Ban on contractors involved in Grenfell Tower fire to be extended following inquiry report

Contractors involved in the Grenfell tragedy will be banned from future contracts with Kensington and Chelsea Council, the local authority announced. Kingspan, Celotex, Arconic and Rydon will continue to be subject to a ban which came in place in 2021 following a request by campaigners Grenfell United.

The announcement comes as Kensington and Chelsea Council formally responded to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 2 report, which found the local authority bore “considerable responsibility” for the tragedy. The council said it had also established a residents' procurement panel to allow the community to have a say in how contractors are selected and managed.

The council had promised to review its 2021 ban once the Inquiry’s Phase 2 report had been released. The arrangements of the ban will be finalised at a meeting of the council’s Leadership Team in December 2024.

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Since September, Kensington and Chelsea Council has run a number of ‘drop-in sessions’ with the bereaved, survivors and residents on how to respond to the inquiry’s findings. Feedback from those meetings have been critical with one council report saying residents felt the local authority had not improved the way they treated the community.

Some even said their treatment had gotten worse. During a meeting Wednesday evening (November 27), leader of the council cllr Elizabeth Campbell said the findings from the Grenfell Inquiry should lead local authorities to review their practices.

She said: “Here in Kensington and Chelsea the changes have been significant but I want to finish what we started – and really improve this organisation for the long term, and quickly.

“I am grateful for the generosity that bereaved, survivors and residents have shown once again in giving their time and energy to help us make this organisation better. In the same way our communities show their commitment to us, we must demonstrate our commitment to them.”

The inquiry found the council’s Building Control department failed to check if the design of Grenfell Tower’s refurbishment complied with building regulations. It also found significant failings in the way the council responded in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, in leadership and governance and a breakdown in its relationship with residents.

The council said Building Control has been overhauled since 2017 and that housing services have been brought back in house and they've established an in-house fire safety team. In its formal response to the inquiry, the council had vowed to improve professional standards across the organisation and to “reset” the power balance between residents and local government.

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