The Department for Education (DfE) reopened its asbestos management assurance process last week, which asks asks schools to declare whether or not they are compliant with their legal duty to manage asbestos on their sites.
Schools now have until February 2019 to take part in the survey, although it is not mandatory.
In a written answer to Parliament last week, the education minister Nick Gibb admitted that the final results from the survey will not be published until Spring next year.
He added 17,000 state-funded schools have so responded to the survey so far, and 68% of those have been deemed to be compliant with their legal duties.
But the NEU said the final findings will come too late to influence next year’s comprehensive spending review.
“This is totally unacceptable,” said NEU Joint General Secretary, Kevin Courtney.
“We already know that nearly 90% of schools contain asbestos and that as asbestos ages, it deteriorates and becomes more difficult to manage. There is already plenty of evidence about poor standards of asbestos management across many local authorities and academy trusts.
“What we urgently need is earmarked funding to make our schools safe from this scourge.”
The union also warned that increasing numbers of teachers and school staff are dying from the cancer mesothelioma because they were exposed to asbestos while working in schools.
In just one year, from 2015 to 2016, the number of school staff who died from mesothelioma has increased by a third – from 30 to 40 deaths.
In response to the union claims, a DfE spokesperson said: “Since 2015, we have already allocated £5.6 billion to those responsible for school buildings for essential maintenance, including for the removal of asbestos when it is the safest course of action. In addition to this, asbestos is a factor in choosing which schools to re-build through the Priority School Building Programme.
“We have extended the Asbestos Management Assurance Process to give more schools the chance to respond. This data will help the department develop a greater understanding of the management of asbestos in schools.”
The panic merchants are at it again. Asbestos that is in good condition and encapsulated will pose no danger so they expensive removal of asbestos isn’t necessary in the short term, and once we have removed millions of tonnes of this material from schools and other buildings, where will it go? Back in the ground. We’ll be running out of holes in the ground for the stuff, not to mention the time spent digging the holes in the first place.
It’s not panic merchants as you put it. 85% of our schools have it and asbestos is often badly managed in scoops and other buildings. Asbestos related diseases take 15 to 60 years to develop, therefore it’s criminal and immoral to expose our youngest persons and starting the clock ticking at 5 years old, let alone the 30 odd teachers dying each year. The death rate is rising annually with no sign of a reduction yet. Schools should be an absolute priority.