A local authority is the first in the country to complete the beginning stage of a national scheme following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Gravesham council has been awarded a certificate of commitment and progress as it looks to achieve the Building a Safer Future Champion status.

The programme is designed to equip organisations with the knowledge and tools to review and upgrade their processes and regain the public’s trust following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

The first stage looked at the leadership and culture of the council, which owns and maintains 5,700 homes in the borough.

Cllr Jenny Wallace, cabinet nember for housing services, said: “The safety of each and every one of our thousands of residents is our absolute, number one priority.

“We have always worked to ensure our homes meet and, if possible, exceed national safety standards, but Grenfell was a tragic wake-up call for landlords from both the public and private sectors.

“Since then, we have redoubled our efforts to keep our tenants safe, and to be the first local authority to complete the first stage of the Building a Safer Future Champion programme is a mark of just how committed members and officers are to doing just that.”

The council is now in the second stage of the process, which if completed is likely to see it become the first local authority to achieve Building a Safer Future Champion status.