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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Black Friday is almost upon us but as millions of people get paid tomorrow and sort out their Christmas shopping, thousands more on the streets will be worrying about where they are going to sleep or if they will even live to see the festive period.
Sobering new figures estimate that in Greater Manchester alone, more than 40 homeless people died last year.
Those numbers lead today's newsletter and I will also bring you stories about Michael Gove pulling £1m from Rochdale Borough Housing following the tragic death of toddler Awaab Ishak, and GMP taking eight hours to respond to a 'concern for welfare' 999 call despite it being graded as a 'priority'.
'A profound tragedy'
Andy Burnham said that Greater Manchester is "resolutely committed to preventing homelessness" as new figures estimate that more than 40 homeless people died in the region last year.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) an estimated 43 homeless people died in Greater Manchester in 2021, compared to 33 the year earlier.
It includes 17 in Manchester, six in Bolton, five in Wigan, three in Oldham, three in Rochdale, three in Tameside, two in Bury, two in Salford, and two in Stockport. Trafford is the only borough in Greater Manchester where there are no estimated deaths.
Responding to the figures, the Mr Burnham said: “It is a profound tragedy for anyone to die while homeless, and our thoughts go out to all those who have been affected by these deaths. All of us in Greater Manchester are resolutely committed to preventing homelessness and ending the need for rough sleeping, and while the steps we are taking are having an impact, we are under no illusion about the challenges we face."
The Mayor of Greater Manchester also reiterated that an additional 90 places will be added to his 'Bed Every Night' scheme ahead of winter.
“We know that people who find themselves in this situation may have experienced significant trauma or personal difficulties, and we cannot separate questions of housing from fundamental issues of public health and wellbeing," he added.
"That is why our whole-system approach, from emergency accommodation like A Bed Every Night through to providing people with homes through Housing First, has been developed to offer a range of person-centred support to anyone who does find themselves in that situation. We are constantly challenging ourselves to do more, and that’s also why this week we announced our decision to expand A Bed Every Night ahead of the coming winter, giving everyone who wants to come inside the ability to do so.”
The number of estimated deaths have risen by 115pc since 2013, when the data was first recorded, and are creeping back up towards pre-pandemic levels. According to ONS figures, there were 50 in 2017, 41 in 2018 and 51 in 2019.
In terms of confirmed deaths, the number is lower - with 27 confirmed deaths in 2021, compared to 36 in 2019, 31 in 2018 and 41 in 2017. However the ONS' deputy national statistician Emma Rourke told The Big Issue that this is down to a number of factors and that the estimates may even be undercounts.
She wrote: "Information on the death certificate is used to determine whether individuals were homeless at the time of their death. However, in many cases, those registering the death may not have known the person was homeless or been able to record the address of any emergency accommodation they may have used. In other cases, more work is needed to match the death certificate locations against lists of accommodations used by homeless people."
Polly Neate, chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter, called on the government to increase housing benefit and invest in building 'good quality, supported social homes'.
She said: “A freezing doorway, a bed in an emergency hostel, or a flimsy tent are no substitute for a home. It is utterly awful and unacceptable that two people die every day without anywhere safe to live – and this number is rising.
“Our frontline services are seeing more people who’ve run out of options, are facing homelessness, and the very real possibility of sleeping rough. This is going to be one of the toughest winters yet as so many people battle rising rents while housing benefit stays frozen.
“The government promised to end rough sleeping, but things are getting worse not better. The government must immediately unfreeze and increase housing benefit to protect people from the ravages of homelessness this winter, and to keep people off the streets for good it has to invest in building good quality, supported social homes.”
GMP took seven hours too long to respond
Angeline Phillips was just 35-year-old when she was found dead at her home in Walkden last year.
Her body was discovered by police eight hours after a worried friend called 999 and a call handler graded the incident at level two - meaning that officers should have attended within an hour. Instead, the force ignored its own policy and told an ambulance crew to go almost two-and-a-half hours after the initial call, John Scheerhout reported from Angeline's inquest.
Despite the ambulance service not getting an answer and Angeline's history - including 10 concern for welfare calls made to GMP about her in the 12 days before her death - it was another six hours before an officer visited Angeline's home, forced entry and found her unresponsive.
Criticising GMP's response, area coroner Prof Dr Alan Walsh said: "I'm concerned about action being taken that this does not happen again. That's my major concern and I'm sure that's the family's major concern."
Nobody who was working for GMP at the time of Angeline's death attended the inquest, John wrote, although current GMP constable Joseph Heaford attended as he previously worked for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and investigated the police response.
He agreed the force's response that night was at odds with its own policy for a grade two emergency and that the force should have dispatched an officer within an hour and should not have referred the case to NWAS. However, Me Heaford said he found no evidence that GMP had contributed to the death as it was not possible to say when she died.
Prof Walsh said he was 'a bit surprised' that nobody from GMP had attended the inquest. He said his office had been in touch with the force which had requested 28 days to respond to any criticisms. The coroner said he had had 'sufficient concerns' to consider penning a report about GMP's involvement but he wasn't prepared to give GMP that long. He adjourned the hearing until December 5.
£1m funding pulled from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
Housing minister Michael Gove visited Rochdale this afternoon after announcing that Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) will be stripped of any new government funding until it can 'prove it is a responsible landlord'.
The decision has been made in the aftermath of an inquest into Awaab Ishak's death due to a mouldy flat in the Freehold estate.
As a result, RBH will not be awarded its expected £1m funding from the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) between 2021 and 2026, or receive any new contracts for new homes until the Regulator of Social Housing has concluded its investigation.
RBH was previously allocated £4.7m from the AHP between 2016-2021, Sophie Halle-Richards writes.
As part of a wider crackdown on poor standards, Mr Gove will also block any housing provider that breaches the Regulator’s consumer standards from new AHP funding until they make improvements. He will also consider stripping providers of existing AHP funding, unless construction has already started on site.
The move comes after the Housing Secretary wrote to all councils and housing associations this weekend, saying they must raise the bar dramatically on standards and demanding urgent action where people complain about damp and mould.
However Andy Burnham did not seem impressed and questioned the decision during an appearance on BBC Radio Manchester.
He said: "The organisation needs to make improvements, but it's not going to be helped in that if it's doing that on a reduced budget.I would probably want to see the conditions. If Michael Gove is saying, 'until you do x, y and z, we will hold this money back,' that might be a fair enough move.
"However, housing in Rochdale, in the end, is going to need new investment. There's no getting away from that. These problems with mould and damp, they're up and down the country."
A Manchester Evening News petition calling for 'Awaab's Law' has been signed by more than 120,000 people. If you want to sign the petition yourself, you can do so by clicking here.
Let me down easy
A month on from complaining to the venue about having a 'horrendous' time at Paolo Nutini's gig at Stretford's O2 Victoria Warehouse venue, a concertgoer says she is still awaiting a response.
In the aftermath of the show, one man described it as a "nightmare", adding: "my partner burst into tears 20 minutes in, she was so upset".
Despite Nutini impressing with his performance , the couple were not alone in their negative experience of the venue. In the days following the gig, Claire Middleton from Eccles told Manchester Evening News that she felt it was "so unsafe".
"Even the area where disabled people were was unsafe," she added. "There was nowhere they could [have] got out at all. We had to fight our way back out of the crowd and stand near the bar area.”
In a statement addressing complaints in the days after the gig, a spokesperson for the O2 Victoria Warehouse said: "The venue operation has numerous robust control measures in place and a highly experienced management, security and medic team. The two Paolo Nutini shows on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October were both sell-out performances at 3,500 capacity, however, there were no reported incidents, medical or otherwise at either show. Any customer queries should be directed to the venue management team who will respond accordingly."
Despite the statement, Claire claims she has sent three to the venue with no response, other than an automated message that said they would aim to respond within five working days.
The O2 Victoria Warehouse has been approached for comment about the delay with responding to Claire's complaint.
Inside the Toast Rack
You’ve no doubt driven past it many times but if you’re like me, you’ve never actually seen what is inside Fallowfield’s quirky Toast Rack building.
Most recently used by Manchester Metropolitan University, it has remained empty for the past eight years, despite developers buying it and gaining planning permission.
Nostalgia writer Phoebe Barton has written a fascinating article with more than 20 photos from the inside of the Grade II listed building - taken by urban explorer Lost Places & Forgotten Faces. You can see them here.
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Weather etc
Friday A few showers in the morning but mostly dry and sunny by the afternoon. 10C.
Trains No services on Avanti West Coast on Saturday, November 26 due to strike action
Trivia question What is the title of Paolo Nutini's five-times Platinum debut album?
Manchester headlines
- Greater Manchester's mental health trust has been served with warning notices to improve after Care Quality Commission inspectors found the service to be unsafe.
- Manchester has been ranked one of the most festive cities in the UK.It took third place (behind York and Edinburgh) following a study carried out that compared a number of Christmassy factors. Full story.
- An independent coffee shop owner has hit out after a third Costa store was opened in the same town. You can read more about that here.
Worth a read
Plenty has been written about the cost of living in recent months as some people have had to choose whether to heat their homes or eat.
However the crisis has also made the situation even more difficult for some women in Greater Manchester who can no longer afford to flee their abusive partners, or are even having to make the choice to return to them.
Sophie Halle-Richards has written a special report about the 'hidden victims' of the cost of living crisis.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me, Damon Wilkinson will be back with you tomorrow. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email damon.wilkinson@reachplc.com.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: These Streets
