An Ofsted inspection in August 2024 claimed that one child staff had “failed to monitor properly” went missing from the home. It added that children looked after at the property had been subject to disproportionate “physical interventions” from staff, whom the investigation claimed were “poorly trained and lacking knowledge”.
The August 2024 report concluded that management at the children’s home “fail to learn from past experiences” and accepted children to the home “who they cannot keep safe”. It added that the safety for one child at the home had “deteriorated since they moved in”.
After the August inspection, Ofsted reportedly issued a compliance notice to the home, which are given to homes failing to meet their legal duties to the children in their care. In September 2024, Ofsted inspectors returned to the home, where improvements were reportedly found, and the compliance notices were removed.
The investigation also alleged that Jas Athwal had a personal relationship with the owner of Heartwood Care Group, Daljit Johal, with Johal reportedly endorsing Athwal before the 2019 general election.
The pair had also allegedly interacted in public Facebook posts on multiple occasions.
The Londoner alleged that as Redbridge Council – which Athwal was leader of from 2014 to 2024 – paid “millions of pounds” to Heartwood Care Group for housing vulnerable children, the fact that Athwal knew Johal on a personal basis and owned the building raised “the possibility of a serious conflict of interest”.
A council spokesperson told the news outlet that Athwal had no obligation to declare the relationship and that “no children from Redbridge have been placed at this residential home”.
In a statement to the Big Issue, a spokesperson from Heartwood Care Group wrote: “The Londoner story is seriously inaccurate, defamatory of Mr Johal and his organisations, and is irresponsible journalism done in a headlong rush to meet a launch deadline. There is no improper relationship between Mr Johal and Mr Athwal, and to suggest so is just plain wrong.
“The care home in question has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted on the majority of occasions since 2014, including in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. However, recently it has experienced a challenging period because of sector-wide recruitment difficulties.
“All improvements required by Ofsted in August 2024 have been addressed speedily by Heartwood, with the regulator reporting that the compliance notices were met by the end of September 2024, as the Londoner is well aware.
“Ofsted stated on 24 September 2024: ‘The provider has made good progress in addressing the requirements that were set under the compliance notices. As a result of this good progress, both notices have now been met.'”
The Heartwood Care Group statement continued: “Since 2013, around 90% of the services provided to Redbridge Council were for 16-plus and 18-plus outreach services that do not relate to the care home referenced, but The Londoner omitted to state this. So, the financial figures quoted, and how they are represented, are seriously misleading. Given the multiple corrections the publication has had to make to its article today there are serious questions about the quality of their journalism.”
In a phone call with The Londoner, Athwal reportedly said he knew “nothing about” the children’s home in the building he owns and that he has “never been to that property”, which he said had been leased for about 12 years.
Jas Athwal wrote in a statement on X: “I wholeheartedly reject any suggestion, as per a media report today, of a conflict of interest in the leasing of a property to Heartwood Care Group which was made entirely on regular commercial terms and declared fully in accordance with council rules.”
He continued: “I have no further commercial relationship with the tenant beyond leasing the property. The operation of children’s homes is rightfully overseen by Ofsted, whose regulation and enforcement I fully support.”
‘Disgraceful’ allegations
Campaigners and rental charities have branded the allegations against Athwal “disgraceful”, adding that it is “vital” for vulnerable children to live in safe homes.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, told the Big Issue: “The recent allegations about Jas Athwal MP’s mismanaged care home are disgraceful. Children only get one childhood, so it is vital that they live in safe and happy homes.
“This story follows from reports that properties which Athwal is renting out are infested with ants and mould, with tenants afraid to ask for repairs due to a fear of eviction.”
Twomey continued: “Experiences like these for tenants are sadly all too common. There are millions of private renters living in homes with mould and damp, which is a major risk to their health.
“Too many landlords get away with inaction, and it is infuriating to see a sitting MP profiting from this misery. The government’s Renters’ Rights Bill must pass soon into law so that unscrupulous landlords are made accountable, and they should think hard about how to make sure no MP or landlord is failing tenants and children in the meantime.”
London Renters’ Union (LRU) has called for Athwal to resign after the latest allegations reported by the Londoner, adding that the MP has profited from the “rigged” housing industry in the UK.
“After yet more allegations concerning poor conditions in buildings Jas Athwal owns, there remain unanswered questions about the conditions faced by tenants in Athwal’s residential properties,” a spokesperson for the LRU told the Big Issue.
“How can renters trust this government to deliver change when the people who govern us profit from our rigged system and evade accountability? We cannot have rogue landlords in parliament. Jas Athwal must resign.”
The Big Issue has contacted Jas Athwal for comment.
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