Needless to say, our focus on the role of corporate governance in ensuring the safety of the residents at Grenfell Tower and on how corporate governance failures contributed to the tragedy is not meant to diminish the responsibility of key organisations and individuals in their duty of care in the management and maintenance of Grenfell Tower. This post originally appeared on the Oxford Human Rights Hub. /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management London. /Resources << Not according to Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_and_Chelsea_TMO which states that in 2017 it had a huge total of EIGHT residents on its board of thirteen (the other seven being non-residents), representing nearly TEN THOUSAND properties. Many small TMOs are based in similar high rise blocks to Grenfell. The Council seems deaf. And most significantly the Council signed off on a refurbishment contract with the contractor Rydon, which wrapped the tower in highly flammable ACM cladding in a drive to save cost. Kensington and Chelsea decided to keep the name Kensington and Chelsea TMO, in the hope that tenants would identify with it. Grenfell For tenants to take on even part of their landlords role, to handle a budget, staff employment, service standards etc., they need proper training and dedicated time. % The public inquiry into the June 2017 disaster is now looking at issues surrounding social housing management, including risk assessment and handling of tenants complaints. It said said: We need good costs for Cllr Feilding-Mellen and the planner tomorrow at 8.45am!. It was set up to cover the whole borough and simply took on the existing council housing department and stock. [email protected] uiry.org.uk 0800 121 4282 Concrete is a better fire retardant material.. In total, over 250 fire fighters supported by 70 fire engines fought for over seven hours to control the blaze and helped 223 residents to evacuate from the worst residential blaze experienced in the UK during peacetime for a century. Required fields are marked *. [6] Labour councillor and now MP, Emma Dent Coad was a council-appointed board member from 2008[7] to 31 October 2012. The windows dont work. /F2 17 0 R It was its agent with a duty to coordinate the development of the requirements for the project with the client and their professional advisers, and to act as the contract administrator. [The KCTMO] doesnt spend enough on safety. How are we going to get down if there is a fire? He added that he was worried because the window-sills were plastic and in a fire could produce toxic fumes. The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was established on 1 April 1996, when it assumed management of 9,760 properties from the council. The one managing Grenfell Tower, however, was actually an Arms Length Management Organisation wholly owned by the council, writes Anne Power. In sharp contrast to this model, TMOs are locally based, grassroots community groups that want to improve local conditions in their social housing estate or small area. On the 14th of every month, the community around Grenfell gathers to remember those whose lives were lost on the night of the fire. The leaseholders association also repeatedly raised concerns about residents smoking in the stairwell and the fact that the exposed gas pipes were an easy target for vandalism. Under its long-term public remit it had developed a suitably established system for managing properties, employing dedicated individuals with a clear understanding of their roles, with little scope for compromising on safety and largely free of political influence. The correct lesson is that user control of governance does not in itself secure user empowerment.. From 2015 the Birmingham City Council have closed down that Ladywood Housing Liaison Board, using an entirely false excuse (see my second comment, which has not yet appeared on this page). There were no alarms and theres no sprinkler system in the building or panic buttons. The Role of Corporate Governance Failure in the Grenfell Tower London's high-rise tenants cite concerns in wake of Grenfell endobj This blog post discusses the conditions of corporate governance failure within the network of stakeholders in the context of the management and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. Minutes of a progress meeting on 15 July 2014 attended by representatives of KCTMO, its project agent, Artelia, and Rydon, the contractor, suggest that the concerns they raised did not relate to safety but design issues, including the colour. >> They put in new doors after the fire last October, but you can see daylight around the edge. It did not look fireproof, they said. Edward Daffarn described Grenfell Tower's management as a "mini-mafia", Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017. In July 2014, KCTMO asked it to provide costings for the three different types of cheaper cladding. It is important to remember that corporate responsibility encompasses the duties and responsibilities of corporations, but such duties are the responsibility of a variety of social actors and not merely focussed on codes and reporting procedures. Home - L6 Property Management It did not comment on the Chalcot Estate. /F9 13 0 R /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] In addition, it provides a structured way to collaborate with stakeholders on specific issues with minimal risk of confusion and loss of productivity. Edward Daffarn was accused of being "disruptive" and "aggressive" at meetings held by KCTMO during consultation with residents about the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. All rights reserved. This enables effective governance by identifying and addressing governance risk and providing a construct for evaluating how managements responsibilities fit with full oversight responsibilities. The Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) now exists as a residuary body for a single purpose - which is to support and be accountable to the Public inquiry and all other legal proceedings arising from the Grenfell tragedy. Publicity about the fake TMO puts their track record at risk. Kensington and Chelsea TMO (KCTMO) was the largest tenant management organisation (TMO) in England, managing nearly 10,000 properties on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council the entire council housing stock in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. DeKalb Area Rental Association DARA DARA (DeKalb Area Date: 6 June 2018. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] He emailed London Fire Brigade (LFB) in March 2014 warning that "if there was a major fire in Grenfell Tower and fire brigade access ever became an issue we would use the evidence recorded on our blog and in extensive email correspondence to ensure that those in charge at the TMO (Tenant Management Organisation) would face extremely serious consequences". L6 Property Management is a full service, investor-focused property management solution that ensures homeowners the peace of mind that their valuable /F6 21 0 R WebKENSINGTON AND CHELSEA TENANT MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION Grenfell Review Scoping Meetin~ Wednesday 24u~ February 2016 at 5pm Board Room, 346 /Im40 32 0 R The aluminium cladding is suspected of having helped spread the fire that claimed at least 80 lives. /F3 18 0 R chief executive of KCTMO, Robert Black, stood down on Friday, leaders of Kensington and Chelsea council have been accused of shameful behaviour, An absolute fiasco: angry scenes as council ends Grenfell Tower meeting, leader Nick Paget-Brown also quit on Friday, the Guardian obtained a high court order preventing the council from banning journalists. /Resources << /Type /Page An ALMO is a government-approved public structure, wholly owned and controlled by the Council, which separates the Councils landlord services from other Council functions such as schools, libraries, and swimming pools. Fire-resistant zinc cladding approved by residents of Grenfell Tower was replaced in the refurbishment contract with cheaper aluminium panels to save 293,368, according to documents seen by the Guardian. 2023 BBC. Governments of all parties have supported the development of TMOs since the 1980s, funding training and introducing the Right to Manage. >> /F8 11 0 R And (2) that a board of 8 tenants is wholly inadequate for managing or even just supervising such a large number of 10,000 properties. /F6 21 0 R They have also demanded copies of the service history for the buildings dry risers containing the hose connectors for the fire fighters, following unconfirmed reports from residents in Grenfell that some of the dry riser cabinets were jammed. [15] In the aftermath of the disaster, KCTMO has been further criticised for appealing to the public for donations to support the victims, despite giving no indication that it is donating to them itself. /F1 16 0 R The police were not transparent about the Grenfell death toll: why does it matter now? When a catastrophic event occurs, it is generally too simplistic to attribute blame to a prime cause or specific event. Kensington and Chelsea, following budget cuts, was quick to close day care centres, local libraries, and direct services, including the repair budget of KCTMO. Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell fire on 14 June 2017. /Xi0 23 0 R To replace the windows, they would have had to put up scaffolding, and they didnt want to spend the money., In nearby Hazelwood Tower, also run by KCTMO, Jean Dumas, an architect, works in a ground floor office of Trellik Design Studio. Ultimately, in the case of Grenfell Tower, the overriding objective of the (corporate bodys) governance framework should have been to keep residents safe. The Council at the same time cut the Council Tax of the highest band of tax-payers. Documents show contractors were asked to fit aluminium instead of more fire-resistant zinc, saving 300,000. /F7 9 0 R The fire was a foreseeable consequence of collective political inaction to regulate health and safety in tower blocks. /Xi7 31 0 R In terms of my technical input, I really do not have that technical background so it would not be for me to make comment on a ventilation system (as) I do not have that expertise.. About the Author The Grenfell Tower Fire as a Breach of the Right to Life. Is climate change killing Australian wine? /Annots [] Kensington and Chelsea TMO - Wikipedia The Oxford Conference: Holding the Government to Account, Faculty of law blogs / UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. Until April 2015, Artelia was also a key project adviser on construction health and safety risk management matters. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires public authorities to act in a manner that is compatible with the Convention rights set out in section 1. (HRA 1998, s 6) It also requires domestic courts to interpret legislation so far as possible in a manner that is compliant with the ECHR, and empowers courts to award damages where Convention rights have been violated. /Parent 2 0 R In the case of Grenfell Tower, a faulty fridge/freezer was the ignition source. Considered one of the worst man-made disasters in post-World War II Britain, the Grenfell Tower fire of June 14th, 2017 is a breach of the right to life, an assault on human dignity and a manifestation of stark inequality in the UK. No, the correct lesson is twofold: (1) that a board of 8 tenants with 7 professionals will be dominated by the professionals and fail to represent the tenants. /Length 3951 Grenfell Inquiry. Although Grenfell Tower is owned by the Borough Council of Kensington and Chelsea, the management of the tower block is subcontracted out to the TMO. This changed in 1995 when Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) was established to manage 10,000 local council properties. Kensington and Chelsea council has said it will cooperate with any investigation into the fire. /F9 13 0 R However, the inquiry has previously found that the first fire engines called to the tower were able to park close to the main entrance and get access to water mains. The council retains the ownership, a significant share of the rent, and overall responsibility for the properties, including allocations policy, capital investment, major repairs, public accounting and performance. /F11 12 0 R [10] In 2016 the chair, Fay Edwards, was awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to the community in Kensington and Chelsea. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] So according to James Lusk here, 8 out of 13 equals the great majority, and having that slight majority board constitutes it being tenant controlled. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? Grenfell What is the actual purpose of this TMOs? >> It was not a TMO, because the tenants could not take on the complex task of running the whole of the boroughs near 10,000 unit housing stock. Several homeless families were housed in ex-council flats in Grenfell Tower. In an email, the local councillor, Judith Blakeman, said "continuing to give these people so much access to put their views is unhelpful as it gives them greater legitimacy".
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