Thursday Volume 626 22 June 2017 No. 5 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 22 June 2017 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2017 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 165 22 JUNE 2017 166 House of Commons Grenfell Tower 9.35 am Thursday 22 June 2017 The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May): With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the disaster at The House met at half-past Nine o’clock Grenfell Tower.I apologise to the Leader of the Opposition for the short notice he has had of this statement. In the PRAYERS hour before making it, I received an important update, which I felt was essential to bring to the attention of the House this morning. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] What happened in the early hours of last Wednesday morning was one of the most unimaginable tragedies Members Sworn that our country has seen in many years. As of this morning, 79 people have been confirmed dead or listed 9.34 am as missing presumed dead, and with work still ongoing The following Members took and subscribed the Oath, to recover the bodies, sadly the death toll may rise or made and subscribed the Affirmation required by law. further. Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles, for Grantham and We already know that many children are among the Stamford dead and that in some cases whole families perished. Those who survived have lost loved ones,friends,neighbours Emma Elizabeth Reynolds, Wolverhampton North East and, in many cases, everything they own. It should never have happened. In a few moments, I shall say how we will discover why it did, but, as I said yesterday, that initial failure was then compounded by the fact that the support on the ground in the initial hours was not good enough. As Prime Minister, I have apologised for that second failure and taken responsibility for doing what we can to put it right. On my first visit to north Kensington, I met the emergency services. These extraordinary men and women put their lives on the line in an effort to save others, and my first responsibility was to check that they had all the resources they needed. I then visited Chelsea and Westminster hospital, where I met some of the most seriously injured survivors—it was from that experience that I decided to have an emergency fund. I also met a group of residents in Kensington whom I then invited to Downing Street last weekend. I returned to Kensington again last night to hear directly from them about the progress that we are making. What became clear very quickly was that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea could not cope, and it is right that the chief executive officer has now resigned. It is also why I set up the Grenfell Tower recovery taskforce, which I have been chairing personally. This is about not just the steps that we take in the first few weeks, but a lasting commitment that we make to supporting the affected families, long after the television cameras have gone. Let me set out in detail the steps that we are taking to support the victims and to rehouse those who have lost their homes. On Friday morning, the Government established a central command centre under the leadership of John Barradell, the chief executive of the City of London and former lead for London local government on resilience, and Eleanor Kelly,chief executive of the London borough of Southwark. On behalf of the whole House I thank John and his team for all the work that they are doing. I also pay tribute to the London boroughs for their fantastic response, including a number of chief executives who are currently working at the command centre, as well as the Mayor of London and leading figures from a number of councils from outside London. I thank the army of volunteers who stepped in to provide shelter, sustenance, comfort and practical support. I also thank 167 Grenfell Tower 22 JUNE 2017 Grenfell Tower 168 [The Prime Minister] was destroyed will be guaranteed a new home on the same terms as the one they lost. Sixty-eight of those will the Secretary of State for Communities and Local be in a brand-new low-rise block that has just been built Government and the Ministers for Housing and Planning, by Berkeley Homes. The developer has generously offered for London and for Policing and the Fire Service for the to turn over the entire block at cost price. Contractors work that they have been doing. are on site now, working 24/7 to speed up fit-out so that Currently, there are around 600 people working on the first families can move in this summer. the site and in the immediate area to provide support to Within the wider cordon area, many more homes the victims.The Westwaysports centre has been transformed were damaged by smoke or water or have lost gas, into an emergency community hub, staffed by 40 officials heating and hot water. Emergency hotel accommodation from six Government Departments. Those officials are is available for anyone who does not want to remain in a making sure that people have essential documents such damaged property and more than 100 hotel rooms have as driving licences and passports, which are fundamental already been provided. We are also putting in place to them carrying on with their lives. They have also practical support to help to accelerate necessary repairs been joined by experts from organisations such as Transport and yesterday drew on expertise from the Army to assist for London, Citizens Advice and the Red Cross, NHS with this. mental health staff, nurses, care managers, and a GP. Some survivors have said that they want to leave the Anyone affected by the blaze can walk in and access the local area, and we will of course support that and help support they need, and so far there have been almost them find a home elsewhere. But I want to be absolutely 700 visits to the centre. clear: nobody is being forced to move somewhere they do The centre’s on-the-ground work is supplemented by not want to go, and if any hon. Member thinks they the victim support unit, whose emergency helpline provides know of anyone being treated in this way they should a single point of contact for victims who need to deal contact my office in Downing Street with the details. with multiple Government services in the wake of the As the scale of the tragedy became clear we quickly disaster. Each family whose home was destroyed is decided there had to be an independent public inquiry. receiving a £5,000 down payment from the emergency As I said to the House yesterday, it will be chaired by a fund so they can buy food, clothes and other essentials, judge to get to the truth about what happened and who and outreach workers are seeking to make sure everyone was responsible, and to provide justice for the victims gets the money they are entitled to. We are also paying and their families who suffered so terribly. All those all additional adults over 16 in these households £500 in with an interest—including survivors and victims’ cash. Other cash payments are being paid out by the families—will be consulted about the terms of reference, council on a discretionary basis, for example to those and we will pay for legal representation for those affected. whose home has been severely impacted but not Listening to survivors last night, it also became clear permanently destroyed. As of midday on Wednesday that they want support to come together as a group to we had made payments of more than £700,000. have their voices heard, and the Government will play It is absolutely essential that people understand they our part in helping them to do so. can keep the money they receive; these grants are not For too long residents have been overlooked and loans and they will not be expected to repay a single ignored. We will ensure that they are involved in every penny. Neither are they waiving any legal rights as a step of this process. No stone will be left unturned in result of accepting this financial help. The payments this inquiry, and there will be nowhere for any guilty will be disregarded for means-tested welfare payments, parties to hide. I am clear that we cannot wait for ages so no one in receipt of benefits will see their benefits cut to learn the immediate lessons, so I expect that the chair if they accept emergency support. I would like to reassure of the inquiry will want to produce an interim report as people that we will not use this tragic incident as a early as possible. reason to carry out immigration checks on those involved I know that many others living in tall residential or on those providing vital information to identify buildings will have concerns about their safety after victims or those assisting with the criminal investigation. what happened at Grenfell. All social landlords have We will make sure that all victims, irrespective of their been instructed to carry out additional fire safety checks immigration status, can access the services they need, on tower blocks, and to ensure that the appropriate including healthcare and accommodation. safety and response measures are in place. This is being In terms of local schools,Kensington Aldridge Academy, done in co-operation with local fire and rescue services.