§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if it is safe for the staff and public to use the office 357W of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys at St. Catherine's House; and whether he proposes to take any action regarding the asbestos there.
§ Mrs. CurrieFollowing recent building work in St. Catherine's house traces of asbestos fibres have been identified in a small number of rooms where certain parts of the internal fabric of the building had been damaged.
A programme of testing all such rooms has been undertaken as a matter of urgency and, when tests have proved positive, rooms have been closed to staff, cleaned by a specialist company and not reopened until further tests have proved negative. No traces of asbestos fibres have been found in those rooms to which the public have free access.
The Property Services Agency is being consulted on the prevention of any recurrence of this problem in future.