Less than 15% of the money raised following the Grenfell Tower fire has been given to survivors so far, campaigners say.

Data released by the Charity Commission shows Grenfell residents and those directly affected by the tragedy have received only £2.8 million of the £18.9m raised, nearly two months on.

The watchdog goes on to say £7.25m raised in the wake of the disaster has been handed to distributing organisations on the ground.

Organisations behind the fundraising drive said much of the raised cash was being held back until discussions could take place about how to best use it as the support effort continues.

The London Emergencies Trust (LET), tasked with handing millions of pounds to bereaved families and survivors who were in hospital, added it had only received applications from families for £1.47 million worth of donations so far.

But Yvette Williams from campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell told the Press Association the process of applying had proved difficult for some, particularly when English is not their first language.

“Some of these people are still heavily traumatised,” she said.

“So they’re supposed to leave their hotel rooms, get down to wherever, fill in this application - they already feel like they have been put in a position where they’re begging for money.

“Once decisions have been made about how it’s going to be distributed, the key workers attached to those families should be bringing those forms and doing it with them.”

Donated cash has been divided up into several forms by charities, including sums specifically for the bereaved or those treated in hospital and a separate “fresh start” grant of £10,000 for all displaced families.

Red Cross and the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation both raised £5.75 million, while the Evening Standard fund collected more than £6.7 million, with smaller sums from other organisations making a total of £18,856,206.

The three fundraising drives have given a total of £4.8m to the LET to distribute on the ground, with bereaved families to receive £20,000, those who were treated in hospital for a week or more being given £10,000 and £3,500 handed to those who were in hospital for six hours or more.

A spokesman for the trust said it had paid out £664,500 to 59 out the 116 applicants and explained the complex process of verifying claims took time.

A delay in handing displaced families the separate £10,000 fresh start grant was due to many not being rehoused quickly, one charity said.

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The Kensington and Chelsea Foundation decided to give out the grant this week, which will be arranged by the Rugby Portobello Trust in the neighbourhood.

A spokeswoman said: “We had initially agreed that these grants would be made when new temporary or permanent accommodation had been secured.

“However, the K&C Foundation, in consultation with Grenfell United (the survivors group), has decided that it should expedite donations to those who have not already received them, irrespective of whether they have secured new accommodation or not.”

Donated clothes outside Maxilla Hall Club

The British Red Cross and the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation both said further funds - with a combined worth of more than £5m - would be distributed as soon as it became clear how it would be spent.

“Every penny of the £5.75 million raised by the British Red Cross for the London Fire Relief Fund will go to the surviving victims of the Grenfell fire and their families,” a spokeswoman for the British Red Cross said.

The Charity Commission said it had taken the decision to help with the effort due to the “urgent need” of the victims.

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Chief operating officer David Holdsworth said: “We have been working to help charities coordinate their response so that those affected know where to go to get access to the funds that have been raised for them.

“As the regulator, we also ensure that funds are protected for those they are intended for.”

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