Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on mandatory asbestos testing in public sector buildings.

Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulation 2012 requires duty holders (normally the owner or person responsible for maintenance of the building) in all public sector buildings to identify and record the presence and condition of asbestos-containing materials. In practice, this will require a survey of the building and, if necessary, the testing of any material suspected of containing asbestos.