People Before Profit's motion to tackle damp and mould in private and social rented housing successfully passed this week in Stormont. The motion calls on the Minister to introduce new legislation through the Assembly, which will force landlords to investigate and repair damp, mould and disrepair within strict timeframes.
Decades of underinvestment in social housing, a purposefully under-regulated private rented sector and a dire lack of climate mitigation has seen increasing numbers of tenants forced to live in disgraceful conditions, in homes that are often falling apart around them with little to no meaningful legal recourse. Working class and marginalised tenants, including migrants and asylum seekers, bear the brunt of this crisis.
In England, Awaab’s Law has been in place since October last year, with plans to strengthen and extend the legislation this year. Two-year-old Awaab Ishak’s tragic and entirely avoidable death should be a lesson for all social housing providers and governments everywhere.
After the motion debate, Gerry Carroll said: "Tenants cannot be left to suffer in unsafe and unhealthy homes any longer. The Communities Minister must now act within this mandate to urgently introduce much tougher legislation to tackle damp, mould and disrepair in all forms of rental housing.”
“The NHS spends at least £1.4 billion per year treating illnesses from cold and damp housing. When wider societal costs are included, that figure rises to £15.4 billion. This isn’t about tight budgets and a lack of resources: this is about political choices.”
“Introducing Awaab's Law to the North isn’t a panacea, but it could prevent needless deaths and give tenants much stronger protections than they currently have. Everyone deserves a warm, clean, safe and secure home that can act as the foundation for a decent life.”
Gerry Carroll hits out at shameless MLA pay hike
Stormont's newly-established 'Independent' Remuneration Board has recommended an extortionate £14,000 pay rise for MLAs.
For the past year, People Before Profit has predicted this would happen. We argued against this unjustifiable increase and were the only party to consistently do so. We argued for the majority of the ‘independent’ remuneration board to be made up of trade unionists, and for pay increases to be linked to CPI inflation. These proposals were rejected by every party, including the SDLP - the 'official opposition'.
MLAs are already well paid, and this extortionate increase isn't warranted. Elected representatives should be on similar wages to those they represent, and this why People Before Profit reps only take the average industrial wage.
A public representative can’t relate to their constituents if they’ve just received a £14,000 pay rise, while most people have seen their wages stagnate and the cost of living skyrocket. Health workers, teachers and classroom assistants, retail workers and other frontline staff aren't in line for a 27% pay increase, so there should be no preferential treatment for MLAs.
The predictable and justified public backlash to this debacle shows that Stormont is completely and utterly out of touch with working class people.