The Government has partially or fully shut over a hundred English schools after identifying concrete in them that had passed its safe life. On Wednesday 6 September, Stephen raised the risks of asbestos exposure as schools attempt to remove the concrete.
The Government closed 104 schools after three incidents of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) collapsing over summer forced Ministers to reconsider the safety of school buildings. Schools will be partially or fully shut so that remediation works can be carried out. However, this has raised fears that remediation works will expose asbestos.
Irwin Mitchell estimates that 4,533 public buildings have asbestos, a quarter of which are schools. Inhaling asbestos fibres can cause cancers such as mesothelioma. Asbestos-related illnesses cause 5,000 deaths per year in the UK, making them the leading cause of workplace-related deaths.
Stephen has campaigned for the Government to act on asbestos for over a year, since the Work and Pensions Select Committee - which Stephen chairs - published an inquiry into asbestos in April 2022.
During the debate on 6 September, Stephen again urged the Government to act on asbestos, saying, “at the current rate of progress, it will take 350 years to remove all the asbestos from schools. Does she agree that the Department must get a move on?”