COMMENT


A duty of care


A coffin.


I’m writing this listening to the BBC News report on the Government’s announcement of the new Social Housing Act. It includes new legislation that would force social landlords to act on repairs to their properties in a timely fashion. It’s called Awaab’s Law, after the two- year old boy, Awaab Ishak whose death from respiratory failure was, his inquest found, caused by the mould growing in his Rochdale flat. For years, Awaab’s father Faisal Abdullah had repeatedly asked the housing association to sort out the mould and damp in their flat. Instead, the association did nothing simply telling him to ‘paint over it’.


The senior coroner at the boy’s inquest, quite rightly, questioned how, in 2020, in the United Kingdom - a first world country after all - a two- year-old boy could die as a result of exposure to mould?


In the wake of this, the housing association in question has restructured, and brought in a new taskforce with the damp and mould problems in its properties. It does rather beg the question, why you would need a task force to deal with the issues of damp when, surely it would be much more efficient if you just kept an eye on things, as responded to problems when they occurred? Landlords, social and private, have a legal duty to ensure that there is a gas safety certificate if they rent out a property that has gas, or risk a £6,000 fine or even imprisonment. Ensuring that the fabric of the building doesn’t damage your tenants – who are, to all intents and purposes your customers - should really go hand-in-


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EDITORIAL


Group Managing Editor: Fiona Russell Horne 01622 699101 07721 841382 frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk


Assistant editor


Will McGill 01622 699185


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Production Controller: Nic Mandeville


n Englishman’s home, as the old saying goes, is his castle. However, we have seen all too often that it can just as easily be his prison, or his


hand with that. It’s your basic Customer Service Module 101.


Of course, I do know that the relationship between tenants and landlords isn’t always easy and that, while not every landlord is a Peter Rachman-style slum landlord, not every tenant is Mrs Hinch. I remember a friend bemoaning his tenants’ habit of walking around the house in bare feet and t-shirts in the dead of winter, with the heating cranked up full blast, and the windows firmly shut. Then they moaned that there was condensation. Go figure. You are never going to get a perfect scenario where tenants and landlords – whether social or private – all live in harmony together, with zero issues. But we do need to have a structure that ensures that anyone making a living from the supply of housing is required to take care of that housing and, therefore, its occupants, in a timely, responsible fashion, that doesn’t leave the most vulnerable citizens falling ill as a result and fighting for their lives. As a nation we should be better than that.


The new Social Housing Act is also a response to concerns thrown up after the Grenfell Fire, and has been welcomed by the campaign group Grenfell United.


Housing Secretary Michael Gove has told the BBC, that the new law was “an important step towards righting the wrongs of the past” and “The Social Housing Act will help to ensure that tenants get the safe, warm and decent homes they deserve - and those who have seriously neglected their responsibilities for far too long will face the consequences.” Let’s hope so.


Fiona Russell-Horne Group Managing Editor - BMJ


“


It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home.


Charles Dickens


CONTENTS 4 Newsround


The news from around the industry.


8 Business Helpdesk The latest advice from the BMF’s business support partners.


9 People Who’s moved where, and 10 minutes with…


10 Meet the future Bradford’s Zoe Harvey, winner of the BMJ Industry Awards Rising Star.


12 Viewpoint Our regular and guest columnists.


16 Looking forwards: A merchant and a manufacturer look at what’s coming this year


18 LEAGUE TABLES The annual BMJ League Tables,


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20 Merchant Focus Build Depot: new name, same focus. 22 Ventilation


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23 Merchant case study Imperial Roofing talks supplier support.


24 Transport & Logistics Electric vehicles, and the further development of Podfather.


30 Workwear Developments and trends


32 Kitchens Sinking trends.


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