§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps her Department has taken over the last year to inform local education authorities and grant-maintained schools of the dangers of school buildings containing asbestos for individuals carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work; [15147]
(2) what consideration her Department has given to the sending of a guidance note to head teachers informing them of the dangers of asbestos for individuals carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work on school buildings; and if she will make a statement. [15149]
§ Mr. Robin SquireGeneral information and advice about asbestos is set out in the Department of the Environment's booklet "Asbestos Materials in Buildings", which was revised most recently in 1991. The Department for Education will shortly be issuing, as part of a document dealing with building matters generally, additional guidance about asbestos.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration her Department has given to the risk of voluntary staff facing exposure to asbestos dust when carrying out repair, refurbishment and building maintenance work on school buildings. [15148]
§ Mr. Robin SquireAll work with asbestos is regulated by the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987. These regulations impose duties on employers, including local education authorities and schools, to protect their employees from exposure to asbestos, but also extend this duty to include the protection of anyone else who may be affected by the work. Schools can seek professional advice about asbestos either from their local education authority or other sources. They should certainly do so if they believe that asbestos poses any threat to staff or pupils. Detailed guidance is available in the Department of the Environment booklet "Asbestos Materials in Buildings".
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration her Department has given to encouraging local education authorities to survey school buildings so as to create detailed registers of school buildings that contain asbestos; and if she will make a statement. [15150]
§ Mr. Robin SquireResponsibility for the condition of school buildings and the health and safety of pupils and staff lies with local education authorities and school governors. Although the Department would suggest that in all cases the presence of asbestos in school buildings should be recorded and its condition monitored, how local education authorities and schools exercise their responsibilities for health and safety must be for them to decide.