The Overview & Scrutiny Committee of Kensington and Chelsea Council scheduled a meeting to discuss a range of topics, including updates on the Grenfell support programme, the council's commitments following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, and the council's financial performance. The committee was also expected to review its work programme and consider the forward plan of key decisions.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry Commitments

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the council's progress in implementing the 45 commitments made in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report.

The report pack included a tracker summarising progress on all 45 commitments, including suggestions for success criteria and relevant indicators. It noted that of the 45 commitments, 31 were linked to specific projects, with 9 marked as complete and 22 underway. The remaining 14 commitments were described as core standards to be embedded in the council's work, with 4 having been embedded and work ongoing for the remainder.

The report also detailed the establishment of cross-cutting delivery groups to support collaborative work across the council. These groups are:

• 'Community presence and trust' delivery group
• 'Coming together for safety' delivery group
• 'Employee lifecycle' delivery group

The report identified several key risks and issues, including:

• The risk that bereaved, survivors and residents do not feel sufficiently informed about progress.
• The risk that implementation of the commitments loses sight of the Inquiry findings.
• Capacity constraints and competing priorities.
• Cultural resistance and organisational inertia.
• The risk that commitments and changes are not sustained.
• The impact of shocks from big events.
• The impact of financial resources or increased pressures on council budgets.
• The risk that cross-council/department commitments are not monitored or managed effectively.

The report also provided updates on key areas of progress, including the council's work on equalities and the development of a programme for maintaining organisational memory of lessons learned from the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In particular, the report mentioned that officers are looking at best practice in terms of methods to capture and then utilise lessons learned, citing the NATO and NASA Lessons Learned Libraries as examples.

The report also included an update on government recommendations and their implications for the council, as well as communication and engagement plans.

Grenfell Support Programme

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the implementation of the Grenfell Support Programme (2024-2028), which provides support to bereaved and survivors, the immediate local community, and education and training support.

The report pack included information about the reach, delivery and impact of the support programmes, as well as key risks, issues and lessons learned. It also included summaries of reports by the Independent Scrutiny Function (ISF).

According to the report, the Dedicated Service currently supports 801 bereaved and survivors. For the 2025/26 financial year, 43% of individuals have opted in for support from a named Dedicated Service Worker, and 57% have chosen to opt out. Since 1 July 2025, bereaved and survivors have had the opportunity to apply for their future years' Personal Budgets (2026/27 and 2027/28) to be paid as a Lump Sum Payment.

As of 10 October 2025, 2,480 households have made an application for support from the Grenfell Community Support programme, representing approximately 44% of the total population of the area. The report stated that 70% of households are accessing both the wellbeing grant and leisure centre membership, 15% of households have only accessed the wellbeing grant, and 15% of households have only accessed the leisure centre membership.

Since the launch of the Grenfell Education Hub in September, targeted support has already been delivered to nine of the eleven local schools that are either within the 500m radius of Grenfell Tower, or who have significant numbers of young people on roll that live within the 500m.

Annual Complaints Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the Annual Complaints Report, which provides an overview of the council's performance on responding to complaints.

The report stated that although the number of complaint submissions increased in 2024/25, the number of accepted complaints fell by 2.45%. During the 2024/25 year, the overall respond in time rate was 85%, which is much improved, and 89% at stage two, close to target.

The report noted an increase in escalations to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), with referrals rising by 34% compared with the 2023/24. The uphold rate at Ombudsman stage is amongst the highest in London, at 28.3 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.

The LGSCO has written to the council outlining their concerns that their enquiries are frequently responded to late and there is a failure to carry out recommended actions within agreed timescales. Further research regarding reasons for escalation shows that failure or delays in carrying out agreed actions at all complaint stages is a major cause of escalation.

Financial Monitoring Report

The committee was scheduled to review the Quarter 2 2025/26 Revenue and Capital Financial Monitoring Report.

According to the report pack, the General Fund revenue budget position at quarter 2 is an overall forecast nil variance position against a revised net budget of £219.080m. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget position at quarter 2 is a forecast nil variance and includes a budget transfer of £2.4m to the capital programme.

The overall position on the General Fund Capital Programme is a forecast net underspend of £25.539m against a revised budget of £109.395m. The overall position on the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme is a forecast net underspend of £3.574m against a revised budget of £74.073m.

The latest Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation is £135.161m based on information published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in July 2025.

Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the Forward Plan of Key Decisions and identify any to be scrutinised.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review and make any adjustments to its work programme. The report pack included a draft Transformation reference report for the committee to review and amend before referring it to the Leadership Team for a response.