Schools promised asbestos action

Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to tackle asbestos in UK schools and colleges at a meeting with the NUT, NASUWT and ATL teacher unions on 13 May.

Teacher unions and asbestos campaigners have agreed to work together on a comprehensive audit of school premises and develop a plan for the phased removal of asbestos.

The government had earlier ruled out establishing a schools asbestos register, despite union campaigning to highlight the alarming extent of asbestos in premises.

Department for Children, Schools and Families figures estimate that at least 178 teachers have died from asbestos-related diseases since 1980. The ATL teachers’ union argues that at least 75% of schools across the UK contain asbestos, putting both staff and students at risk.

However schools minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said the government believes it is safer to leave asbestos in place rather than remove it. She argued that to establish a register would “duplicate the work already undertaken by local dutyholders”.

A number of general unions with members that work in schools as well as asbestos campaigners have also indicated they will join the campaign.