The Inquiry has published an update on its work.
This update contains information about:
- Progress of the report
- Publication of documents
- Community drop-in sessions
- Disclosure figures
- Core Participant figures
- Support arrangements after hearings
- Contacting the Inquiry
Progress of the Report
The Inquiry Panel continues to make progress in drafting its final report.
Under rule 13 of the Inquiry Rules the Inquiry is required to write to those who may be subject to criticism, explaining the basis on which such criticism may be made. Drafts of the chapters relating to the history of the refurbishment, the response of central and local government and chapters relating to the LFB have been completed and warning letters have been sent to those who are likely to be criticised. Responses to those letters have been received from many of those to whom we have written, although the process is continuing.
Draft chapters relating to manufacturers of products and certification bodies and aspects of the TMO’s conduct are nearly all complete, although in each case there is work to be done before warning letters can be sent out. Many of the chapters relating to the development of fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations and the part played by government have been completed and others are well advanced but some drafting remains to be done. Work on the chapters relating to experimental work conducted by some of the Inquiry’s expert witnesses is not quite as far advanced. The chapters relating to the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the deceased have largely been completed and we do not think it will be necessary to send out more than a small number of warning letters relating to them.
The rule 13 process is proving time consuming. Not only do we have to allow recipients a reasonable time to respond to potential criticisms, but we also have to analyse their responses in order to decide whether we need to modify our provisional conclusions or the way in which we have expressed them. Nonetheless, we are probably over half-way through the process, having sent out over one hundred letters so far.
The amount of evidence, both oral and documentary, that the Inquiry has collected makes the drafting of a report a very time-consuming task and the process of preparing and printing a work of this size will take a considerable number of weeks. As things stand, the report will not be published before April next year but the Panel hopes to be able to send it to the Prime Minister before the next anniversary of the fire with publication soon thereafter. In due course, we will write to all CPs about the arrangements for publication.
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 next drop-in session for BSRs and members of the public will be on Monday 11 December 2023 from 16:30-17:30 at Bay20, 71 St Marks Rd, London W10 6JG. These sessions are an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the Inquiry process and to ask any questions that they may have for members of the Inquiry team.
Disclosure figures
As at 21 November 2023, the Inquiry has disclosed 20,784 documents in Phase 1 and 299,647 documents in Phase 2, making a total of 320,431.
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 638.
Support arrangements after hearings
Counselling support services continue to be available for anyone who wants to talk about their emotional wellbeing. The NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service can be contacted on 0208 637 6279 from 08:00 to 20:00 Monday-Thursday and 08:00 to 17:00 on Friday. More information, including an option to self-refer online, can be found on their website: www.grenfellwellbeing.com
Contacting the Inquiry
The Inquiry team can be contacted by telephone on 0800 121 4282 or by email at contact@grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk.