By Tom Mackinnon

CHANCELLOR Phillip Hammond has made an additional £28m funding available to help the Grenfell are and victims in todays budget.

The Chancellor tweeted: “We will provide Kensington and Chelsea Council with a further £28m for mental health services, regeneration support for the surrounding areas and a new community space for the Grenfell United”.

Kensington and Chelsea Council will receive the funding from the central Government, Hammond has said.

The fire in June killed 71 people, and hundreds more have been left homeless and hurt both physically and mentally in the 24-storey tower block.

As well as justifying the need for the money, Hammond also proclaimed that the tragedy should’ve been avoided and should be avoided in the future:” This tragedy should never have happened,” he told Parliament, “and we must ensure that nothing like it never happens again.”

Various forms of fundraising has already taken place to help aid the victims of the tragedy, with a football match taking place at the nearby Loftus Road Stadium, home of Queens Park Rangers, in September, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity Game4Grenfell. The match pitted a combination of former footballers, sports start, celebrities and victims in what was a great day.

As well as the funding for Grenfell, Chancellor Hammond also announced a variety of orders, including the abolishment of stamp duty immediately for first-time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000. However, this will not apply in Scotland, unless the Scottish Government follows suit.