The two-year-old died after prolonged exposure to damp and mould
The chief executive of an under-fire housing association has been 'removed' from his role in the wake of the tragic death of Awaab Ishak.
Gareth Swarbrick was facing growing calls to stand down, but said only on Thursday that he would not resign.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing - which was criticised at the inquest into two-year-old Awaab's death - said today it recognised his position was 'no longer tenable'.
A coroner ruled the toddler died after prolonged exposure to damp and mould at his home on the Freehold estate in Rochdale.
His death was branded a 'defining moment' for the housing sector as the inquest heard action to treat and prevent the mould was not taken by the housing association, despite repeated pleas from Awaab's family.
Mr Swarbrick was told to quit by Rochdale Council in the aftermath of the inquest and Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said it 'beggars belief' he was still in a job.
In a statement today, the housing organisation said: "The Board has taken the decision to remove Gareth Swarbrick from his post as Chief Executive of RBH with immediate effect. We will now work to appoint an external Interim Chief Executive.
"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.
"The coroner noted that RBH had made changes as a result of the tragic death of Awaab. Under new leadership RBH will continue to embed these changes and to continue to drive further improvements to our homes and to our communications with tenants.
"We are committed to sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector, and to supporting sector wide changes. We will work with other agencies local and national and with central government in implementing the wider changes recommended to them by the coroner.
"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.
"We support the coroner and Housing Ombudsman’s call for the government’s Decent Homes Standard to be strengthened to include damp and mould. There will be no further statement at this time."
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Swarbrick said he would not be resigning, saying the organisation's board had given him 'their full backing and trust to continue to oversee the improvements and changes needed'.
Awaab's home was described by experts as 'unfit for human habitation' - but the housing association did not act to sort out the problems.
Comments