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<p>The Department considers the health and safety of staff and pupils in school as
paramount. Since 2015, the Department has allocated £5.6 billion to those responsible
for school buildings and for essential maintenance, including removing or encapsulating
asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so. In addition, through the
£4.4 billion Priority School Building Programme, the Department is rebuilding or refurbishing
buildings in the worst condition in over 500 schools across the country. Asbestos
is a factor in choosing which schools to re-build.</p><p>Advice from the Health and
Safety Executive is that if asbestos is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, then
it is best managed in situ. The blanket and accelerated removal of asbestos in schools
is potentially a more dangerous and greater risk to pupils and staff. Any decision
to remove asbestos is taken on a case by case basis, based on the risk of exposure
and the work to be undertaken. While asbestos will be removed over time from the school
estate as part of any rebuilding or refurbishment programme, the Department has not
committed to the phased removal of all asbestos by a specific date.</p>
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