Greater Manchester borough sees surge in damp and mould claims after tragic death of Awaab Ishak

The tragedy of two-year-old Awaab Ishak's death will not be allowed to happen in Trafford, according to the senior councillor responsible for housing in the borough.

Coun James Wright was speaking at specially convened scrutiny committee hearing, where representatives of housing associations looking after Trafford’s 16,000 social homes were also called to answer questions.

It comes after the council saw a surge in the number of complaints about damp and mould following a damning coroner's report into Awaab's death released last year.

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Following Ashaab’s death in December 2020 a coroner condemned the state of the home in Rochdale which contributed to his death from a respiratory condition caused by mould in the one-bedroom flat where he lived.

The tragedy also triggered an intervention from Housing Secretary Michael Gove who issued new directives to housing providers and regulations around dealing with damp and mould in social properties were also tightened up.

At last month’s Trafford council meeting, Liberal Democrats voiced fears that Trafford’s status as an ‘affluent’ borough was masking areas where people were living in deprivation, with damp mentioned as one of the issues. They cited the Broomwood estate in Timperley as one area of major concern.

That resulted in the convening of the special scrutiny committee where lead member for housing and advice Coun Wright delivered a strong defence of Trafford’s record on housing. He said that although the council does not itself own or manage any housing stock in the borough directly ‘it does not impede