Grenfell fire families face waiting 10 years to see changes and reforms fully implemented

The Labour government will act on every recommendation made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Angela Rayner has announced, but survivors and bereaved families will have to wait more than a decade after the disaster to see some changes come into force.

The deputy prime minister said on Wednesday (26 February) that all 58 recommendations of the Grenfell report will be acted upon including setting up a new construction regulator and a new ‘Hillsborough Law‘.

Released in September 2024, the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report said the fire was the culmination of “decades of failure”. All 72 deaths were avoidable, Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s report said, with the government failing to act on warning signs.

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The government unveiled a phased approach in response to the landmark inquiry into the fire, which claimed 72 lives on the night of 14 June 2017. That will see implementation of some reforms coming into force from 2028 onwards.

Housing secretary Rayner said in a statement to the House of Commons that the government intended to reform the system to ensure the tragedy was never repeated. 

“We will be a country where decent housing, security, safety, peace of mind are shared by all, and not just the privilege of a few,” Rayner said, pledging to bring in quarterly reports and an annual statement to parliament to keep track of progress.

“The lessons of this inquiry should not have taken a tragedy to unearth.”

Families of those who died said the reforms should have been a basic requirement in the first place.

A statement from the Grenfell United survivors and bereaved family group warned that the government response needs to be backed up with action.

The group questioned how strong and well-resourced the new regulator would be in pratice and warned: “Every delay and every compromise increases the risk that history will repeat itself.”

“We acknowledge the government’s acceptance of the recommendations, but we look at this and feel frustrated,” said the Grenfell United statement.

“We need to see real, tangible safety changes – not another list of consultations, reviews and delays. Nearly eight years after Grenfell, what would be different if these recommendations were fully implemented?

“Social housing blocks would be the same as before Grenfell. The evacuation policy is still ‘stay put’. Single staircases remain. No sprinklers. And no PEEPS for disabled residents. 

“This is what social housing blocks look like today. And people are still living at risk. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes us feel like we’re in a new world where safety comes first.”

What is the government doing in response to the Grenfell inquiry?

Prime minister Keir Starmer apologised to survivors and bereaved families on behalf of the British state following the end of the inquiry, which took more than six years and cost an estimated £173m, back in September last year.

The government announced earlier this month that the burned-out tower would be demolished.

The independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission is currently working on a “fitting and lasting memorial, determined by the community” to serve as a permanent tribute to the people who lost their lives in the disaster.

Ministers also said that they would support the Metropolitan Police’s independent investigation into whether criminal charges will follow for the failures that led to the fire.

The Met has previously said that it could take until 2026 before anyone is charged in connection to the disaster. Responding to Rayner, Tory shadow housing minister Kevin Hollinrake said the “pace must quicken”.

The government is tying its response to the fire into its wider reforms of social housing and renting, and will publish quarterly reports on its progress.

Rayner announced on Wednesday that Labour would introduce a single construction regulator and chief construction advisor to ensure people responsible for building safety are held to account.

The deputy prime minister also said people and firms responsible for testing and certifying, as well as manufacturing and using construction products, will face tougher oversight.

The government announced a green paper proposing how it is looking to reform the construction sector to “cut out the rot”. That includes plans to professionalise and regulate the roles of fire safety engineers and assessors.

A new ‘Hillsborough Law’ will create a legal duty of candour that will compel public authorities to disclose the truth and ensure transparency.

Firms, including those who manufactured some of the cladding materials that caused the fire to spread, who were identified in the public inquiry will also be investigated and face action.

Ministers also announced plans to extend training programmes to empower social housing residents.

Beyond the lives lost, the fire exposed systemic issues ranging from cladding and building safety to fire rescue and disability rights.

Labour has pledged to fix homes caught up in the building safety crisis uncovered by Grenfell through its Remediation Acceleration Planwhich sets out tough new measures to get buildings fixed quicker and ensure rogue freeholders are held to account.  

The government said it will use a phased approach to act on the 58 recommendations over the course of this parliament alongside wider reforms.

The first phase between 2025 to 2026 will focus on delivering the current programme of regulatory reform and change, including the Remediation Acceleration Plan.

The second phase between 2026 to 2028 will focus on having fully developed proposals to deliver recommendations and wider reform, including via legislation. From 2028 onwards, the government will focus on implementing these reforms.  

The Grenfell Next of Kin group, made up of survivors and friends and relatives of those who died in the fire, said the announcement was welcome but that it would be “paying close attention” to the government’s actions. “The injustice is so great and the measures being put in place now with new laws and reforms are welcomed but should have been basic requirements for a developed country such as ours,” a spokesperson for the group said.

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