A series of webinars featuring landlords and health and housing officials have been unveiled as part of a targeted week aimed at tackling the problem of damp and mould which affects over seven million households in the UK.
In a bid to raise awareness of the issue and encourage individuals and organisations to work together to tackle it, the UK’s first Damp & Mould Action and Awareness Week is being held next week.
The new initiative will feature six webinars which will hear from those on the frontline when it comes to identifying the problems and finding solutions.
For more information about the webinars or to register to join them, visit www.aico.co.uk/damp-mould-action-and-awareness-week.
The action and awareness week, which will take place between 28 October and 3 November, is being spearheaded by home life safety specialists Aico and will, in its first year, aim to give a platform for leading voices to come together and to highlight what is already being done and how more can be done to help.
It already has the backing of renowned architectural expert Professor Timothy Sharpe from the University of Strathclyde, who specialises in indoor ventilation and transmission, as well as lobbying groups like Healthy Homes Hub and housing groups.
The webinars will feature a number of special guests highlighting key areas including: Effective Strategies for Managing Damp and Mould in Social Housing; Healthier Homes: Improving the Indoor Environment to Address Damp and Mould; and Housing and Patient Health: Breaking an Unhealthy Cycle.
Guests during the week include Dr Gareth Morgan who leads the Housing and Health Guide for the NHS in Wales and has 30 years’ experience working within the sector.
Tim Walker, a Research Fellow at the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health at Exeter University, will also feature as well as Jenny Danson from the Healthy Homes Hub and a Q&A with Simon Jones from Air Quality Matters.
The Healthy Homes Hub has also announced it will record a podcast to be broadcast during the week to give an added spotlight on efforts to create an annual focus on a complex problem that still needs extra resources to make a real difference.
“A key focus for this first dedicated week is to bring together those with expertise in this area and those who face the consequences of problems with damp and mould so that any awareness we raise or actions we take now and in the future will have a real impact on change for the better,” said Chris Jones, CEO of HomeLINK, Aico’s Connected Home Solution.
“Damp and mould can be an issue at any time, but is particularly prevalent in the autumn and winter months between October and April, making this time of year ideal to do something like this.
“We have been hugely encouraged by the leading voices and organisations that have already backed this initiative and our hope is that it becomes an annual event in the calendar.
“This problem is massively complex and there continues to be a lot of work that needs to be done to not only change misconceptions around who is to blame, but also to encourage more support and funding for those who are trying to make a positive change in this area.
“The idea of the Damp & Mould Action and Awareness week is an excellent way of improving knowledge and understanding of how these issues may be better understood and addressed.”
Damp and mould produces allergens, irritants, mould spores and other toxins that are harmful to health. According to the Institute of Health Equity, illnesses linked to cold, damp and dangerous homes cost the NHS more than £2.5 billion a year.
The issue was brought to public attention in 2020 following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from a severe respiratory infection caused by prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his home.
The Labour government has pledged to extend ‘Awaab’s Law’, which will require all social landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards like mould and damp within specified timeframes. In the event that they fail to do so, tenants will be able to hold their landlords to account by taking legal action through the courts for breach of contract.
The new bill will extend these requirements to private landlords.
