Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools in England currently have safety issues relating to asbestos, and by what date they expect all such asbestos to be removed.

Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies. Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a school building, that cannot be managed within local resources, it provides additional support on a case-by-case basis. The department provides immediate advisory support in all cases.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are responsible for setting the policy and regulations for schools on asbestos management and compliance.

The department follows the HSE’s advice that, provided asbestos-containing materials are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed, it is generally safest to manage them in place. Where asbestos-containing materials are likely to be disturbed by maintenance works or daily use of the building and cannot be easily protected, schools should have them removed. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to support this work, including £1.8 billion committed for 2023/24

The department has published bespoke guidance on asbestos management for schools in 2020 and is working with HSE and the sector to look at further ways to help them and build on existing guidance and support.