The battle for answers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Posted inGrenfell Tower

The battle for answers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire has been widely characterised by mistrust in the official processes. Nine months from the fire, the local community is still waiting for answers regarding who held responsibility for the decisions that led to the loss of 71 lives. Hoping to help uncover answers to some of the wider questions around council housing that have been left outside the official inquiry into the fire, Research for Action has been using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain information from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). In August and September, we requested... [continues]
Open Letter: Cancel KPMG Appointment as Advisors to Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Posted inGrenfell Tower

Open Letter: Cancel KPMG Appointment as Advisors to Grenfell Tower Inquiry

UPDATE: Following publication of this letter on Sunday 7 January in the FT and Guardian, KPMG have announced they are stepping down as advisors to the Grenfell inquiry with immediate effect! Read updated coverage on the Guardian, FT, BBC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We the undersigned, call upon the Cabinet Office and Prime Minister Theresa May to reverse the decision to appoint KPMG as advisors to the Grenfell Tower inquiry, without competition. The failure of KPMG to disclose a clear conflict of interest - that KPMG audit Celotex, the parent company which produced the flammable cladding, alongside its role as auditors of the Royal Borough... [continues]
Research for Action submission to Grenfell Tower inquiry terms of reference
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Research for Action submission to Grenfell Tower inquiry terms of reference

Contributors to the submission: Professor Stuart Hodkinson: is a Lecturer in Critical Urban Geography (Leeds University). His main research focus is on the 'new urban enclosures' with specific interest in the politics, policies and day-to-day realities of housing privatisation, urban regeneration and state-led gentrification in the UK. Recent research was an ESRC-funded project exploring residents' experiences of housing/ estate regeneration in England under Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Sid Ryan: Is an investigative journalist specialising in the NHS, Private Finance Initiative and the Freedom of Information Act. During a Fellowship at the Centre for Investigative Journalism, pursued a project into widespread... [continues]
Grenfell Tower and RBKC – victims of austerity? or exponents of shock doctrine?
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Grenfell Tower and RBKC – victims of austerity? or exponents of shock doctrine?

Since 2010, when George Osborne introduced his program of savage 40% cuts to council funding ("austerity"), many councils facing budgetary and cost cutting pressures have peddled the line that due to the severity of the cuts - they have to make "tough choices" in deciding which services to protect, and which to cut. Councils, on average, receive around 75% of funding from Central Government, and only generate around 25% locally through council tax and business rates. Whilst Councils have no say over the rates of Central Government grant funding, set each year by the Treasury, councils do directly control the rates... [continues]