29% of Schools Require Asbestos Management Action

9th July 2014

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published the results of its latest asbestos in schools inspection initiative, showing that 29% of schools required written advice or were subject to enforcement action to improve arrangements for managing asbestos.

The HSE initiative, which took place during 2013/14, inspected a carefully selected random sample of 153 non-local authority schools. Whilst the majority of schools inspected (71%) required either no further action or were given simple advice on asbestos management, 44 schools (29%) received written advice from the HSE and 20 schools (13%) were subject to enforcement action in the form of improvement notices.

Enforcement action was taken in the case of failures such as training staff and producing written management plans – vital elements of the required control measures for asbestos management.

Geoff Cox, the Head of HSE’s Public Services Sector, said:

“Over the last few years there has been a lot of work by stakeholders across the school sector to raise awareness of the duty to manage asbestos.

That said, schools should not be under any illusion – managing asbestos requires ongoing attention.”

All non-domestic properties have a duty to manage the risk of asbestos within their premises so that they comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012). The duty holder for the building takes on the responsibility to:

  • take reasonable steps to find out if there are materials containing asbestos in non-domestic premises, and if so, its amount, where it is and what condition it is in;
  • presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;
  • make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and condition of the asbestos containing materials – or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos;
  • assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified;
  • prepare a plan that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed;
  • take the necessary steps to put the plan into action;
  • periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements to act on it so that the plan remains relevant and up-to-date; and
  • provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.

The S2 Partnership delivers Asbestos management services which ensure compliance and protect health. Our team of experienced, qualified consultants and surveyors provide asbestos surveys, sampling, management systems and project management to offer a complete asbestos risk management solution. If you need advice or assistance, please contact our specialist team.