Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the prevalence of asbestos in (a) defence equipment platforms and (b) his Department's (i) buildings and (ii) other infrastructure.

We take the health and safety of our Service personnel and defence employees extremely seriously and have robust procedures for managing asbestos which comply with Health and Safety regulations.

Asbestos registers are held for Defence Equipment Platforms along with asbestos elimination/management plans that detail the quantity of Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) present. An annual report is submitted to the Health and Safety Executive on the progress made in eliminating asbestos from Defence Equipment Platforms.

The Department is responsible for circa 1,967 sites and each building with confirmed asbestos is listed on the relevant site asbestos register.