§ Dr. CableTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent by his Department and its agencies on(a) asbestos surveys and (b) the management and removal of asbestos since 1 January
995W2001; and what budget is available to (i) commission asbestos surveys and (ii) manage and remove asbestos from buildings in (A) 2003 and (B) 2004. [130916]
§ Mr. AlexanderThe Cabinet Office has undertaken asbestos surveys for the London and Basingstoke Estate, the GCDA buildings, HMSO (Norwich), Emergency Planning College (York), the COI and the CMPS Residential Training Centre (Sunningdale). This has identified risk areas and how this can best be managed.
The costs incurred since 2001 are as follows:
London Estate
No data on the costs of asbestos surveys and work pre-April 2002 are available, with the exception of the refurbishment project in Admiralty House and 22–26 Whitehall, where the cost of identifying and removing asbestos was £291,000. Expenditure in the management and removal of asbestos on the London Estate since April 2002 is £9,000.
Basingstoke Estate
The control of asbestos is the responsibility of the building's landlord. Some low risk asbestos has been found and removed but no costs were incurred.
GCDA
No asbestos identified and no costs incurred.
HMSO (Norwich)
The control of asbestos is the responsibility of the building's landlord. No risk has been identified and no costs were incurred.
Emergency Planning College (York)
No expenditure incurred in 2001 and 2002.
CMPS Residential Training Centre (Sunningdale)
Since 1 January 2001, £511 has been spent on asbestos surveys and £6,000 on asbestos removal (the latter amount was paid in 2003).
COI
No expenditure was incurred in 2001 and 2002.
The budgets available in 2003 and 2004 are as follows:
London Estate
The Cabinet Office's FM provider, as part of their fixed annual fee, maintains all asbestos surveys. No specific budget has been identified for the removal of asbestos, as there are no high-risk areas unless areas are disturbed due to building works. Costs of required measures will be identified and incorporated into any budgeted project costs at the time of the works.
Basingstoke Estate
No further risks have been identified and therefore no specific budget allocated.
GCDA and HMSO (Norwich)
No risk identified; therefore, no specific budget allocated.
Emergency Planning College (York)
The budget for 2003 for surveys is £5,725; for the management and removal it is £18,500. All of this work has been completed. The budget for 2004 for management and removal is £10,500.
CMPS Residential Training Centre (Sunningdale)
In May 2002 the Cabinet Office commenced a PPP contract with Initial Style Conferences Ltd. (ISC) to manage Sunningdale Park. All risks and expenditure relating to asbestos is now the responsibility of ISC.
996WCOI
As the asbestos previously identified was deemed as being of low risk, costs of its management and removal will be included as part of any future refurbishment works. No separate cost data are available.