Asbestos in schools: what to check before anyone drills a wall

The duty to manage asbestos sits under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and it falls on the person in control of maintenance. In practice that is the employer, so the local authority, the trust or the governing body depending on the school.

Two different surveys

A management survey supports day to day occupation. It is not enough before intrusive work. Anything that goes into the fabric, so drilling, lifting floors, opening ceilings or taking out a wall, needs a refurbishment and demolition survey of that area first. Commissioning it late is the reason summer projects stop dead.

What the contractor must be given

The register, before they start, with a signature to show they have had it. HSE inspections of schools have repeatedly found registers with no photographs, no named deputy when the responsible person is away, and contractor sign in sheets that never ask whether asbestos awareness training has been done.

Have a plan for the moment it goes wrong

If a contractor puts a drill through a ceiling tile, somebody has to know what to do in the next ten minutes. Stop work, keep people out, do not clean up, and call. That needs writing down, and the emergency services need to be able to find the asbestos information when they arrive.

General guidance only. It does not replace the fire risk assessment, water hygiene risk assessment or specific advice for a particular building.