The death of Awaab Ishak must ‘never be allowed to happen again’, according to Housing Minister Michael Gove.
Mr Gove has written to the leader of every English council to warn them that a repeat of the two-year-old's death — which an Manchester Evening News investigation first shed light on — could not be allowed to happen. Awaab died in December 2020 after developing a respiratory condition caused by untreated mould in a one-bedroom flat in Rochdale.
As has now been revealed, his parents Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin made repeated pleas to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) to remedy the situation, but these fell on deaf ears. Earlier today, RBH’s chief executive, Gareth Swarbick, was sacked by the board of directors.
READ MORE: Awaab Ishak's family react after housing association boss Gareth Swarbrick sacked
Now, after saying it ‘beggared belief’ that Mr Swarbick had not been fired sooner, Mr Gove has sent a letter to the bosses of hundreds of councils — as well as a separate letter to all social housing providers. In it, he said that the country needed to "raise the bar dramatically" on the quality of social housing and "empower tenants" to ensure "their voices are truly heard".
“I want to be clear about what this must mean in relation to damp and mould, as I have been made aware of many cases where this has gone unaddressed for far too long and am concerned that they are not treated with sufficient seriousness,” Mr Gove said. "Where people complain about damp and mould, you must listen; where you find them, you must take prompt action. To keep tenants safe, you must not hide behind legal process."
Mr Gove, in the letter to council leaders, calls the death of Awaab an "avoidable loss". He continued: "All of us - including my department - need to deliver our responsibility to people living in poor quality housing. That is why I am writing to you to request you do everything in your power to prioritise the improvement of housing conditions for the millions of private and social tenants, in line with existing duties in the Housing Act 2004.
"This becomes ever more urgent as we go into winter with a cost of living and energy crisis, which may exacerbate damp and mould conditions in some homes."
The letter then tells local councils to supply his department with an assessment of damp and mould issues affecting their privately rented properties, as well as details of how it is being tackled. Councils have also been asked to list the number of civil penalty notices and successful prosecutions pursued in relation to dangerous damp and mould.
Mr Gove said: "The tragic death of Awaab Ishak has rightly shocked people across the country. This is an appalling case of the utmost gravity and it is abhorrent that anyone should have to live in such conditions in Britain today.
"Alongside delivering new laws on tougher social housing regulation, I am directing all councils across England to make an urgent assessment of housing conditions for tenants in their area with particular focus on issues of damp and mould, and enforcement action being taken. I am putting housing providers on notice, I will take whatever action is required to improve standards across the country and ensure tenants' voices are heard.
"Everyone has the right to feel safe in their homes, and the death of a child like Awaab Ishak must never be allowed to happen again."
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