Schools: Asbestos

(asked on 11th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the viability of removing all asbestos from schools.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 19th March 2019

The Department takes the safety of pupils, staff and visitors to schools very seriously. The decision to remove asbestos from schools is made on a case by case basis.

Advice from the Health and Safety Executive is that if asbestos is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, then it is best managed in situ. The Department is also clear that when asbestos cannot be managed effectively in situ, it should be removed.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated £6 billion to those responsible for school buildings, for essential maintenance and improvements, including removing or encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so.

In addition, our Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition in over 500 schools across the country. Asbestos was a factor in selecting buildings for the programme.

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