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Budget 2017: £28m pledged to help with Grenfell Tower aftermath

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that an additional £28 million has been freed up to help with the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower.

As he delivered the annual budget in parliament, Hammond announced that additional funding would be used to pay for mental health and counselling services, as well as regeneration and a new community in the West London neighbourhood.

The funding will be provided to Kensington and Chelsea by central Government, and comes after the devastating blaze at the 24 storey block left 71 dead and hundreds other homeless.

The Grenfell Tower blaze took place in June
The Grenfell Tower blaze took place in June

‘This tragedy should never happened. And we must ensure that nothing like it never happens again’, Mr Hammond announced.

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‘All local authorities and housing associations must carry out any identified, necessary safety works as soon as possible. And if any local authority cannot access funding to pay for essential fire safety work, they should contact us immediately.

‘I have said before, and I will say again today, we will not allow financial constraints to get in the way of any essential fire safety work.’

Responding to the announcement, Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn hit out at the Government for failing to fit sprinklers into council buildings.

‘The horrors of Grenfell Tower are a reflection of a system which puts profits before people, that fails to listen to working class communities’, he said.

‘In 2013, the Government received advice in a coroner’s report that sprinklers should be fitted in all high-rise buildings. Today, once again, the Government failed to fund the £1 billion investment needed.’

He added: ‘We, Mr Speaker, have the privilege to be Members of Parliament, in a building which is about to be retro-fitted with sprinklers to protect us.

‘The message is pretty clear – this Government cares more about what happens here than what happens to people living in high-rise homes.’