'You don't need this stress': Michael Gove speaks to tenant on Awaab Ishak's estate as he vows to 'make the penny drop' for landlords
On the same estate that tragic Awaab Ishak had lived, breathing in his killer, Michael Gove promised action. The housing secretary had just met Awaab's parents before visiting the Freehold estate, in Rochdale, where the family used to call home.
Mr Gove was in Rochdale on a day he had announced a £1 million funding hit for RBH, as the fall-out from Awaab's inquest goes on. He spoke to representatives from the landlord and Rochdale Council, as well as Awaab's parents and their legal team, before visiting a Freehold tenant who shared her own experience with damp and mould.
It was a moment when Mr Gove saw the reality that too many tenants on the Freehold estate have been faced with for too long. He seemed dismayed at what he heard, telling the woman: "You have to rely on your landlord to do that sort of work... you don't need this stress and you certainly don't need this worry."
It was a tragedy that could and should have been prevented. That's why the Manchester Evening News and Shelter are campaigning for a change in the law that would compel housing associations not to allow any other child, or anyone else, to suffer in damp and mouldy social housing. "This legislation follows on from that. I know that there are people including myself who would prefer this legislation to have come forward more quickly - we're acting now, the important thing is to make sure the penny drops with housing associations."
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has questioned the decision at a time Rochdale is suffering from a housing crisis. The town's MP, Tony Lloyd, told the Northern Agenda podcast: "While I understand that looks like you're penalising the housing association, what you're penalising really, in the longer room are people who are desperate for reasonable quality housing in Rochdale.
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