Chris
Parr
Schools across England should have all asbestos removed as part
of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme, a leading campaigner has
said.
Michael Lees, whose wife – a teacher – died from asbestos-caused
mesothelioma after being exposed to the deadly substance at school, says that
the rebuilding and refurbishing project is a “massive opportunity” to begin
removing asbestos.
Mr Lees said: “The current policy on asbestos states
that if it is well managed, and in good condition, then it is not a danger to
pupils or teachers. This is simply not true. Asbestos is always at risk
of becoming damaged – particularly in a school where there are sometimes
thousands of people moving around inside the same building. I have been
to schools which have been praised for the way they manage their asbestos, and
yet have found that they simply do not know where it can be found, and how to
ensure it is safe. Only by removing it all can we ensure that pupils and staff
are not exposed.”
BSF will see every single UK secondary school rebuilt
or refurbished, and while Mr Lees acknowledges that removing all asbestos from
schools will take a long time, he says it makes “perfect sense” to use the
levels of asbestos in buildings as a way of prioritising the order in which
schools enter the BSF programme.
The call comes after figures emerged
about the number of schools that contain asbestos.
In Kent, an audit
revealed that 554 of 599 schools contained the substance, while in Greater
Manchester the figure is 903 out of 1,043 schools.
Chris Keates, general
secretary of the NASUWT union, agreed that asbestos levels should be included in
the criteria for assessing when schools enter BSF, but stopped short of saying
that this should be the main determining factor.
She said: “Unless
asbestos is damaged or at risk of damage, and is correctly managed, then there
is no risk to students.“Schools with no asbestos, but which have a poor
general overall condition – damaged roofs, and so on – should get funding more
quickly than schools in a good condition that have well-managed
asbestos.”
However, Hank Roberts, lead member for health and safety at
the Association for Teachers and Lecturers, disagrees. He told SecEd: “It is
outrageous that asbestos removal is not a core part of the BSF programme. No-one
can deny that it is highly dangerous.“Saying that if it is well managed
then it is safe is also wide of the mark. What happens if fire breaks out, if
there is a flood, or other accidental damage? ”He added: “First of all we
need a national audit of asbestos in all UK schools so that we can use the data
to ensure it is removed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I think the cost
of doing the removal work will mean that this doesn’t happen without a huge
campaign. The deaths are continuing, and still the denial continues. We
have to face facts that the removal of asbestos will cost a lot of money, but
the long-term costs are far higher.”
This week, the Department for
Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Health and Safety Executive took
what is being viewed by campaigners as the first step towards a national audit
of asbestos in schools.
A survey was sent to all local authorities in
England to “raise awareness about the duty to manage” the substance, and to
glean information on asbestos levels.
However, David Brierley, solicitor
for the Voice union, warned that this would not offer sufficient information to
incorporate asbestos removal into the BSF programme.
He said: “Until
there is a national assessment of the extent of the asbestos problem in schools,
it will be impossible to allocate resources proportionate to the risks either at
national or local level. Clearly there has to be a comprehensive audit of all
schools.”
A DCSF spokesman told SecEd: “BSF funding is allocated on the
basis of educational and social need and the readiness of a local authority to
deliver these big programmes. “It would seem bizarre to prioritise areas
simply because they had asbestos in their schools – the bottom line is that
local authorities and schools already have a legal duty to comply with the law
on managing asbestos.”
Chris Parr
• SecEd is organising a conference on asbestos in
schools on March 12 in London. For full details, see page
18. |