The pay of housing association bosses has been described as being “off the charts” by a former housing secretary, in the wake of the death of Awaab Ishak.

The two-year-old died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his home, managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

There has been an outpouring of emotion after the toddler’s death, and anger from many quarters over the poor state of the home he and his family were forced to live in – leading to RBH’s chief executive being sacked.

And today the Daily Mail revealed the high salary of housing association bosses, with one earning £592,000 a year.

Asked by Sky News’ Kay Burley if they should be earning that much, Robert Jenrick – who now serves as immigration minister – said: “No, I don’t think they should be.

“Housing associations… in some cases have moved away from their charitable and social purposes and have become too large, not sufficiently focussed on the interests and needs of the residents where it began.

“And as you say, some of the executive pay is off the charts. That needs to change.”

NHS, Swiss-style relationships, housing | Steve Barclay, Jonathan Ashworth, Kwajo Tweneboa

Ex-children’s commissioner Anne Longfield warns more families face ‘awful living conditions’ like Awaab Ishak

Michael Gove hits out at state of Awaab Ishak’s flat as he puts housing providers ‘on notice’

His comments come after the new Housing Secretary Michael Gove wrote to every English council leader and social housing provider to put them “on notice” over the “abhorrent” conditions that killed Awaab.

Councils are being asked to supply Mr Gove’s department with an assessment of damp and mould affecting their privately rented properties, as well as details of how it is being tackled.

Local authorities have also been asked to list the number of civil penalty notices and successful prosecutions pursued in relation to dangerous damp and mould.

Mr Gove wrote: “I am putting housing providers on notice: I will take whatever action is required to improve standards across the country and ensure tenants’ voices are heard.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their homes, and the death of a child like Awaab Ishak must never be allowed to happen again.”

Related posts:

Sunak defends tax changes as ‘a fair way to help solve the problems that we need to’ Cabinet minister dismisses Cummings claims as ‘tittle-tattle’ – as Labour demands inquiry Johnson says he would not use ‘offending language’ from his past now he’s PM ‘There was no plan’: Cummings’s key claims on early pandemic strategy Defence secretary says Kabul evacuation efforts ‘diverted’ by bid to rescue animals cared for by ex-Marine Labour make pitch to be ‘party of home ownership’ ahead of conference Voters casting ballots in by-election sparked by death of former cabinet minister Channel 4’s ‘salad days are in the past’, culture secretary tells TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp Northern Ireland Protocol talks ‘kind of stuck’ as PM heads to Belfast PM says UK needs ‘legislative solution’ if deal with EU not reached over Northern Ireland Sunak hints he won’t take cabinet post if Truss wins leadership race ‘People were facing fuel bills of £6k – we had to act’: Truss defends economic strategy