Awaab Ishak: Housing boss sacked after boy's mould death

The boss of a housing association which rented out a mouldy flat to Awaab Ishak's family has been sacked.

Gareth Swarbrick has been removed from his post as chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, the board said.

His sacking comes four days after an inquest said two-year-old Awaab died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to the mould.

His father raised the issue for three years but no action was taken before his son's death in 2020.

In a statement read out at a Rochdale vigil on Saturday, Awaab's family said they were "deeply saddened" that "RBH did nothing but express their confidence" in Mr Swarbrick before Saturday's announcement.

Christian Weaver, part of the family's legal team, said "much more needs to be done", adding that they felt "public support has played a vital role" in the sacking.

A government source welcomed Mr Swarbrick's removal from his £185,000 per year role "for his profound failings".

"RBH and their board still have very serious questions to answer," the source said.

"Why did they give him their full backing after the coroner's report and as recently as 24 hours ago? And why have they failed to answer basic questions about the state of their housing stock?"

Announcing Mr Swarbrick's removal, the RBH board said: "Our original instincts were for Gareth to stay on to see the organisation through this difficult period and to make the necessary changes, but we all recognise that this is no longer tenable."

It said it would "continue to drive further improvements" under new leadership.

"As an organisation, we are deeply sorry for the death of Awaab and devastated that it happened in one of our homes.

"We must ensure this can never happen again. His death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health."

Also at Saturday's vigil, Mark Slater, from the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, described RBH's sacking of Mr Swarbrick as "a self-preservation tactic".

He joined calls for a charge of corporate manslaughter to be brought against the association, saying "there's corporate responsibility here - these individuals won't get away with cutting the head off the snake".

About 70,000 people have signed a petition calling for the introduction of an Awaab's Law to prevent deaths caused by mould in homes.

• Condensation is the leading cause of mould in UK homes, with signs including fuzzy black, white or green patches on the walls, and a damp smell
• People living with mould are more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses, infections or allergies
• Taking shorter showers and wiping the area afterward, plus improving overall ventilation can minimise the problem
• If you are living in a rented property, it is the landlord's responsibility to fix a mould problem if it is caused by poor maintenance, according to the charity Shelter
• But it said if there is evidence of a tenant not ventilating the home correctly, then the landlord may not be responsible
• Residents can make complaints about housing associations directly to the Housing Ombudsman
• About 3.5 million homes in England failed to reach the minimum requirement for "decent homes", according to recent government data.
• They included 2.2 million homes which host the highest risk of serious harm or death

Awaab's inquest, which finished on Tuesday, heard his father Faisal Abdullah - who came from Sudan to the UK in 2016 and was joined by his wife Aisha Amin a year later - reported mould in their flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.

In June 2020, the family contacted solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring mould issue, but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached.

The inquest heard Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues. He died after being rushed to hospital with shortness of breath in December that year.

After the inquest finished, Mr Swarbrick, who was appointed chief executive in 2008, apologised for the organisation's response over the mould but rejected calls to quit his job, saying he had the board's "full backing".

"We didn't recognise the level of risk to a little boy's health from the mould in the family's home [and] we allowed a legal disrepair process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould," he said.

He also said RBH had "made a raft of changes" after Awaab's death and added the organisation would "continue to strive for greater inclusion and equality" after the boy's parents said RBH should "stop being racist".

The family said they had "no doubt at all that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and less aware of how the systems in the UK work".

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