Life-saving Awaab's Law set to clear final hurdle

THE Bill leading to Awaab's Law is set to appear in Parliament for a final time this week before being signed off by King Charles.

- STEPHEN TOPPING

More than 177,000 people signed a change.org petition launched by the M.E.N. to change the law in Awaab Ishak's memory.

The two-year-old died in December 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould at a social housing flat run by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) on the town's Freehold estate, where he lived with his mum and dad.

His inquest last November heard how the family had first complained about mould in the flat before Awaab was born, and were told to paint over it.

Concerns were also raised on several occasions in 2020, but work to resolve the issue was not carried out, and the flat was found to be 'unfit for human habitation without repairs' following his death.

An M.E.N. investigation last summer revealed other families were still living in similar conditions on the estate, including children with breathing difficulties.