Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of commencing a long term programme to remove asbestos from all (a) schools and (b) hospitals.

Individual National Health Service organisations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates. NHS England continues to work with trusts to ensure their estates are a safe environment for patients and staff. Where asbestos may pose a safety risk, such as when disturbed during building works, experts are brought in to safely dispose of it.

The Health and Safety Executive regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely and the Department for Education follows their advice that, provided asbestos-containing materials are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed, it is generally safest to manage them in place. The Department for Education supports schools in managing asbestos by providing capital funding, delivering rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.