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<p>The Department takes the safety of children and those who work with them very seriously
and expects Local Authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust
plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their
legal duties.</p><p>Asbestos duty holders, such as Local Authorities and academy trusts,
are responsible for understanding the presence of asbestos in schools and putting
appropriate measures in place for its management.</p><p>The Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely.
These require duty holders to have a robust asbestos management plan, train staff,
and maintain an asbestos register detailing location, type, and condition of asbestos
in their buildings.</p><p>Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now
being collected via the Department’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme,
which started in 2021 and will complete in 2026.</p><p>The Department has committed
£1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition
of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition,
the Department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and colleges
through the School Rebuilding Programme.</p><p>The Department provides annual capital
funding to Local Authorities to improve the condition of their schools and keep them
safe and compliant with relevant regulations, including removing asbestos, when it
cannot be managed safely in situ. Harrow local authority was allocated £2.7 million
in School Condition Allocations for the 2023/24 financial year to provide funding
to the schools for which it is responsible. This is part of £19 million allocated
since 2015, when School Condition Allocations were introduced.</p><p> </p>
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