Health and safety watchdog to inspect schools’ asbestos management

Great Britain’s health and safety regulator has announced that an inspection programme of primary and secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales will begin this month.
 
The inspections will assess how schools are managing the risks from asbestos and meeting the ‘duty to manage’ requirements under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR).
 
The regulations place duties on those with responsibility for the maintenance of work premises, including schools, to manage the risk from asbestos. For the majority of schools, this will be the employer.
 
The visits will be carried out by HSE inspectors, who will contact the school before visiting to arrange a suitable date and time for the inspection.
 
They will need to speak to someone with knowledge of how asbestos is managed by the school and may also ask to see certain documentation in advance of the visit, for example the asbestos register and management plan.
 
In advance of the inspections, schools may wish to review their current arrangements and check that they are meeting their duties under CAR, which includes requirements to:

• take reasonable steps to find out if there are asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in the school premises, and if so, the amount, where it is and what condition it is in
• presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not
• make, and keep up to date, a record of the location and condition of any ACMs - or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos
• assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified
• prepare an asbestos management plan (AMP) that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed
• take the necessary steps to put the plan into action
• periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements, and act on the findings, so the plan and arrangements remain relevant and up to date
• provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on, or disturb them.

For more information to help prepare for an inspection, see https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc14.htm

Image credit | iStock