Grenfell inquiry
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017, in which 72 people died, expect the public inquiry’s final report on Wednesday to finally halt a “carousel of blame-pointing” and damn the conduct of government, construction firms and multinational material manufacturers.
Starmer’s government has said it will carefully consider the recommendations, while the bereaved and survivors want a commitment to deliver all of them. The prime minister’s initial response will be a key early test of his premiership.
School inspections
As schools return from their summer holidays this week, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, will announce that single-word Ofsted judgments – such as “outstanding” and “inadequate” – will be scrapped with immediate effect for state schools and replaced by report cards aimed at improving standards and helping parents to better understand strengths and weaknesses, after calls from teaching unions and the suicide of primary headteacher Ruth Perry. The Conservatives oppose the plan.
Winter fuel payments
Labour will continue to face pressure from campaigners and critics over its decision to means-test winter fuel payments worth £300 a year for millions of pensioners to help plug a fiscal black hole.
The Tories and Liberal Democrats are pushing for a parliamentary vote, but the Commons leader, Lucy Powell, said the government will not reverse the plan. Instead, it has launched a campaign to encourage retired people to check if they are eligible for pension credit, with 880,000 thought to be missing out on up to £3,900 a year.
However, she raised eyebrows when she suggested the UK faced a run on the pound or an economic crash if the payment had not been scrapped.
Legislation
The railway public ownership bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday, bringing ministers’ plans to bring all passenger rail into national ownership under Great British Railways, as contracts with private operators expire, one step closer.
The following day, MPs will debate the budget responsibility bill, under which any “fiscally significant” government measure must first be assessed by the OBR, the fiscal watchdog. Ministers are also expected to deliver statements on some of the big events over the summer, notably the August riots.
While Starmer may have been forced to cancel his family summer holiday as a result, No 10 insiders feel it gave him the chance to prove his tough law-and-order credentials. The government is also likely to face questions on its plans to ban smoking outdoors.