Readers of the Manchester Evening News have joined calls for a housing boss to quit following the death of Awaab Ishak.
The two-year-old died from prolonged exposure to damp and mould at his one-bedroom flat on the Freehold estate in Rochdale, coroner Joanne Kearsley ruled this week.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Group (RBH) - who managed the property - have come under intense criticism for their failure to act, despite repeated pleas for help from the toddlers father Faisal Abdullah.
READ MORE: All the times M.E.N. tried to speak to Gareth Swarbrick
The housing association's chief executive, Gareth Swarbrick has faced mounting calls to quit, including from Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who questioned why he was still in post following the conclusion of the inquest on Tuesday (November 15).
Earlier this week he issued an apology to Awaab's family, but has confirmed he will not be resigning from his post, a decision that has angered people across Greater Manchester.
Dozens of people took to our Facebook page to call for Mr Swarbrick to resign, or be sacked, over the housing group's inaction to tackle the awful mould infestation at the family's flat.
Julie Agar said: "The sad fact of this is a child had to lose his life a family will never be the same again before the powers that be acknowledged that mould and damp is a huge life threatening problem.
"Just hope that something will be done immediately to help others in this situation. Should not even be a issue in 2022 disgusting.
Natalie Aston wrote: "Why do "change & improvements" come AFTER a tragedy? Why are standards not met in the first place? Apologies are meaningless when no responsibility is taken.
"The fact the board is in support of him to remain when he's shown clear failings within his role is appalling, Backing someone due to his "extensive knowledge of the sector and the communities of Rochdale" is lame and gives little hope of much change at all. Shame on them all! RIP Baby Awaab.
"Jane Ferrand wrote: "Not surprised on a ridiculous salary. I think he should be sacked. And Christine Clark said: "To me sorry not good enough. Far from it here child die because of this.
Margaret Mcandrew said: "Should be sacked never mind resigning.
Despite multiple requests, Mr Swarbrick has 'politely declined' the Manchester Evening News for an interview. Instead he issued a statement on the RBH website apologising to Awaab's family.
"I want to start by saying how sorry I am to Awaab’s family for their loss - no apology will ever be enough," he said. "The conversation around my position has begun to overshadow the most important part of all of this, which is that a family has lost their child.
Awaab's Law: Sign our petition to ensure no other child dies from damp and mouldy social housing
"Having spoken to the board, I can confirm that I will not be resigning. They have given me their full backing and trust to continue to oversee the improvements and changes needed within RBH.
"I have spoken to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Housing, Michael Gove, to discuss Awaab and the issues we face in social housing. We back the government’s commitment to strengthen the Decent Homes Standard and the importance of the tenant's voice, which will be reinforced by the Social Housing Regulation Bill.
"We have made a raft of changes following the death of Awaab, which have been noted by the coroner. We have made a fundamental change to our disrepair policy, so that work to tenants’ homes will not be held up by a legal process.
"Other improvements include better connected IT systems and mandatory training on damp and mould for all colleagues. We are also rolling out real-time video interpreting technology for employees, enhancing communication with tenants where English is not the first language.
"We all have a duty to call out prejudice, wherever we see it. Equity is at the heart of what we do as a mutual housing society and we will continue to strive for greater inclusion and equality.
"We agree with the coroner that the tragic death of Awaab will be, and should be, a defining moment for the whole housing sector. I will continue our work in Rochdale and collaborate with the social housing sector and beyond to make sure this can never happen again."
Work to implement the 'improvements' and 'changes' referenced by Mr Swarbrick only started after the M.E.N exposed conditions families were suffering in over the summer, more than 18 months on from the tot's death. Despite the public backlash Mr Swarbrick and RBH has faced, the chair of the board, Alison Tumilty said that they have "full confidence" in his leadership.
In a statement, she wrote: "As an organisation, we would again like to extend our deepest sympathies and say sorry to Faisal and Aisha. We let them down.
"This is a tragedy of the highest order, and we are devastated that it happened in one of our homes. We have made mistakes and we are endeavouring to correct them.
"Having spoken to the board, I can confirm that we have full confidence in Gareth’s leadership. He has the trust of the board. He has extensive knowledge of the sector and the communities of Rochdale.
"Together, we will work to restore the trust of the people of Rochdale and demonstrate that we are a mutual landlord that cares, and cares deeply about our tenants. We will continue conversations with Michael Gove and the Housing Ombudsman to discuss what happened to Awaab, and the issues we face in social housing across the sector that need to be dealt with to prevent future deaths.
"In her report, the coroner acknowledged the changes we have made and our commitment to share with others. She makes recommendations across housing and health - at a local and national level.
"We take our responsibilities extremely seriously and are committed to working with others to bring about change. Rochdale Boroughwide Housing is committed to do better and we will do better."
Read more of today's top stories here
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- 'We complained so many times about mould in our home but they did nothing to help us - now our beautiful Awaab is dead'
- Awaab Ishak's death shames the country - this is what needs to change now
- 'An absolute disgrace...' Greater Manchester's horror and anger over death of little Awaab Ishak
