April 2023 Newsletter

This update contains information about: 

• Report progress
• Publication of documents
• Community drop-in sessions 
• Disclosure figures
• Core Participant figures
• Support arrangements after hearings 
• Contacting the Inquiry 

Report Progress 

We recognise that everyone involved in the Inquiry wants the report to be published as soon as possible and we fully understand the importance that has for them and for the wider public. However, it is also important that, as what we hope will be regarded as the definitive version of events, the report is complete and accurate. Individual chapters are at different stages of drafting and several stages still remain to be completed.

We also want its recommendations to be as effective as possible, which means they must have a firm basis. We have asked a number of the Inquiry’s expert witnesses for their suggestions.

When the draft is nearing completion, it will be necessary to write under rule 13 of the Inquiry Rules to those who may be subject to criticism, explaining the basis on which such criticism may be made.

The Inquiry hopes to complete the drafting of the report before the end of 2023. Various practical steps will then need to follow, such as proof-reading, typesetting and printing, all of which take time. We shall send the report to the Prime Minister, as required by our terms of reference, as soon as we can but that will probably not be possible before the beginning of next year. The Prime Minister will decide when the report will be published and by whom, but we are ready to act quickly if he asks us to publish it, as we think likely.

The Panel and whole Inquiry team will spare no effort to finish work on the report as soon as possible and will continue to do their utmost to complete the work within the time indicated.

Publication of documents

Following the conclusion of hearings for Phase 2, the Inquiry team is undertaking a sweep-up and publication process and will continue to publish documents on the website. A list of documents published on the website since 11 November 2022 can be found here. 

Community drop-in sessions 

The last quarterly drop-in session for BSRs, the local community and members of the public was held on Monday 24 April at Notting Hill Methodist Church. The Inquiry plans to hold several ad hoc drop-in sessions for BSRs and the local community to attend throughout the report writing stage. The details of these sessions will be published on the website nearer to the time.

Disclosure figures

As at 24 April 2023, the Inquiry has disclosed 20,784 documents in Phase 1 and 299,586 documents in Phase 2, making a total of 320,370.

Core Participant figures

The full list of the Inquiry's core participants (CPs) is available on the key documents page. Further information on CPs is contained in our guide, which includes details of the role they play in the Inquiry and how this differs from being a witness.

The total number of CPs is 639.

Support arrangements after hearings

Counselling support services continue to be available for anyone who wants to talk about their emotional wellbeing. The NHS Grenfell Outreach Team is available Monday to Thursday from 08:00 to 20:00, and on Friday from 08:00 to 17:00. Their number is 0208 637 6279. More information, including out of hours contact numbers, can be found on the NHS website.

Contacting the Inquiry

The Inquiry team can be contacted by telephone on 0800 121 4282 or by email at contact@grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk.