In a new update, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry team has announced that its final report will not be ready in time for the “next anniversary of the fire” this summer.
This is the third time the publication of the second and final report in response to the Grenfell Tower fire that occurred on 14 June 2017 has been delayed.
As previously reported by the FPA, the Inquiry report was initially earmarked for the end of 2023, before being pushed back to early 2024 and then to summer 2024. Now the team has confirmed that it will not be ready before the seventh anniversary of the fire on 14 June.
As shared in its April newsletter, the Inquiry team stated that it had so far written to 250 people as part of the Rule 13 requirement of “notifying those who may be subject to criticism in [the] report and considering their responses”. It added that the process had been “significantly larger and more complex” than originally expected.
“Although it is now reaching its final stages, it means that we shall not be in a position to publish the report before the next anniversary of the fire, as we had originally hoped,” the team said.
“However, we remain determined to publish the report as soon as possible, and the whole Inquiry team is working as hard as it can to ensure that no time is lost. When we have a better understanding of how much longer the rule 13 process is likely to take, we shall write again and, if possible, provide a date for publication.”
While no new date has been specified, this report will follow on from the Phase 1 report that was published in October 2019 and covered the events of the fire. The report also listed a number of recommendations and “important steps… to be taken to improve fire safety”. As reported by Construction News, the second and final report will “examine the causes of the tragedy”.
The Inquiry team added that, as of the end of March 2024, a total of 320,442 documents have been disclosed as part of the Inquiry, with the total number of core participants being 638.