DfE The management of asbestos in schoolsJUAC welcomes the review of asbestos in schools but believes it does not go far enough. Joint Union Asbestos Committee Press Release – Review and Debate
Read the JUAC Parliamentary Briefing
In March 2015 the Department for Education has published advice for school leaders, governors, local authorities and academy trusts. DfE Asbestos Management Guidance
It applies to:
• maintained schools
• academies and free schools
The advice helps you understand how to comply with the law or explains what our policies mean in practice.You can review how your school is performing on asbestos management by using the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) checklist available on the HSE website. http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/
JUAC welcomes the guidance but concerns remain. These include
NUT Comments
Commenting on the fact that staff and children continue to be put at risk while the Government drags its feet over the publication of its own review of asbestos management in schools, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers the largest teachers’ union said:
“Having accepted Government assurances that the long-delayed findings of its schools asbestos review would be published early in 2015, the NUT now considers that the Government has acted in bad faith and that there is no intention to publish before the pre-election ‘purdah’ period begins on 30 March. What this means is that the Government is effectively washing its hands of the problem and leaving it for a future government to sort out.
‘School staff and parents will rightly feel betrayed by this cynical attempt to prevent the problem of asbestos in schools becoming an issue during the election campaign.
‘As the call for evidence closed a year ago, the Government has had more than enough time to consider its response and set out the steps it will take to address the barriers to safe and effective management of asbestos in schools. In a 5 January 2015 letter to the NUT, Nicky Morgan advised that the findings would be published ‘early in the New Year’.
Read the full NUT press release here
NUT Press Release Read letter from NUT General Secretary to Nicky Morgan Secretary of State for Education here NUT Nicky Morgan letter – March 2015
NASUWT CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION OF THE DfE REVIEW INTO ASBESTOS IN SCHOOLS
The NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, has today written to the Secretary of State Nicky Morgan calling for the DfE Review into asbestos in schools, conducted over a year ago, to be published immediately.
Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary said:
“For over nine months the Coalition Government has prevaricated about the release of the Review. We now understand that the Review may not be released until after the General Election.
“Parliamentary questions have failed to elicit any rationale for the continuing delay.
“This is a serious matter of the health, safety and welfare of the children and young people and the workforce in our schools. Asbestos is deadly and those who learn and work in our schools face risks on a daily basis.
“The Coalition Government has a track record of failing to take Health and Safety matters seriously and seeking to minimise its importance.
“It is difficult to reach any other conclusion than that the continuing delay in the publication is driven by political considerations taking priority over the health and welfare of children and young people and the education workforce.”
UNISON Press Release UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “There is a real possibility that this report will not be published before the dissolution of Parliament in three week’s time because the government believes the problem of asbestos in schools is simply too big to tackle. This is unacceptable given the severity of the risks posed to children and staff working in schools.
“This review is an opportunity finally to put radical measures in place to address this problem but that opportunity is being squandered. The report must be published immediately.”
Government assurances that the long-delayed findings of its schools asbestos review would be published early this year appear meaningless, say unions. The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) doubts the government’s intention to publish the findings before the election campaign begins on 30 March. Failure to publish would mean that the government is admitting that asbestos in schools is too big an issue to tackle, says JUAC.
Unions believe that ministers are worried about the impact the report will have on the election campaign. The ten unions in JUAC say that asbestos is too hazardous and important an issue to be brushed aside and left for a future government to sort out.
Chair of JUAC, Julie Winn, said: “There has been more than ample time for the government to consider its response and set out the steps it considers necessary to address the barriers to safe and effective management of asbestos in schools.
“During the nine-month period since the Review should have been published, inevitably some staff and children will have been needlessly exposed to asbestos fibres – putting them at risk of the development of asbestos-related disease in adult life.
“In 2012, 22 teachers died of mesothelioma. Teacher deaths are the tip of the iceberg since inevitably there will be children who will die in later life because of asbestos exposure during their schooldays. We cannot be sure how many school cooks, cleaners and caretakers have died, since their deaths are not classified according to their employment.
Read the full press release JUAC Press Release