An NHS therapy service supporting survivors and bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire faces a funding cut from next year, Kensington and Chelsea councillors have been told. No service has been confirmed beyond 2029, leaving the longer-term future of support for people affected by the fire uncertain.
The Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service provides therapies and group support for survivors, bereaved families and the wider community. The funding question comes as they prepare for the tenth anniversary of the June 2017 fire, which killed 72 people, and await criminal charging decisions.
NHS England is reducing its funding. NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board, which now funds the service, has submitted a bid for £1.8 million to continue it. The ICB said no decisions had been made and existing support remained in place.
Funding beyond 2029 remains uncertain
NHS England committed £50 million to the Grenfell community’s recovery in 2018. That money funded the health and wellbeing service, which is run by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. Its work includes both therapy and groups for people affected by the disaster.
The £50 million commitment was for the community’s recovery. The £1.8 million now sought by the ICB is a bid to continue the service. The figures represent different funding commitments and requests, rather than a confirmed reduction from one amount to the other.
The concerns reported to councillors relate both to the cut expected from next year and to the absence of a confirmed service beyond 2029. The ICB’s statement that existing support remains in place does not settle the question of what funding will be available in the longer term.
Its position also means that the funding bid should not be treated as an agreed allocation. No decision has been announced, and the future arrangements remain uncertain. The information supplied does not establish the size of the expected cut or what changes it would mean for individual therapies or groups.
Councillors call for long-term support
Councillors heard the concerns at a meeting in Kensington and Chelsea. A cross-party motion called on the council to press for long-term funding and to tell the ICB and the local NHS trust that survivors and bereaved families remain a top priority.
Lucy Knight, the council’s lead member for adult social care and public health, said no-one should be left worrying about whether their care would still be there. Her comments addressed the uncertainty facing people who depend on the service, rather than announcing a change to the support currently available.
The motion places the question of continued care before both the organisation funding the service and the trust delivering it. While the council is seeking assurances about its future, the ICB has said that decisions have not yet been made.
For now, the distinction is between support that remains available and funding that has not been confirmed for the years ahead. The council’s request is for longer-term provision, not simply confirmation that the existing service is still operating.
Anniversary and charging decisions approach
The tenth anniversary of the fire falls on 14 June 2027. The Crown Prosecution Service has said charging decisions will be made before that date. Those decisions will form a separate process from the NHS funding discussions, but their timing places both questions within the coming months.
A charging decision is not itself confirmation that a prosecution will follow. The CPS commitment concerns when decisions will be made, and no outcome can be assumed. Survivors and bereaved families are therefore approaching the anniversary while also waiting for clarity on the criminal process.
The anniversary and any subsequent prosecution could bring further need for psychological support. The service already has a remit covering survivors, bereaved families and the wider community, through therapies and group support. Its future is being considered against that continuing responsibility.
NHS representatives to attend December scrutiny meeting
Representatives of NHS West and North London ICB and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust will attend a council scrutiny meeting in December. Their attendance will bring the bodies responsible for funding and running the service before councillors following the concerns raised.
The unresolved issues are the outcome of the £1.8 million bid, the implications of NHS England’s reduced funding and provision beyond 2029. Existing support remains in place, according to the ICB, but the December meeting will take place with long-term funding still unconfirmed.
