NAHT has responded to the Department for Work and Pensions' call for evidence on how the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) manages asbestos, which remains prevalent in schools and other buildings more than 20 years after its use was banned.
The dangers of asbestos in schools are self-evident. Asbestos is present on-site in 83.5% of schools, according to Department for Education's figures. According to HSE data, all together, 380 teachers (aged younger than 75) have died from mesothelioma between 1980 and 2010.
NAHT is continuing to campaign for the careful removal of all asbestos from the school estate, rather than the government's current policy of leaving it in situ, where wear and tear to school buildings can expose asbestos and cause lethal fibres to be released.
NAHT has responded individually and as part of the Joint Union Asbestos Committee. You can read our response here.
First published 22 September 2021