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| Kensington and Chelsea council terminates contract with Grenfell Tower landlord | Kensington and Chelsea council terminates contract with Grenfell Tower landlord |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Kensington and Chelsea Council has voted unanimously to terminate its contract with the landlord of Grenfell Tower. | |
| The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) manages 9,760 homes in the borough, including the Lancaster West Estate, of which Grenfell Tower is part. | |
| Deputy council leader Kim Taylor-Smith said at a council meeting on Wednesday night: “The TMO no longer has the trust of residents.” | |
| The association had managed the properties since April 1996, although the council retained ownership of the buildings and responsibility for strategic housing policies. | |
| Cllr Taylor-Smith said the council was working with the TMO to bring its contract to a close, citing a lack of confidence in its fire safety record and a unanimous vote of no confidence from 25 residents' associations. | |
| But he said RBKC was “drawing the contract to a close in an organised fashion”. | |
| He added: “We are listening to residents and consulting on how they want their homes and neighbourhoods to be managed in the future.” | |
| The council has faced fierce criticism over the speed of its response to the fire and there has been growing concern that only a small proportion of the residents had been rehoused. | |
| Yet, speaking at a council meeting on Wednesday, leader Elizabeth Campbell insisted "this is not a time for haste, this is a time for getting it right". | |
| She said 20 families are now in permanent accommodation, while another 52 households had accepted an offer in principle, adding: "We are working around the clock to do whatever we can to get people into new homes." | |
| Cllr Campbell said Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) had bought 120 homes, while a further 20 purchases were in the hands of solicitors and 20 more under negotiation. | |
| "I am confident the number of people moving in to new homes will increase dramatically in the coming months," she said. | |
| She was heckled by residents seated in the public gallery, with one shouting "You move in to a tower block then". | |
| Labour councillor Robert Atkinson was cheered when he called on the Government to recommit to its promise of an amnesty for any illegal migrants affected by the fire. | |
| He said it was the only way for any inquiry to get to the full truth of what happened on the night of 14 June. | |
| He condemned the slow rate of progress at rehousing survivors, saying: "The council needs to be doing more and needs to be doing it faster." | |
| The meeting kicked off with a minute's silence to remember all those who lost their lives in the fire, followed by the appointment of Cllr Benazir Lasharie as deputy mayor. | |
| Cllr Lasharie gave a tearful acceptance speech, saying: "The tower has been part of my life - the first thing I could see when I left my home and the last thing we would see when I came home." | |
| She described growing up in the shadow of the tower and playing in the park at its base as a child, adding: "This council needs to change". | |
| Members of the Independent Grenfell Recovery Task Force appointed by communities and local government minister Sajid Javid were present at the meeting to "challenge and support" the council, said Kensington's and Chelsea's mayor Marie-Therese Rossi. | |
| She said: "They are looking at whether the council is up to the job of dealing with the long-term recovery of those who have suffered as a result of the Grenfell Fire tragedy." | |
| Up for discussion later in the evening is the future of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), amid accusations that it breached its duty of care by ignoring residents' complaints, failing to carry out repairs and its response to the fire. | |
| Theresa May announced in August the TMO would be stripped of responsibility for the estate surrounding the tower, while RBKC promised to consult residents on future options. | |
| Councillors are due to debate a motion, put forward by deputy leader Kim Taylor Smith, calling for the current contract to be terminated and a new management structure established. | |
| Another, put forward by a Labour councillor, recommends a staged transition to ensure that residents are at the heart of the decision-making over future management of the council's housing stock. | |
| Organisers set aside half an hour for people from the community to speak if they wish, with a number of community representatives invited to address the chamber. | |
| Councillors will also discuss a motion for an independent fire safety body to inspect the council's housing stock. | |
| Separately, the TMO is asking its members to vote for the organisation to relinquish its housing responsibilities at its annual general meeting on October 17. | |
| In the AGM document, seen by the Press Association, TMO members are asked to pass a resolution to end its management agreement with RBKC once council consultation on future management of the properties is completed and all legal obligations are fulfilled. | |
| They are also asked to pass a special resolution to change the TMO's constitution, making the council the sole member once the agreement ends. | |
| A council spokesman said: "We will be working with all communities and we will look at all options for managing housing in the future." | |
| More follows... |