Sheffield Council launches mould task group following death of two-year old Awaab Ishak

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Regulator of Social Housing asked local authorities to prove they were fulfilling legal obligations after Awaab died of a respiratory condition caused by damp and mould in his Rochdale home.

There are currently 286 outstanding damp and mould cases and 1,112 mould cases requiring halophane treatment – which kills the roots of mould – in Sheffield council housing.

Dean Butterworth, head of housing investment and maintenance, said in a report the council set up the damp and mould task group to undertake a full review of how the council deals with such cases and oversee any changes to working practices.

This includes establishing a damp and mould policy that emphasises the importance of acting quickly and effectively, reviewing all staff training and identifying where mould is most common then direct investment to those places.

The first meeting of the task group is expected to take place this month.

The housing committee is due to discuss and approve the plans in a meeting on Thursday, December 15.

The full agenda can be found here: http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=644&MId=8333

Council repairs backlog

The latest figures showed there were 14,038 logged repairs, of which 6,193 were overdue.

Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing committee, said the service was prioritising emergency, urgent and fire safety repairs as well as voids and gas servicing.

He said availability of suitable contractors, skilled trades people and some materials was challenging.

Council repairs can be reported here.