Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the enforcement of guidelines on air quality in schools.

The responsible body, relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body, is responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils when in their care including meeting any relevant standards for internal environments.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor air quality in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.

All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s school building standards. These standards cover ventilation and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.