‘You need to get on top of this, or we could end up with the death of another child’: Concerns remain over damp and mould in RBH homes following tragic case of Awaab Ishak

Serious concerns remain over damp and mould in homes owned by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing following the death of tragic toddler Awaab Ishak.

An inquest last month found the two-year-old’s death was caused by a severe respiratory illness brought on by the conditions in the one-bedroom flat his family rented from RBH on the town’s Freehold estate.

 

Read more: Prolonged exposure to mould in RBH flat led to death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, inquest concludesPublished: 15 November 2022

 

RBH has since sacked Gareth Swarbrick as chief executive but the rest of the board remain in post.

 

Read more: New interim chief executive appointed at RBHPublished: 01 December 2022
Gareth Swarbrick sacked by RBH board in u-turn after previously backing the chief exec to stay in positionPublished: 20 November 2022

 

On Monday night, three RBH directors faced questions from a council scrutiny committee on how the ‘mutual’ was going to ensure no such tragedy happened again.

The panel welcomed their commitment to tenants living’ in safe decent housing’ – finance director John McGrail explaining how the organisation planned to work more closely with the council and tenants, while A £1.2m programme to improve ventilation in the properties was now underway.

But members also told Mr McGrail – who appeared alongside Clare Tostevin, director of growth and Nadhia Khan, director of customer and community – about cases within their wards that continued to leave them deeply worried.

Councillor Dylan Williams said: “In regards to damp and mould It’s great you are doing all these things now. But why, two years after the death of a child, have I still got residents with children contacting me in East Middleton, in the borough of Rochdale?”

Councillor Williams referred to pictures he had been sent from three separate properties – one showing mould in the room of a little girl who, he said, had been in hospital with bronchitis.

“I just can’t understand when a child has died in Freehold, that you have still got numerous properties – I have had another two [reports] today that have got really bad mould – especially when there’s children involved and it’s still there.”

He questioned why it had taken media attention for the public to get involved and pushed for assurance that RBH would not open itself up to scrutiny and accountability.

“You really need to get on top of this, or we could end up with the death of another child,” he added. “I honestly really hope you get to grips with this mould and repair and that you keep to your word and engage with the council.”

Mr McGrail said RBH had committed to come back before the committee on a regular basis to report on progress.

Ms Khan said she had been asked the same question at Awaab’s inquest – and gave a commitment to work with the council and partner agencies to resolve any housing issues, including damp and mould.

Ms Khan said RBH bosses had met with Councillor Danny Meredith, cabinet member for housing during the week,  as well as a housing standards officer to carry out an inspection on a property.

“Those are some examples where we have already started to work with the council,” she said.

“We are also committed to putting a housing officer in each of the neighbourhood hubs where the council has regular surgeries. Again that was a commitment we gave in court, I think both the council and NCA [Northern Care Alliance] have received letters from the coroner to that effect.”

On the subject of why it had taken two years to take action, Ms Khan said RBH did not know until June this year that Awaab’s death was linked to damp and mould.

“What we have been doing over the last two years is making sure any disrepair issues that come to us are tackled. Over 50% of disrepair claims that come to us have damp and mould,” she said.

“We have been putting additional resources to make sure that damp and mould, particularly, is dealt with as soon as possible.”

She added that the process was now ‘much quicker’ and a new ‘damp and mould taskforce’ was committed to dealing with complaints in 15 days.

Similar concerns were raised by Councillors Shahid Mohammed and Angela Brown in the meeting.

Councillor Mohammed – who represents Milkstone and Deeplish, where the Freehold estate is – said residents were still complaining about damp and mould ‘on a regular basis’.

“Why should residents and tenants of RBH have confidence in you as the social provider?” he added.

Clare Tostevin said the organisation accepted the inquest report, which found that RBH had ‘made assumptions’ about certain communities – but ‘abhorred’ all forms of racism.

“We recognise there’s a need to work with our tenants to ensure that our homes support modern ways of living,” she said, noting that the flats had been built in the 1960s.

“We also need to make sure that households are suitable for the size of households that are living there as well. A single person is very different to a family.”

She added that better engagement was ‘really key’ to RBH understanding tenants’ needs’.

Committee chair Councillor Tom Besford asked for details of Gareth Swarbrick’s severance package but was told that was still under negotiation and could not be disclosed.

Rochdale council’s communities, regeneration and environment  scrutiny Committee met at Number One Riverside on Monday night (5 December).

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporting Service