This report, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, exposes the level of danger from asbestos in Britain’s schools, and makes a compelling case for urgent action. It not only outlines the problem but makes six clear and simple recommendations on how future asbestos exposure in schools can be prevented.

Published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Health and Safety the report makes six clear recommendations:

Report Recommendations

The All-Party Group recommends that:

• The Government should set a programme for the phased removal of asbestos from all schools, with priority being given to those schools where the asbestos is considered to be most dangerous or damaged.

• Standards in asbestos training should be set and the training should be mandatory. The training should be properly funded.

• It is recommended that the DfE and HSE jointly develop asbestos guidance specifically for schools and that current standards be reviewed.
• A policy of openness should be adopted. Parents, teachers and support staff should be annually updated on the presence of asbestos in their schools and the measures that are being taken to manage it.
• Pro-active inspections to determine the standards of asbestos management should be reinstated, with a view to reducing future costs.

• Data should be collected centrally on the extent, type and condition of asbestos in schools and this becomes an integral part of the data collection of the condition of the nation’s schools.

Commenting on a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health (APPG) which exposes the dangerous levels of asbestos in schools Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“We wholeheartedly welcome the intervention of the APPG on the issue of asbestos in schools. As the Chair of the Committee, Jim Sheridan MP, said, it is indeed a national scandal that asbestos continues to be present in our schools.

“The NUT was the first teachers’ union to campaign to have asbestos removed from schools and yet despite the problem being brought to the attention of successive governments, it is still the case that asbestos remains in most schools.

“Asbestos does not just harm, it kills, which makes it quite unbelievable that as a country we allow children and staff in schools to be exposed to it.

“The APPG has made six eminently sensible recommendations. Now is the time for the Government to stop burying its head in the sand, acknowledge the extent of the problem and begin to address it.”

The report can be downloaded from the NUT website:

http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/14925

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