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Gove summons housing association chief after toddler’s ‘unacceptable’ death from mould
Housing secretary Michael Gove has summoned the boss of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) to explain his position following the “unacceptable” death of a toddler caused by prolonged mould exposure.
A coroner ruled on Tuesday that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s one-bedroom flat in Rochdale.
His father, Faisal Abdullah, had repeatedly raised the issue with RBH, but no action was taken.
Speaking to broadcasters in the wake of the coroner’s verdict, Mr Gove said it “beggars belief” that RBH’s chief executive was still in his job.
“This tragedy should never have occurred. The standards the housing association should have upheld have been breached and that is why I have asked the guy in charge to come to this department to explain himself,” he said.
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Yesterday, senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said the death of Awaab, who suffered prolonged exposure to mould, should be a “defining moment” for the housing sector.
Giving her findings, she said: “I’m sure I’m not alone in having [this] thought, ‘How does this happen? How, in the UK in 2020, does a two-year-old child die from exposure to mould in his home?’
“The tragic death of Awaab will and should be a defining moment for the housing sector in terms of increasing knowledge, increasing awareness and a deepening of understanding surrounding the issue of damp and mould.”
Ms Kearsley said Mr Abdullah reported mould developing in the Tweedale Street flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.
In June 2020, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring issue, but the policy meant that any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached, the inquest heard.
A health visitor also contacted RBH to raise the issue in July 2020 and an inspection that month found mould in the kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom cupboard that needed treatment.
Ms Kearsley said the mould was due to “normal daily living activities” and a lack of effective ventilation.
Awaab was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on 19 December 2020 with shortness of breath and transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital before being discharged, the court heard.
The toddler deteriorated the next day and his parents were advised by the Community Children’s Nursing Team to take him back to the Rochdale Urgent Care Centre.
Awaab went into respiratory arrest and then cardiac arrest while being transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital, the inquest heard, and died after arriving at the hospital.
Mr Gove also said that local authorities and housing associations could not blame a lack of government funding for the child’s death.
He said: “When you have got a situation where you have a young child in a house that is unfit for human habitation, it is a basic responsibility of the local authority – but particularly the housing association – to make sure that people are in decent homes.
“All this what-aboutery, all this, ‘Oh, if only we had more government money’. Do your job, man.”
Speaking after the verdict, Christian Weaver, counsel for Awaab’s family, said: “Instead of Awaab’s parents preparing for his 4th birthday, they have had to sit through a gruelling inquest process and hear the multiple ways in which the very organisations supposed to take care of Awaab failed to do so.
“Their only ask is that once and for all, the conditions for those in social housing can be improved – particularly where damp and mould is concerned and particularly where the occupiers of the homes are refugees and may not be as aware of systems and processes here in the UK.
“I hope that the findings arising out of this inquest play a significant role in helping achieve this.”
Gareth Swarbrick, chief executive of RBH, said: “I am truly devastated about Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong.
“We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any consolation to his family. We have and will continue to learn hard lessons from this.
“We didn’t recognise the level of risk to a little boy’s life from the mould in the family’s home. We allowed a legal disrepair process to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould.
“We must make sure this can never happen again. Awaab’s death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health.
“We will take responsibility for sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector and beyond.”
