© Tom Blewitt – Predator Awareness / Sandwell Corruption

Sandwell Labour has approved Khurshid Haque as a candidate in the upcoming local elections, despite his documented disciplinary history as a social worker. Haque, a former social worker, was struck off the professional register in England after running an unapproved and unsafe boarding school for boys.

Haque is standing for election in Tipton Green — a decision that inevitably brings Labour’s judgement into question.

Between September 2009 and January 2010, Haque allowed 11 boys to live at the Jalaliah Educational Institute, despite the property never being approved as a boarding facility by the government. At the time, he was employed as a senior social worker by Sandwell Council — someone entrusted with safeguarding children.

When the council became aware of the boarding arrangements, inspectors were sent in. What they found was deeply concerning.

The boys were living in overcrowded conditions, sharing just three bedrooms with inadequate washroom facilities. The building lacked basic fire safety measures such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. Inspectors also identified hazardous electrical wiring and a garden piled with rubbish, blocking what should have been a fire escape route. To make matters worse, Haque failed to ensure staff had completed Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Initially, Haque denied operating an unregistered boarding school, claiming the children were staying at his sister’s property under a separate arrangement with parents. This explanation did not stand up to scrutiny.

The case was heard by the Health and Care Professions Council, whose panel was unequivocal in its findings. Panel chair Ian Crookall stated that Haque’s actions and omissions put children at risk of serious harm and “fell far below the standard of conduct reasonably expected of a social worker.”

The panel concluded that his behaviour would seriously undermine public confidence — not just in him, but in the social care profession as a whole. The sanction was a 12-month suspension from the register. Haque did not attend or send representation to the hearing.

These are not minor administrative oversights. They involve child safety, professional integrity, and accountability. For a Labour-run council to wave this through and approve Haque as a candidate sends a troubling message to parents and residents across Sandwell.

This isn’t about party politics for its own sake — it’s about standards. It’s about whether those seeking public office, especially in communities with young families, can be trusted to put children’s welfare first.

Sandwell deserves better than this. And voters are entitled to ask: if this is the judgement being exercised before the election, what does it say about the judgement that would follow after it?