Awaab Ishak WILL have a lasting legacy, with ministers vowing to ensure social housing tenants across the country live in safer conditions. The toddler died eight days after his second birthday after breathing in mould at his home for several months, with no action taken by social landlord Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), despite repeated pleas for help from his family.
The harrowing details uncovered in Awaab's inquest sent shockwaves across Greater Manchester and beyond. In the two months that have followed, more than 170,000 people have signed the Manchester Evening News' petition calling for Awaab's Law.
Now, in a letter to coroner Joanne Kearsley, government ministers have explained how they will look to take action to improve the conditions faced by tenants up and down the country in Awaab's memory. The letter, signed by housing secretary Michael Gove and health secretary Steve Barclay, cites the M.E.N. and Shelter campaign for change and explains how Awaab's Law could become a reality.
READ MORE: A step towards meaningful change following the case of tragic Awaab Ishak
Mr Gove wrote: "Awaab Ishak’s death was a tragedy that should never have occurred. People across the country were horrified to hear about the terrible circumstances that led to it.
"Awaab’s case has thrown into sharp relief the need for renewed action to ensure that every landlord in the country makes certain that their tenants are housed in decent homes, and they are treated with dignity and fairness. It is my relentless focus to restore the right of everyone in this country, whatever their race or cultural background, to live somewhere warm, decent, safe and secure."
Why we're campaigning for Awaab's Law...
Awaab Ishak died in December 2020. His parents came to the UK from Sudan as asylum seekers in search of a better life, but they were let down in the most heartbreaking circumstances.
Inaction on resolving damp and mould in their home, which the coroner found to be a result of poor ventilation, meant that by the time Awaab died, his flat was 'unfit for human habitation' without repair. While a legal claim was lodged against RBH, concerns were raised by health and social care workers, and issues were identified by RBH staff who visited the property themselves, the problem was not resolved.
Details of Awaab's life and death only became public once the case reached Rochdale Coroners' Court last year. Fallowing a preliminary hearing, the M.E.N. knocked on dozens of doors at the same estate Awaab lived, Freehold. We discovered how other families were still living with difficult damp and mould cases, and with children who had previously been rushed to hospital with breathing issues.
Our investigation prompted RBH to check every property on the estate. Almost 80 per cent were found to be affected by damp and mould, more than 18 months on from Awaab's death, with the shocking revelation a factor in RBH being downgraded by the Regulator of Social Housing and having cash awards taken away for new homebuilding projects by Mr Gove.
Evidence heard at Awaab's inquest revealed how his family had been wrongly blamed for the issue of damp and mould. But it was not just a reflection of practices in Rochdale - as the Housing Ombudsman called for widespread change across the country.
Since first reporting Awaab's death last summer, the M.E.N. has been contacted with multiple reports every week of tenants suffering in damp and mould, in social properties across Greater Manchester, but it's a national problem. A Freedom of Information request by Radar revealed 5,838 complaints about leaks, damp and mould were made to the Housing Ombudsman in the three years to March 2022.
When Ms Kearsley concluded Awaab's inquest, she told his parents in court: "More than anything, I hope you know that Awaab will - I am sure - make a difference for other people."
Awaab's Law is the chance to make that a reality.
What the government has promised...
Before launching the campaign for Awaab's Law, the M.E.N. consulted housing charity Shelter to see how meaningful change could be brought about. We called on MPs to get behind the Social Housing Regulation Bill going through Parliament to strengthen the Regulator of Social Housing, and for additional campaign elements to be met to address key issues Awaab's family had faced. Awaab's Law, in essence, could be enshrined in that bill.
Speaking to the M.E.N. in Rochdale last November, Mr Gove gave his support to the campaign and promised work to see how Awaab's Law could become a reality. The letter to Ms Kearsley explains how that could look in practice.
Mr Gove wrote: "Following the Manchester Evening News and Shelter campaign for ‘Awaab’s Law’, we will table an amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill relating to hazards in social homes. Our intention, subject to further discussion with the representatives of Awaab’s family, is to commit me to publishing a policy statement on approaches to tackling serious hazards (including damp and mould) in the social rented sector."
That policy statement will address the first two of our four campaign points. They involved setting social landlords time limits of 14 days to investigate damp and mould issues, and seven days to resolve them where a health issue has been identified.
Mr Gove says the police statement 'would specify time limits which landlords must meet regarding investigating hazards and acting where there are health concerns'. Specific details on how long landlords would have to deal with the issues are yet to be confirmed, but Mr Gove says that if the amendment is approved by Parliament, the new measures would be introduced 'within six months' of the law being signed off by the King.
Another of our campaign elements is met elsewhere in the letter, which includes other changes being looked at following Awaab's death in response to additional concerns raised by Ms Kearsley. We have called for all tenants to be provided with information on their rights, how to make a complaint and what standards they can expect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, in the language they are most proficient in.
Mr Gove says a review has been underway since 2019 on how to make the Housing Health and Safety Rating System simpler. This will include 'improved guidance given to landlords and tenants' and making it 'easier for landlords and tenants to understand'.
The next stage in the review is due this spring, Mr Gove says, so at this point it should be clearer whether the changes will meet the conditions set in the Awaab's Law campaign.
What we're still waiting on...
Our fourth campaign point has not been addressed in the letter to Ms Kearsley. This element called for bosses to ensure bids for new social housing properties are treated as a high priority if a medical professional has recommended a tenant moves home after identifying a risk to health at their existing property.
Some tenants the M.E.N. spoke to last year could not secure a move from their home despite having letters from GPs urging them to leave, and in the case of Awaab, a health visitor wrote to RBH expressing concerns about mould at the property. The M.E.N. will ask the government if this policy is being considered in another way.
However, this campaign element does not relate to a concern raised by Ms Kearsley in her preventing future deaths report, so the government would not have to comment on it in the letter published this weekend. It's also an issue that should become less common if the other changes Mr Gove has promised come into effect.
Those changes would mean rapid work would have to take place to resolve damp and mould when health issues are raised. Therefore, it would only be in the most severe cases when repairs cannot be carried out that tenants would need to move, and the spirit of this campaign point could still be included as part of the government's work.
What needs to happen next...
The M.E.N. will continue to speak with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to check on the timely progress being made towards Awaab's Law. We will check the details of the amendment put forward to the Social Housing Regulation Bill to ensure the changes being made are a true reflection of what more than 170,000 of you have demanded - and a true legacy for Awaab.
We have already secured the support of several MPs across Greater Manchester as part of our campaign. With the government now working towards amending the Social Housing Regulation Bill, we again urge all MPs - from all sides of the political spectrum - to get behind the proposals.
In all of this, we must never forget Awaab, and the pain his family had to go through after losing their beautiful boy. As they said outside court following his inquest: "He was always full of smiles, he liked to joke and was full of life and laughter.
"He used to enjoy playing on his bike and with his ball. He always wanted to be with us. His absence leaves a huge void."
It's now down to politicians to ensure the tragedy that Awaab's loved ones cruelly suffered cannot be inflicted on another family. Awaab Ishak must never be forgotten.
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