VOICES This tragic death was utterly preventable. Had the flat been adequately ventilated then it is highly likely that Awaab would be alive now. The coroner reports: Furthermore, I find as a matter of fact that the ventilation in the bathroom was not effective, there was a lack of ventilation in the kitchen and an overall lack of an effective ventilation system in the property. This was a direct contributing factor in the development of the mould. (Coroners Report, para 30) Put simply, Awaab died as a consequence of the mould that grew because his home was inadequately ventilated. Part F of the Building Regulations requires that there shall be adequate means of ventilation provided for people in the building. The coroners finding of inadequate ventilation is therefore a finding of fact that the home did not comply with Building Regulations in respect to its ventilation. This tragedy clearly demonstrates the importance of homes that are designed to comply with the ventilation requirements of Building Regulations, built with effective, compliant ventilation, and maintained in that state. This is not a novel or shocking discovery a simple review1 of research and case studies of mould and damp in buildings reveals a host of papers published over the past 30 years covering the UK and Europe. The shock is that a two-year-old child has to die to make this front-page news. It also underlines the need for all properties to be provided with adequate ventilation, irrespective of their age, and that improved ventilation should be a requirement of thermal Awaab Ishaks shocking death shows that ventilation is a matter of life safety. Like fire, it needs treating as such | HYWEL DAVIES improvements such as retrofitting insulation. When homes are retrofitted with insulation to improve their energy efficiency, it is essential that the ventilation is also addressed and, if need be, improved. This also highlights the importance of infection-resilient environments2 in day-to-day life and not just in pandemics. The coroner has written to Michael Gove and Steven Barclay, as housing and health Secretaries respectively, setting out her very legitimate and reasonable concerns and areas of actions that need to be taken3. However, these concerns all relate to the management of occupied social housing. They do not include asking how building control allowed this onebedroom flat to be created with inadequate ventilation that did not meet the legal requirements. It is therefore very timely that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is currently consulting on its proposed competency framework for building control inspectors. Those who read this column promptly still have a week to respond to the consultation4. There are four instances of ventilation in the framework, on pages 21-23. Please send your thoughts and suggestions on the draft to CIBSE, but in this instance and especially on this topic of building control competence in relation to ventilation please also send your thoughts directly to the HSE, setting out why you think it is essential that building control practitioners are fully competent in the provision of adequate ventilation to buildings of any type, but especially dwellings. This is our chance to make the point and demonstrate the issues that are at stake if building control does not act to ensure that buildings are ventilated. Gove and Barclay have until mid-January to reply. It is imperative that they not only reply, but that they act decisively on the coroners letter, unlike the instance of the coroners letter to Eric Pickles about the Lakanal House fire. Michael Gove has, commendably, already written to Local Authority and Housing leaders with statutory directions under the Housing Act to address mould and damp, requiring initial responses by the end of November. But the coroner has not highlighted to him that non-compliance with Building Regulations was a contributing cause of this childs death. Goves department needs to address that urgently, too. Awaab Ishaks shocking death shows that, just like fire, inadequate ventilation can be fatal. Like fire, ventilation is a matter of life safety. Like fire, it needs treating as such. I am indebted to Giles Peaker, solicitor and creator of the Nearly Legal housing blog (bit.ly/CJDec22HD5), for detailed information about this tragic case. References: 1 SD Platt et al, Damp housing, mould growth, and symptomatic health state, The BMJ, 1989 bit.ly/CJDec22HD1 2 Infection-resilient environments, National Engineering Policy Centre, bit.ly/CJDecHD2 3 Coroners Report, bit.ly/CJDEC22HD3 4 Building Control Inspectors Framework Consultation, bit.ly/CJDec22HD4 5 Council housing and housing association, bit.ly/CJDEC22HD5 The black mould in Awaabs Rochdale one-bed at DR HYWEL DAVIES is technical director at CIBSE www.cibse.org www.cibsejournal.com December 2022 19 CIBSE Dec 22 pp18-19 Hywel.indd 19 25/11/2022 18:06