P2-42 Accepted

Review Civil Contingencies Act intervention powers

Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · Issued 4 September 2024 · Addressed to: UK Government

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

Inquiry recommendation

That the [Civil Contingencies] Act [2004] be reviewed and consideration be given to granting a designated Secretary of State the power to carry out the functions of a Category 1 responder in its place for a limited period of time. (113.67)

Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report · 4 Sep 2024 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- The government accepted this recommendation in February 2025, with the Cabinet Office committed to reviewing statutory intervention powers under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Government Response to Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report, MHCLG, February 2025).
- The government's annual report stated the Cabinet Office completed an initial assessment of intervention powers and is developing proposals (Annual Report on Progress, MHCLG, February 2026).

Response — verbatim from government

UK Government — initial response

The government accepts this recommendation. The Cabinet Office will review statutory interventions powers, in consultation with other government departments.

UK Government · 16 Jan 2025 Written response →

UK Government — follow-up

The government accepts this recommendation. The Cabinet Office will review statutory interventions powers, in consultation with other government departments.

UK Government · 26 Feb 2025 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 1 Feb 2026 The Cabinet Office completed an initial assessment of intervention powers in the Civil Contingencies Act and related legislation, and is currently developing policy proposals for ministerial review. Source →

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.