Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Sixth Report - The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management
Work and Pensions Committee
HC 560
Published 21 April 2022
Government response
The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management: Government Response to the Committee’s Sixth Report of Session 2021–22 · published 21 Jul 2022
Recommendations & Conclusions
7
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 49
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition and...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
Para 50
Wholesale removal is not, however, without its own risk and uncertainty.
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
Para 51
The Minister and HSE told us that their goal was to see asbestos gradually and...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
Para 66
Information about asbestos within buildings is often poorly communicated to users and contractors by dutyholders.
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
Para 94
HSE has experienced significant cuts in government funding.
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
Para 95
We recommend that HSE commits to a sustained increase in inspection and enforcement activity targeting...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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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