Awaab Ishak's social landlord has been condemned after a report found staff held 'prejudices' and a 'wholly unacceptable' attitude towards refugees. Little Awaab, whose parents had moved to the UK as asylum seekers from Sudan, died aged two in December 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould at the family's social flat in Rochdale.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), which owned and managed the property, has since been criticised by the Housing Ombudsman for using the lifestyle of tenants as a 'reason to dismiss their concerns'. A report published today (March 28) showed staff blaming 'the style of cooking... and the style of blaming' for damp and mould.
The Ombudsman slammed RBH after uncovering 'a disturbing picture of residents being judged' and a 'culture of othering'. Housing secretary Michael Gove suggested 'discrimination' had a part to play in the tragedy of Awaab.
Following today's shocking report, he said: "This investigation lays bare the appalling failures by RBH that led to Awaab Ishak’s tragic death. It is shocking that such inadequate standards and repeated tenant blaming were long standing issues.
“This is absolutely unacceptable and I will continue to block government funding from RBH for new homes until it can prove each of its residents has a safe and secure home. New leadership at RBH is an important first step, but there is still much more to do.
“Our Social Housing Bill will hold failing landlords to account and in Awaab’s name, we are introducing a law so that hazards like damp and mould will have to be fixed within set time frames.”
Following the conclusion of Awaab's inquest last November, a statement from his family urged RBH to 'stop discriminating, stop being racist, stop providing unfair treatment to people coming from abroad who are refugees or asylum seekers'. RBH's then-chief executive Gareth Swarbrick insisted the social landlord 'supports the diverse communities of Rochdale'.
But the family's legal team insist the allegation of discrimination has now been 'validated' by the new report. A joint statement from Kelly Darlington, of Farleys Solicitors, and Christian Weaver, of Garden Court North Chambers, said: “From the outset of this case, Awaab’s parents expressed how they had been treated unfairly and their concerns quickly dismissed because they were not from the UK.
"This is an allegation that has now been validated by the Ombudsman’s special investigation into RBH. We now know this is not an isolated case.
"It is remarkable that, in today’s society, such stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes still exist from those in positions of responsibility and working with some of society’s most vulnerable. The findings and recommendations of the Housing Ombudsman are extremely welcomed in continuing to improve the social housing landscape and in particular, unacceptable practices and attitudes within RBH.”
Coun Danny Meredith, Rochdale council's cabinet member for highways and housing, said he wanted a full review to be carried out. Writing on Twitter after the report's publication he said: "A damning report into RBH by the Housing Ombudsman, finding extreme failure in dealing with residents, communication and policies. Described as 'othering' - a them and us attitude.
"I will be outlining to RBH, I want a full review of who is at fault for Awaab's death." Tony Lloyd, Labour MP for Rochdale, added: “We still should be shocked by what happened to Awaab and his family and we should be shocked by the Ombudsman's report as to how widespread the problems were.
"It was vital that there was a change of senior management at RBH and a new interim chief executive coming in. The real test over the weeks and months is that we see the changed culture and the changed working practices that RBH's tenants deserve.”
Greater Manchester Tenants Union (GMTU), which works across Greater Manchester's 10 boroughs, said the report revealed 'institutional racism' on the part of RBH and showed residents in Rochdale suffered 'disgusting treatment and conditions'.
Tofunmi Odugbemi, chair of the GMTU committee, said the report was 'vividly clear that both policies by RBH and actions of individuals orchestrated a perfect storm of anti-black racism, xenophobia, and institutional discriminatory practices'. She said RBH 'blamed individuals rather than supporting them to find resolutions and positive outcomes for their wholly legitimate concerns'.
"These dangerous and harmful attitudes were verbalised by the institutional leads of RBH and individual staff members in their response to the Housing Ombudsman," Ms Odugbemi said. "Even four months after the death of little Awaab Ishak, no efforts were made to prevent future harm.
"There was no acknowledgement of or remedial action against the persistent racist attitudes and assumptions that were evident in the responses sent to the Ishak family. I read this report with a heavy heart and a resolve that demands real change in RBH which is community centred and led by their tenants and the tenants needs and desires to foster a future where there is true accountability for the deep and systemic harms they have caused to current and past tenants."
Mark Slater, chair of the GMTU Rochdale Branch, said the report 'comes as no surprise' to the tenants union. He said: "We have been working in Rochdale with local campaigners, opposing RBH senior management and their decisions since 2016.
"It is tragic in the extreme that it was little Awaab Ishak's death that brought the management into national disrepute, but the damp and mould issue has been widely experienced and known about in the borough for many years. The lack of any responsible repairs policy and the lack of respect for tenants is well known.
"In the Ombudsman's words 'residents being treated in dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways. In some instances the language used was derogatory'.
"This is simply a dereliction of their responsibility. As the Ombudsman reports, with a growing waiting list, now over 8,000 households, the pressure to accept housing that does not make the basic standards of dry, safe and warm are tremendous, and a situation that RBH have taken advantage of for many years.
"The report is a damning indictment of an organisation that has been widely mistrusted. We are looking to the Interim Chief Executive for some swift action."
Following Mr Swarbrick's sacking last November, Yvonne Arrowsmith was appointed as interim chief executive to turn the social landlord around. Following the Ombudsman's report today, a spokesperson for RBH said: "The findings in the report are sobering but not unexpected.
"There has been significant learning from the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, which highlighted key areas of concern within RBH. We have recognised that too often damp and mould was not seen as a serious issue and was attributed to a resident's lifestyle.
"At RBH we have taken significant steps since December 2022 to tackle this across our homes. But it is fair to say that this work should have started much sooner and that the scale of the issue in our homes means it will take us time to complete.
"The report also highlights concerns with the way in which residents were treated. Our residents have the right to be treated with respect and listened to and too often this wasn’t happening.
"We will put this right and have begun a culture shift programme across the organisation. There are wider lessons that we need to act upon, around the investment in our existing homes, and how this is balanced against the desperate need for more homes.
"Issues of overcrowding in homes have a detrimental effect in a lot of areas and is a significant issue within Rochdale but also across the country, with insufficient family homes to move people into. However, this should not excuse us from trying to find solutions, investigating the root cause of the damp and mould and taking action to treat it."
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