Asbestos (Hansard, 24 March 2004)

§ Ms Hewitt

The Department of Trade and Industry has ensured all buildings occupied by its staff that could contain asbestos have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. For those Executive Agencies where the Department holds information, the position is similar.

Letter from Caren Fullerton to Malcolm Bruce, dated 24 March 2004: Within the past 9 months surveys have been undertaken in each of the 5 buildings occupied by Patent Office staff, for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. The surveys were arranged and managed by The Patent Office in respect of the 3 buildings solely occupied by Patent Office staff, and by the Office for National Statistics and the Charity Commission in respect of buildings where the Patent Office is a minor occupier.

Letter from Claire Clancy to Malcolm Bruce, dated 24 March 2004: I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI. A survey of our Cardiff offices was carried out in August 2002 by a specialist consultant accordance with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. They compiled a detailed 862W asbestos register which has been updated as work is carried out. The building accommodates 1,264 Companies House staff and approximately 300 tenants from the DTI and DWP. Our offices in Edinburgh and London accommodating 47 staff, are rented from the DWP and the Insolvency Service respectively, and are therefore outwith our control.

Letter from David Smith to Malcolm Bruce, dated 24 March 2004: You have asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for information about asbestos surveys in relation to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 in her Department and its Agencies. This request has just been passed to me in respect of the Radiocommunications Agency. The Radiocommunications Agency (RA) was a DTI Agency until 28 December 2003 when its responsibilities, functions and assets (including land and buildings) were transferred to the Office of Communications (Ofcom). As the Agency's Accounting Officer, I continue to have responsibility for ensuring that the transfer of staff and DTI assets have been properly carried out and reflected in the RA accounts as part of the implementation of the Communications Act 2003. But from 29 December the relevant Accounting Officer for the information you are seeking is Ofcom's Chief Executive, Stephen Carter. Ofcom is a statutory corporation and therefore falls outside the arrangements by which Agencies respond to Parliamentary Questions.

For future reference, Mr Carter's address is:
Office of Communications
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA.

Letter from Graham Horne to Malcolm Bruce, dated 24 March 2004: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect to your question (2003/1822) dated 3 March 2004 asking which buildings occupied by staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. The Insolvency Service has surveyed all of its buildings for asbestos, apart from one, which will be surveyed in April 2004.

Letter from J. W. Llewellyn to Malcolm Bruce, dated 24 March 2004: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question about surveys for identifying the presence of asbestos in buildings occupied by NWML staff. The National Weights and Measures Laboratory moved into a purpose built laboratory at Teddington in 1988. The building has been surveyed recently and the preliminary report confirms that no asbestos is present.