The father of Awaab Ishak has told the tens of thousands backing Awaab's Law their support has stopped his family 'feeling alone'. Faisal Abdullah met with housing secretary Michael Gove in Rochdale today (February 9), along with his wife Aisha Amin, close friends and legal team.
It was the latest meeting between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to discuss how Awaab's Law can become statute. Mr Gove told Awaab's family that the government is putting forward proposals to set time limits for damp and mould issues to be inspected and repaired, while clear information will also be provided to all tenants on their rights.
Following the meeting, Mr Abdullah thanked the Manchester Evening News, Shelter and all those who backed the Awaab's Law campaign. More than 173,000 people have signed our petition for change.
Amendments have now been made to the Social Housing Regulation Bill, which meet much of the Awaab's Law campaign demands. Those will be tabled today.
Mr Abdullah said: "We have just finished our meeting with Michael Gove. I am glad to say that there will now be Awaabs's Law.
"We would like to express our thanks to Michael Gove and his team for listening to us and doing the right thing. My wife and I still struggle to deal with the loss of our son, but we are finally starting to feel like we are being treated fairly.
"We hope that Awaab's Law will help stop any other family going through the pain we have gone through. We would not wish this pain on anybody.
"I want to thank my close friends and family who stood by us and offered support. Especially, I want to thank Faisal and Moraud who have been with me through every step of this journey.
"I also want to thank the Manchester Evening News and Shelter for their support. Without my legal team we would not have achieved what we have so far.
"I want to thank Kelly and Alice from Farley's solicitors, and my barrister Christian Weaver of Garden Court North Chambers. They got justice for me in court, and helped me campaign too.
"Finally I want to end by thanking the public for helping us get Awaab's Law. Your support has stopped us feeling alone during this hard time. Thank you."
Awaab Ishak died in December 2020, following prolonged exposure to his home on the Freehold estate, Rochdale. He was just two years old.
The M.E.N. discovered other tenants were living with similar issues on the same estate last summer, with some families having children who had suffered with their health. The DLUHC says guidance will also be going out to councils to remind them of the health impact of damp and mould, with tenants living in housing conditions that pose a risk to health deemed priority for a new home.
Mr Gove said: "I’m really grateful to Awaab Ishak's family for their campaigning, they've got a great legal team, and of course the Manchester Evening News has been pressing for justice, for Awaab's Law. I was able to explain to Awaab's family that we will be changing the law, in line with their wishes.
"Awaab’s Law will become a reality and people in social housing will be guaranteed to have action if they find that there are threats to their health and the condition of their home is not good enough."
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