Schools advised to check LA Asbestos Reports
On conversion, local authorities often provide schools with their asbestos reports. Unfortunately these reports are sometimes inaccurate.
Background
Schools should not assume that reports handed over to them by the local authorities are correct.
Asbestos can be found in any industrial or residential building built or refurbished before the year 2000.
Recommendations
Schools that have any buildings that fall within this category, or which are built on brownfield sites, should undertake a management survey and produce an "asbestos register" which says where asbestos is located or where there might be asbestos.
If asbestos has been identified in a building, a licensed contractor who needs to be employed to remove the asbestos. It is vital to verify the contractor's licence before removal of asbestos is undertaken. If unlicensed contractors are used, they may not have sufficient expertise to protect pupils and staff from exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos Management Plan
The asbestos management plan should be continually updated, whenever work is done and materials are checked at least once a year to make sure they haven’t deteriorated.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact Emma Ridge on 0113 244 6100. You can also keep up to date by following Wrigleys Schools team on Twitter here The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors |