Concerns raised about asbestos in schools

A nationwide survey has “flatly contradicted HSE claims that the government is meeting its legal obligations to address the issue of asbestos in schools”, the Joint Union Asbestos Campaign (JUAC), who carried out the research, has claimed.

In September 2010, the HSE said that according to its own survey and follow-up inspection programme, it felt that the majority of local authorities in England with ‘system build’ schools have procedures and precautions in place to manage asbestos safely. Many schools have so-called ‘system buildings’ and some of these have a structural frame that is fire-proofed with asbestos materials.

However, JUAC’s survey of more than 600 schoolteacher and support staff safety representatives found that 80% of respondents had either not had asbestos awareness training, or did not know if they had, and that only 28% of respondents said the presence of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) was clearly marked in the workplace.

Only one third of respondents were aware that an asbestos register was kept, and just 20% of the total sample confirmed that the register was shown to contractors before they commenced work.

The JUAC survey found that 70% of the respondent safety representatives had not been consulted on the issue of asbestos management and only half the respondents had ever asked to see the school’s asbestos management plan, with around 20% saying they had confidence that the plan was being acted on.

Julie Winn, chair of JUAC, a coalition of ten unions within the education sector, said: “JUAC was unable to accept the HSE’s summary findings as these did not align with the experience of our members on the ground. JUAC decided to carry out a grassroots survey and the results confirm the disparity between the information received from our members and what local authorities (LAs) are reporting back to the HSE.

 “JUAC’s experience is that support for some schools and some LAs is of a good standard but others, where support is woefully inadequate, pose an unacceptable risk as a result of poor management of asbestos.”

A spokesman for HSE told Workplace Law:

"We will certainly look at the details and results of this survey to see if it can assist our work with schools and local authorities.

"It is important that anyone who has the responsibility for asbestos management in school premises is properly trained and aware of what they must do. Whether it is the bursar, headteacher, caretaker or another nominated member of staff, they must have an appropriate awareness of the issues and risks and be competent to tackle them. In several cases we have issued improvement notices on training provision where we found it to be inadequate.

"The majority of survey responses and inspections we undertook across England confirmed that there was generally good compliance with the duty to manage asbestos. We took enforcement action where we identified breaches of legislation and the results of the interventions were shared with all local authorities to make sure the common weaknesses are understood and acted upon. This survey undertaken by the unions complements our recent work and acts as a useful reminder for all schools. There is no room for complacency; managing asbestos in buildings needs effective and ongoing attention."

He added that the results of inspections of non-LA-controlled schools were now being collated and said that the HSE should be able to report back this summer.