LONDON: The UK government today set up a specialist taskforce to take over housing and other major services at the local council in charge of the Grenfell Tower, which went up in flames last month claiming at least 80 lives.
The UK communities secretary, Sajid Javid, announced an independent recovery taskforce to help the west London borough deal with the aftermath of the tragedy as hundreds remain in temporary accommodation until permanent homes are found for them.
The taskforce is expected to manage the council's housing, regeneration, community engagement and governance services.
"The scale of the recovery effort needed on the Lancaster West estate in the months to come cannot be underestimated.
The challenge of providing that support is and will continue to be significant. I want to help the council meet that challenge... This intervention is putting in place the foundations that will support the longer-term recovery," Javid said.
Kensington and Chelsea Council had faced a barrage of criticism in its handling of the fire, with both the council leader and chief executive having resigned as a result.
Councillor Elizabeth Campbell, who was chosen as Kensington and Chelsea Council's new leader on Monday, welcomed the new taskforce.
"The unprecedented scale of this incident makes it impossible for one organisation to cope on its own. That's why my first action as leader was to ask the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for help, and I'm delighted they have been so swift to respond," she said.
"I look forward to working with their staff as we all concentrate our efforts on healing the wounds in the north of our borough and to regain the trust of a community traumatised by disaster."
The new team is expected to be phased in as the current Grenfell Tower response team is gradually wound down.
UK housing minister Alok Sharma welcomed the taskforce and told the House of Commons that efforts to rehouse those affected is underway.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan repeated his calls for external commissioners to take charge of the council until local elections next year.
"The fundamental problem in Kensington and Chelsea now is the total lack of trust from the local community in the council and elected councillors. As a result of this breakdown of authority, the council will find it almost impossible to begin giving the community the support and services it desperately needs," he said.
The taskforce announcement comes on the same day as the government-set deadline to find temporary accommodation for all those made homeless by the fire.
The Grenfell Response Team says 139 formal offers of housing have been made to survivors, after British Prime Minister Theresa May promised housing would be offered to those in need by Wednesday.
However, only 14 offers have been accepted and many are still in hotels.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the retired judge chairing the public inquiry into the fire, launched a consultation into the exact terms of reference for his work.
"I want to hear from people directly affected by the fire and others involved, to listen to their views on the shape of the inquiry’s work and the questions we should be seeking to answer," Launching consultation on the scope of the inquiry on Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said in an update on its criminal investigation into the fire that around 250 specialist officers remain on the job.
"The investigation, one of the largest and most complex in the Met's history, continues into how and why the fire started. Detectives are appealing to those people who lived in Grenfell Tower and may have images of the building's fire safety features from before the fire to provide them to police," a Metropolitan Police statement said. PTI AK AMS
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