27 September 2017

Each floor of Grenfell Tower is a kind of microcosm of London – and of the tragedy that unfolded that terrible night in June. This is the harrowing story of the 10 adults and five children who lived on the 21st floor. Nine of them survived the fire. Six of them – and one unborn baby – perished. After weeks of research, Katie Razzall and producers Nick Menzies and Sara Moralioglu have pieced together their stories for the first time.

* Warning: This film contains content that some viewers may find distressing *

Reporter: Katie Razzall

Producers: Nick Menzies and Sara Moralioglu

Researcher: Yasminara Khan

Camera: Jonathan Callery, Jack Garland, Keith Morris, Ian Pritchard and Luke Winsbury

Picture editors: Dominic Lutier and Philippa Shaylor

Graphic design: Mark Edwards, Sandra Rodriguez Chillida, Jacqueline Galvin and Steve Glew

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Tories‘ disgrace: only 26 Grenfell families housed

Tuesday 7th November 2017

June’s tower-block fire victims let down – again – by council’s pen-pushers

THE government was branded “a disgrace” yesterday as figures showed the vast majority of families who survived the Grenfell Tower disaster had still not been permanently rehoused five months after the fire.

Of the 203 households who lived in the west London tower block and in nearby Grenfell Walk, just 26 were living in permanent accommodation last month.

Labour MP David Lammy — who lost a personal friend in the fire — said the figures, revealed after he submitted a parliamentary question, should be a “source of shame” for the government.

Housing Minister Alok Sharma confirmed that of those yet to be rehoused, 130 were living in emergency accommodation and 47 in temporary accommodation.

Kensington & Chelsea Council has been criticised for its response to the tragedy with Nick Paget-Brown resigning as leader after he claimed that Grenfell residents had refused to have water sprinklers fitted.

There have been calls for his replacement Elizabeth Campbell to stand down amid accusations that she is out of touch with the community.

The government initially promised to rehouse all those affected by the fire in nearby homes within three weeks.

Mr Lammy said: “These families have been failed by the state time and time again and it should be a source of shame for the government and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) that so many of these families will be spending Christmas in a bed & breakfast.

“It is totally unacceptable that only one in eight families have been rehoused in permanent accommodation and it is clear that the RBKC and DCLG (Department for Communities and Local Government) teams responsible for supporting and rehousing Grenfell Tower residents are totally unfit for purpose.”

He said that people on the ground have told him that authorities have been moving “far too slowly” and when offers of accommodation are being made they are unsuitable or away from workplaces, schools and support networks.

Mr Sharma said Kensington & Chelsea Council was working urgently to move all families affected by the Grenfell tragedy into temporary or settled accommodation at the earliest opportunity.

Grenfell Tower fire: Kensington leader Elizabeth Campbell says council not responsible for residents’ safety: here.

THE Trussell Trust warned yesterday that foodbanks may not be able to provide enough food for the hungry this winter if the government goes ahead with its universal credit roll-out. The charity — Britain’s largest single operator of foodbanks, running 428 across the country — has reported a soaring demand for its service in areas where the universal credit system has been introduced, with many recording a 30 per cent increase in use compared with the year before: here.

London Metropolitan Police have advised the Kensington and Chelsea Council (KCC) to prevent the release of correspondence that could provide damaging information on the failure to prevent a serious fire at Grenfell Tower: here.

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