Audit, Inspection and Safety

Cheshire East officials remain suspended over ‘officer conduct’

08.09.17: Two top officials at Cheshire East Council (CEC) will remain suspended from their duties following allegations of misconduct. Mike Suarez, CEO of the local authority, was suspended in April, while Bill Norman, the council’s director o...

Government takes over Croydon children’s services after ‘serious failures’

05.09.17: The government has intervened and taken over Croydon’s children’s services after an Ofsted report revealed “widespread and serious failures” that have left some at risk of “significant harm”. Following th...

Support for councils following Grenfell

04.09.17: Ian Moore, CEO of the Fire Industry Association (FIA), discusses the wider lessons of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire and what measures and assessments local authorities need to have in place to protect their estate and buildings. Somehow it...

Northern council to borrow £25m to ensure tower block safety

17.08.17: Salford Council is looking to borrow £25m to ensure aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding on its buildings is safe for residents. An emergency meeting will take place on Wednesday 23 August to authorise the council to use its bo...

Southwark Council cuts off gas in tower blocks amidst national safety concerns

14.08.17: A London council has cut off the gas supply to a number of high-rise tower blocks in its area to ensure the safety of its residents. Following the Grenfell Tower disaster back in June, residents of the Ledbury Towers, overseen by Southwark...

Councils concerned with ‘significant cost’ of replacing building cladding

31.07.17: Councils have this week warned that costs of any major remedial work to replace and remove dangerous cladding from buildings must be met by the government. It follows the DCLG announcing an independent review of building regulations and fir...

Council could be tried for corporate manslaughter after Grenfell fire

28.07.17: There are “reasonable grounds” to suspect Kensington Borough Council is guilty of corporate manslaughter for its role in the death of at least 80 people after the Grenfell Tower fire, Scotland Yard has revealed. In a letter to s...

Wiltshire Council leader to join independent Grenfell taskforce

26.07.17: The leader of Wiltshire Council will be part of the taskforce undertaking the independent review of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. Communities secretary Sajid Javid today announced details of the taskforce, which will also include Aftab...

Watchdog slams local product recall systems as ‘not fit for purpose’

21.07.17: The UK has a “fragmented” product safety and recall system that is putting people’s lives in danger, a major consumer watchdog has this week warned. Findings from Which? stated that major changes are needed to improve the...

Councils join call for immediate review of building regulations after Grenfell fire

19.07.17: Councils have today joined other organisations in calling on the government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations following the Grenfell Tower disaster. It follows a number of safety organisations, i...

Calls for ‘change of mindset’ on safety regulations following Grenfell fire

17.07.17: A number of influential safety organisations have called on politicians for a ‘change on mindset’ on health and safety regulation following the Grenfell Tower fire. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the B...

DCLG to intervene in Kensington following Grenfell Tower disaster

05.07.17: The DCLG will be intervening in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) following the authority’s handling of the Grenfell Tower incident a few weeks ago. In a statement to MPs in the Commons today, communities secretary Sa...

Challenging tax complexity

30.06.17: Paul Morton, tax director at the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), outlines the importance of his organisation’s work in bringing a systematic approach to taxation and expands on what the future holds. The OTS is the adviser to gove...

Managing fire safety ‘broken’ as tower blocks in 25 areas fail combustibility tests

26.06.17: The government has this week revealed that 60 buildings with cladding similar to Grenfell Tower across 25 local authority areas have failed combustibility tests. These include a number of areas in London, such as Barnet, Islington and Brent as w...

DCLG denies forcing out Kensington CEO following Grenfell Tower tragedy

22.06.17: The chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council has resigned from his £187,000-a-year role after growing criticism over the local authority’s response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In his resignation statement, Nicholas H...