The Chairman of the Grenfell public inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick will be starting two days of hearings from today, going over details of how the process will work.

A public inquiry has been started, following calls for those responsible to be held accountable for the actions that led to the tragedy.  The hearings, which are taking place today and tomorrow in Holborn bars, will be examining issues such as the best way for witnesses to give statements, the disclosure of evidence to core participants, and timetables. The evidence itself will only start to be heard in court from next year.

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All of the families and survivors of the tragedy have been given the status of core participants, however, there is a call for more representatives from the community to also be involved. There is heavy criticism towards the lack of a balanced panel to judge the inquiry; many from the community feel that more panel members with relevant expertise, experience and background are needed alongside the judge to lead the hearing, in order for those affected to trust that the inquiry will be carried out properly. A petition has been started to call on Theresa May to take action build public trust in the Grenfell inquiry and has gained 16,000 signatures.

I am at the Grenfell Inquiry this morning. This is the beginning of a long road to justice and Grenfell survivors and victims' families should be at the very heart of any proceeding: https://t.co/B9osIm1vQF

— Emma Dent Coad (@emmadentcoad) December 11, 2017

So far, only 42 families out of 208 affected, have been moved into permanent homes since the fire in June. Many are still living in hotel rooms, and have been for nearly six months, despite Theresa May’s statements three days after the fire, saying that all those affected would be rehoused within three weeks. However, Grenfell United, a group formed of survivors of the fire have said that 118 of the families would be in emergency accommodation or staying with friends over the Christmas period.

Jeremy Corbyn has also criticised the government for ‘failing’ the survivors, due to the fact that so many residents are still living in emergency accommodation six months on from the tragedy.

There is also a memorial service taking place on Thursday the 14th of December in St. Paul’s Cathedral to mark the six months anniversary of the fire.

The Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service @StPaulsLondon will be broadcast live @BBCOne from 10.30 am this Thursday

— Mishal Husain (@MishalHusainBBC) December 11, 2017

The lack of trust in the government and the council from the survivors and the rest of the general public is apparent, and so are the reasons for it. However, this is why it is important for the rest of us to keep Grenfell present in our minds, and support those affected to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that this is prevented from ever happening again.

Click here to sign the petition to ensure the appointment of a balanced panel for the public inquiry hearing.