Grenfell Tower Timeline: The Key Events

An investigation reveals that Kensington and Chelsea council made £129 million from selling property in the years leading to the Grenfell fire tragedy. This money could have been spent on the tower’s renovation works, we established, but instead cuts were made to the budget, including saving £300,000 by using cheaper, more combustible cladding. The council also spent more than £60 million investing in new buildings in the years leading up to the fire on June 14, 2017, which killed 72 people. Survivors of the inferno have accused Kensington and Chelsea of “acting more like a property developer than a council” when it should have been focused on fire safety at Grenfell. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism details exactly when key decisions about the tower's renovation and how to finance it were made, alongside the council's property deals.

https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-05-29/grenfell-tower-timeline-the-key-events

Freud 'Not In A Position' To Give Timetable for Universal Credit

Lord Freud has said he is ‘not in a position’ to say when couples and children will be moved onto universal credit. The welfare reform minister was asked in the House of Lords about the timetable for the flagship welfare policy. Lord Michael German, Liberal Democrat peer, said: ‘Given the significance of universal credit in that it will always make work pay more than being on benefits, does my noble friend agree that getting it right is more important than making mistakes as we go along? But, if he will forgive my impatience, when will we see the first families with children being able to receive universal credit?’ Lord Freud said: ‘When you are introducing a large cultural change like this, it is important to do it in a careful and controlled way, and to make sure that it is safe and secure.’ Read the full debate on the Parliament website.

Universal Credit: Timeline 'unchanged', says DWP

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says the timeline for bringing existing benefit claimants on to Universal Credit “remains unchanged”, following rumours of delays in the national press. Reports suggest that there is growing confidence in Whitehall that the October 2013 deadline for the opening phase of moving new claimants on to the system will be met.  However, it suggests senior government advisers believe it may be necessary to delay the start of the second phase due in April 2014.  Read more on 24dash.