£50m Grenfell fund being squandered and deaths exploited, claim survivors

“Challenging circumstances”: Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 killed 72 people
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Ross Lydall @RossLydall23 February 2020
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Survivors and relatives of people killed in Grenfell Tower today claimed that a £50 million fund to help their recovery was being “squandered”.

They told the Standard of their anger that the deaths of family members had been “exploited and hijacked” and a “cottage industry” of bureaucrats had grown out of the tragedy.

Kensington and Chelsea council last year set aside £50 million from its reserves over five years, starting with £12 million this financial year, “to support people in their recovery”.

But it stands accused of directing only about 10 per cent of the money available in 2019/20 to those most in need. The fire in June 2017 claimed 72 lives. The Tory council was today unable to say how much had been spent since the scheme’s launch last April.

A spokeswoman for the survivors said: “Why are these millions being spent in the names of our loved ones when we are not allowed to have a say about what has been spent or how?”

Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire

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The council’s scheme includes a £4.5 million-a-year “dedicated service budget” for the 648 bereaved and survivors.

Almost £2 million a year is spent on council salaries, with just £1.35 million available for victims. This includes annual allowances of £1,000 for adults and £2,000 for children that can be used to cover travel and household expenses.

A total of £550,000 is available for “commissioned services”, which the council is spending on gym memberships and massage sessions.

Victims claim the bureaucracy involved in using the allowance, which is held “on account” by the council, makes the process lengthy and frustrating. A key worker is required to authorise purchases of household items or travel tickets but the delay in getting approval can see fares jump in price.

Some residents say they have refused to accept a penny from the fund. They have asked to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson and are due to meet council chief executive Barry Quirk later this month.

One member of the Adam family, who lived next door to the flat where the blaze started, said: “This is a lot of money but no one is getting something from it.”

El-Alami Hamdan, 70, who had four family members die in the fire, was left without a mattress for months in a mould-covered flat after losing his home beside the tower.

He received funds to visit a brother in Spain but feels let down by the system. He said: “The council have done nothing for me.”

Some residents say they have been pressured to sign up for £75-a-month gym membership or massage classes, despite some considering the sessions culturally inappropriate. The council is thought to have spent £25,000 on gym memberships.

A young mother who lived in the tower said money was being spent on duplicate services already provided by the council. “We want to do something for ourselves but they want to give it to us in drip-drip amounts. The system is just wasting money.”

A report by the Independent Grenfell Recovery Taskforce last summer said the dedicated service was a “genuine piece of co-design” between residents and the council and a “good job in challenging circumstances”.

But it warned much detail had to be sorted and targets and outcomes were still to be defined. The dedicated service budget also includes £595,000 a year for buildings and £250,000 a year for a contingency fund.

The £50 million is separate to charitable donations made to the Grenfell community and funds received from the Government. Some of those expressing concern are part of the Grenfell Next of Kin group.

The council wrote to all Grenfell victims after concerns about the fund began to be raised by the community before Christmas. It says it is cutting red tape on how allowances are spent.

Callum Wilson, head of dedicated service, said: “We recognise that some people may not always agree with some of the decisions the council takes about the dedicated service... I appreciate we haven’t got everything right and we are busy making improvements.”

A council spokesman said the dedicated service budget funded the salaries of 24 key workers and two managers and said it had been accessed by the majority of those it aimed to help.

“The service was created in co-operation with bereaved and survivors to meet their specific needs, both now and in the future. They told us that having a named, individual worker was important to their recovery and the budget ensures this is available.

“The funding for individual and commissioned services is spent at families’ own pace so that they can access the support they need, when they need it.”

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