Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to remove all asbestos from schools.

The Department follows expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive regulator that when asbestos-containing materials are undamaged, and not in locations where they are vulnerable to damage, they should be left undisturbed and their condition monitored. Blanket or accelerated removal of asbestos could potentially be dangerous, as it releases harmful fibres that would otherwise be contained.

The amount of asbestos in schools will reduce over time through rebuilding and refurbishment of the estate. When asbestos cannot be effectively managed in situ, it should be removed and the Department will provide condition funding which can be used to manage asbestos safely.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated over £7.4 billion to those responsible for school buildings for essential maintenance, including removing or encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so.

Through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department is rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools across the country. Asbestos was a factor in prioritising buildings for the programme.