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<p>The Government takes the issue of asbestos in schools very seriously and is supporting
those in schools and responsible bodies who have the legal responsibility for safely
managing asbestos in their schools.</p><p>The Department provides funding to schools
to help them keep their school buildings in a good state of repair. Between 2015 and
2018 this investment will total £4.2 billion and schools and responsible bodies are
able to use this funding to remove asbestos where that is appropriate.</p><p>For maintained
schools, the local authority as responsible body receives an annual allocation of
capital funding to repair and upgrade existing buildings. Local authorities are expected
to treat fairly those schools considering conversion to an academy and to honour any
commitments of capital funding that they have made, in respect of building projects
at those schools.</p><p>Following conversion, a school can be part of a larger multi-academy
trust, a smaller multi-academy trust or a standalone academy. Larger multi-academy
trusts (MATs) have access to annual formulaic school condition allocations (SCA),
which they can pass on to their constituent schools to address any serious asbestos
concerns. For stand-alone academies and academies in smaller multi academy trusts,
funding is available through the condition improvement fund (CIF) where they bid for
capital funding. As set out in the guidance for prospective bidders, the highest priority
is given to health and safety issues due to the poor condition of buildings, including
emergency asbestos removal.</p>
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