Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management

Work and Pensions Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 9 Jul 2021 Closed: 21 Oct 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry looked at how the Health and Safety Executive manages the continued presence of asbestos in buildings. The Committee found out about the current risks posed by asbestos in the workplace, the groups of people who are most affected, and how well the current laws and regulations for the … Read more
14 Recommendations
13 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
1 Letter
3 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
21 Jul
2022
Report published
21 Apr
2022
Report published
2 Mar
2022
Correspondence
2 Feb
2022
Oral evidence
2 Feb
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
15 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
15 Dec
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
17 Nov
2021
Oral evidence
17 Nov
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
2 Feb 2022
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Work and Pensions Committee
Chloe Smith MP · Cabinet Office Professor Andrew Curran · Health and Safety Executive Sarah Albon · Health and Safety Executive
15 Dec 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
Clare Gilham · London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Darren Evans · Asbestos Testing and Consulting, Asbestos Removal Contractors Association Graham O’Mahony · UK Asbestos Training Association Prof John Cherrie · Heriot Watt University Prof Julian Peto · London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Prof Kevin Bampton · British Occupational Hygiene Society and the Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management Ruth Wilkinson · Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
17 Nov 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
Charles Pickles · The Airtight on Asbestos Campaign Gill Reed · The Joint Union Asbestos Committee Joanne Gordon · Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK Liz Darlison · Mesothelioma UK Nicolas Bessot · Ministry of Labour, Employment and Integration, France Prof. Alex Burdorf · Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Prof. Thomas Kuhlbusch · The Federal Institute for Occupational Hygiene and Health (BAuA), Germany Tony Hood · Thompsons Solicitors
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixth Report - The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asb… HC 560 21 Apr 2022 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
Clear
7 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition and...
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition and are unlikely to be disturbed can be left in place by building dutyholders. Buildings containing asbestos will not last forever and, as HSE acknowledges, we … Read more
Government Response
The Government believes that GB currently has a mature and comprehensive plan to managing legacy asbestos risks that aligns with the best evidence currently available through the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the 'duty to manage'.
Department for Work and Pensions
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8 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
Wholesale removal is not, however, without its own risk and uncertainty.
Wholesale removal is not, however, without its own risk and uncertainty. Despite this, HSE has been slow to invest in research to better understand the costs and benefits of removal and to evaluate options for safer removal. This is becoming … Read more
Government Response
The government believes that GB currently has a mature and comprehensive plan to manage legacy asbestos risks, reflected in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the duty to manage, which ensures management of risks of exposure and will eventually lead to the elimination of asbestos from the built environment.
Department for Work and Pensions
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9 Recommendation Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
The Minister and HSE told us that their goal was to see asbestos gradually and...
The Minister and HSE told us that their goal was to see asbestos gradually and safely removed from GB’s buildings. We agree with its ambition but greatly regret that neither HSE nor the Government has articulated a clear and comprehensive … Read more
Government Response
The government believes that GB currently has a mature and comprehensive plan to manage legacy asbestos risks, reflected in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the duty to manage, which ensures management of risks of exposure and will eventually lead to the elimination of asbestos from the built environment.
Department for Work and Pensions
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13 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
Information about asbestos within buildings is often poorly communicated to users and contractors by dutyholders.
Information about asbestos within buildings is often poorly communicated to users and contractors by dutyholders. Surveys and management plans which include critical information on asbestos are not always maintained as living and accessible documents. Opportunities to exploit digital technologies to … Read more
Government Response
HSE states they recognize the importance of duty holders actively managing information and ensuring it is regularly communicated, and they will be carrying out targeted inspection activity and develop communications activity in this area to support wider inspection work, as well as continuing working with duty holders and those in charge of estates strategies for non-domestic buildings.
Department for Work and Pensions
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17 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
HSE has experienced significant cuts in government funding.
HSE has experienced significant cuts in government funding. Lower grant funding has been partly mitigated by the introduction of its fee for intervention ‘cost recovery’ model but this cannot be used to target inspections of licensed asbestos removal work. It … Read more
Government Response
HSE's business plan includes details of how HSE's activities are funded and sets out how HSE will deliver a range of different regulatory interventions and activities based on intelligence, targeting the most serious risks, focusing on industries with the greatest hazards and sectors with the worst risk management record.
Department for Work and Pensions
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18 Recommendation Accepted
Sixth Report - The Health and Safe…
We recommend that HSE commits to a sustained increase in inspection and enforcement activity targeting...
We recommend that HSE commits to a sustained increase in inspection and enforcement activity targeting compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations. Repeating our recommendation from June 2020, the Government and DWP should ensure that it provides adequate funding to … Read more
Government Response
HSE's commitment to focus on the risks related to managing asbestos exposure is a long-standing feature of its Business Plan, but budgets are not specifically allocated to individual risks such as asbestos exposure, because inspections and investigations focus on multiple potential risks.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 14 classified
Accepted 6
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 15
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 3
Total 14 recs + 13 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
2 Mar 2022 Correspondence with the Health and Safety Executive related to their approach to asbestos management
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