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Policy paper

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: public engagement policy

Published 20 May 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grenfell-tower-inquiry-public-engagement-policy/grenfell-tower-inquiry-public-engagement-policy

Summary

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report (GTI), published in September 2024, made criticisms of specific organisations. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) policy was subsequently agreed for when Ministers and senior civil servants are invited to events involving the 7 named suppliers listed below.   

These principles were shared with all government departments in October 2025, asking them to adopt the same approach and to share this with arms-length bodies.

Guidance

As per usual processes, policy teams and senior civil servants are responsible for carrying out due diligence when advising and deciding on event attendance.

Due to their association with Grenfell, we advise that Ministers and senior civil servants should not attend:  

  1. Events sponsored by one (or more) of the 7 companies
  2. Events where a Minister or official is sitting on the same panel or table as one (or more) of the 7 companies
  3. Site visits or lobbying meetings where one (or more) of the 7 companies are in attendance
  4. Roundtables or industry panels with one (or more) of the 7 companies
  5. Meetings directly with an individual criticised in the GTI or who were executives at one of the 7 named companies between 2009-2018

Proper due diligence includes, but is not limited to, checking speaker lists, asking for confirmation of who is sponsoring an event, asking organisers who is on a panel and checking online (for example, LinkedIn) the details of any speakers or key individuals. These considerations also apply to virtual events and events held by your own department where you are responsible for the invitees.

Members of any of the named suppliers may attend an event in a different capacity, and due diligence should be taken to make decisions on these events on a case-by-case basis, with general advice remaining to avoid these events. Officials should remain risk averse to any instances where other companies in the GTI are invited.

Responding to invitations

When rejecting an invitation, the following language may be used in response:

Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II report which found failings with [name of the company], [name of Minister/official] will not be attending [name of event].

List of companies covered by this guidance

This list is not exhaustive. All UK subsidiaries of the 7 companies are in scope.

  1. Arconic Corporation in connection with matters relating to Arconic Architectural Products SAS (AAP SAS) referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.   

  2. Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. in connection with matters relating to Celotex LTD referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.  

  3. Kingspan Group LTD in connection with matters relating to Kingspan Insulation referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.  

  4. Exova Group Ltd (including Warringtonfire) in connection with matters referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.  

  5. Harley Group LTD in connection with matters relating to Harley Facades LTD referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.  

  6. Rydon Group LTD in connection with matters relating to Rydon Construction LTD referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report, and all their UK subsidiaries.  

  7. Studio E Architects in connection with matters referenced in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase II Report.

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