NUT calls for audit of asbestos in schools

The teachers’ union NUT has called on the government to act upon the findings of a new survey of asbestos management in schools, undertaken by the Asbestos Testing and Consultants Association, and commit to a national audit of asbestos management in educational establishments.

The results of the survey were published last month in a report, Assessment of asbestos management in schools. The survey looked at 12 schools and found that not one had a written asbestos management plan that was of an acceptable standard. In one school the system of asbestos management was virtually non-existent. Two other schools did not know who was in charge of asbestos management, and in more than half of the schools surveyed, there was evidence of damage to asbestos.