Housing Ombudsman launches investigation after mould complaints following Awaab Ishak's inquest
The Housing Ombudsman has launched an investigation into Rochdale Boroughwide Housing following reports of three 'high or medium risk' complaints about damp and mould.
It comes after Awaab Ishak's inquest, which heard that the two-year-old died following prolonged exposure to mould which led to fatal breathing difficulties.In a letter to Mr Swarbrick, the ombudsman said he had become aware of three more serious cases involving damp and mould.
An investigation has now been launched into the social landlord - using powers which allow the ombudsman to grill staff and conclude whether the firm is failing in its duties.
The letter said: "Dear Gareth, Following the coroner’s verdict on the inquest involving Awaab Ishak, I asked my team to review open cases relating to the landlord, in particular damp and mould."I have been alerted to three complaints, which have also been assessed as high or medium risk. Under the circumstances, I have instructed my team to expedite these investigations.
"Given my specific concerns about the circumstances of these complaints, I have also instructed my team to use paragraph 12 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme to enable us to effectively gather any information required.
"This may entail interviews with staff of the landlord, the landlord providing information from third parties or former members of staff, and attending meetings with the Ombudsman as requested.
"Additionally...I have agreed that we will be exercising our powers under paragraph 49 of our Scheme to conduct further investigation to establish if this complaint is indicative of wider failure within the landlord. I would welcome a meeting with you to set out our approach in more detail and respond to any initial questions you or your team may have."
In response to the letter, a spokesperson for RBH said: "We can confirm receipt of the Housing Ombudsman’s letter and will meet with Mr Blakeway or a member of his team at the earliest opportunity to discuss these three cases."On Tuesday, Michael Gove said it 'beggars belief' that Mr Swarbrick was still in post as chief executive.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, 15 November, Mr Swarbrick said: "I am truly devastated about Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong."We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any consolation to his family. We have and will continue to learn hard lessons from this."We didn’t recognise the level of risk to a little boy’s life from the mould in the family’s home. We allowed a legal disrepair process to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould."We must make sure this can never happen again. Awaab’s death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health."
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