Kensington & Chelsea Council faces a contempt of court action over neglecting to disclose information relating to the Grenfell disaster – including housing policy
The latest criticism of the council over Grenfell comes from the information commissioner, who has made seven rulings against the authority for failing to respond to FoI requests about fire safety, cladding and risk assessments at the high-rise block.
Despite acknowledging the council as dealing with ‘exceptional and difficult circumstances’ after the fire, these, the commissioner said, did not negate its statutory obligations.
The commissioner specifically cited a complete lack of engagement with her office and complete lack of response to information requests.
Now, the council – which received 1,025 FoI requests and responded in time to 572 – has been warned that if the information is not disclosed within the next month it faces high court action for contempt of court.
The council has apologised for the delay, explaining that since Grenfell it had received an unprecedented number of FoI requests – many of which required police approval ahead of a response – and was looking to clear a backlog over coming months.
FoI requests the council has failed to respond to include:
- Questions about whether any documents relating to Grenfell Tower have been destroyed by the council since the fire
- Fire risk assessments relating to the tower
- Minutes of fire safety meetings, cost of refurbishment, consideration of a sprinkler system and details of previous fire incidents in the building
- Email correspondence between certain councillors.
Fanny Malinen, a researcher at the workers’ co-operative Research for Action, was among those to submit requests.
“Considering that many residents voiced the complacency from the council as a factor behind the fire, I find it concerning and dangerous that (the council) is continuing to treat everyone with that same contempt.
“We need to know what went wrong at Grenfell Tower, but also more widely with the council’s housing policy – public authorities have a legal obligation to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act – it is not something they can choose to do if it pleases them,” she said.
