Morning Briefing: Grenfell Inquiry to begin with memories of victims

In the news

As the one-year anniversary of the fire approaches, the inquiry into the devastating blaze at Grenfell Tower finally opens in London today.

Proceedings will begin with the bereaved invited to say some words or pay a tribute in memory of their loved ones. More substantive evidence will begin once that has concluded.

This will take place at Holborn Bars in central London, where several procedural hearings have already taken place.

Inside Housing will regularly staff the inquiry and will bring you updates as they occur.

Elsewhere in the news, a report in The Observer claims that the London Fire Brigade has advised tenants in 101 tower blocks to evacuate rather than stay put in the event of a fire, because of concerns about the cladding.

Research by The Guardian shows that hundreds of homeless people are being fined and imprisoned, with at least 50 local authorities imposing public space protection orders to penalise rough sleeping, despite Home Office guidance to the contrary.

The latest house price news is a mirror image of the status quo four years ago, with sharp rises in parts of Wales, while London falls, the latest data from Your Move shows.

The Telegraph has an exclusive claiming that surplus army rations will be given to homeless people under new Ministry of Defence plans.

Local paper Hull Daily Mail runs a piece looking at former council housing in the city which has been demolished.

“The ever-changing face of housing in Hull has seen swathes of streets, estates and tower blocks levelled as these areas became dilapidated,” it reports.

The Evening Telegraph in Dundee warns that council rent arrears have doubled since the introduction of Universal Credit at the start of the year.

And finally, James Prestwich from the National Housing Federation writes for the New Statesman’s City Metric on how we could build the four million homes per year England is short of.