Staff and pupils return to school in “asbestos riddled buildings.” 6th September 2011
As the new term begins many thousands of staff and pupils are returning to schools that are dilapidated and at times unsafe. The plans to refurbish or replace schools in England were put on hold when the Government cancelled Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital Programme, with just 186 secondary schools having been replaced or refurbished under BSF.
Although the Coalition Government will be giving priority to schools in the worse condition, the funds that have now been allocated will not address the serious problem of asbestos that is present in most of the nation’s schools.
Sandwell council lost £125 million in funding for ten schools in the BSF cuts. Wednesbury’s Wood Green Academy epitomises the situation where £14 million is needed to bring the school up to an acceptable standard. These schools are typical of thousands of schools as they have long passed their design life, but there is no money to maintain them, let alone replace them.
The headteacher summed up the scale of the problem by saying “We’ve got lots of aged buildings, 1960’s windows, asbestos riddled buildings, narrow corridors and site split by a road –it’s just not fit for purpose in the 21st century.” Asbestos is part of the fabric of the building and therefore if the building is in a bad state of repair it is likely that the asbestos will also be in a poor condition.
The Government’s policy for schools is that so long as the asbestos is in good condition and not likely to be disturbed then it is better to leave it in place and manage it for the remaining life of the building.] This policy of managing asbestos fails when the asbestos is not in a good condition and also when schools do not have an effective system of managing their asbestos.
Sandwell Borough Council was not managing its asbestos effectively when HSE carried out enforcement action in 2007 for failing to manage asbestos risks in five of their schools. But however well they might now be managing their asbestos they are fighting an impossible task as the school buildings are in a dilapidated state. Until schools are brought up to a safe and structurally sound standard the Government’s policy for managing asbestos will fail and staff and pupils will remain at risk.
According to the CEO of Partnership for Schools, the body responsible for refurbishing and replacing the schools stock, “80% of our schools are beyond their shelf life.” The scale of the problem was underlined by the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services who concluded in September 2010 that “fifteen billion capital investment is the absolute minimum councils need between now and 2015 to ensure every child can be taught in a classroom which is safe and structurally sound. Nearly five billion is considered essential for the next financial year, 2011-12.”
In March 2011 a Financial Times report stated “The dire condition school estate has become a source of panic, according to officials at the Department for Education… The backlog of repairs needed by English schools would require £8.5bn to fix.”
A similar situation exists in Scotland and Wales. A survey of the school estate in Scotland identified that 611 (23%) of schools were in either in a poor or bad condition.[90% of schools in Wales contain asbestos and yet a 2010 study by the Welsh Assembly identified the likelihood of a £1billion repair bill for their schools as “Hundreds of school buildings have major defects or are at risk of imminent failure.”.
The Schools Capital Review examined the school estate in England. It was published in April 2011 and concluded that “Significant parts of the school estate were and are in an unacceptable state.” The review also expressed concern about the particular vulnerability of children in schools by stating “Clearly, taking into account the potential vulnerability of young people, there needs to be good scrutiny and control over buildings in which they will spend much of their day.”
In response the Government announced in July 2011 that £81.5million would be allocated for urgent repair work and improvements in 217 Academies. At the same time they launched the “Priority Schools Building Programme” which is a £2billion privately financed programme “intended to address those schools in the worst condition” which “could cover between 100-300 schools in total”.
This is a fraction of what is needed and does not address the very serious problem of asbestos in the majority of England’s 27,000 schools, where the staff and pupils will remain at risk.
The state of the school stock is a national disgrace and the funds that have been allocated are totally inadequate and will not even bring the majority of schools up to a safe or structurally sound standard. The policy is to leave the asbestos in these dilapidated schools and to manage it until they reach the end of their life, but the policy cannot succeed given the condition of the schools, the lack of funds to maintain them and the lack of resources to manage the asbestos.
Our country puts staff and pupils at risk because over the last thirty years the Government has failed to back up their policy of asbestos management with proper resources. In comparison thirty years ago the USA determined the scale of the problem and the risks from asbestos in their schools. They then trained people and allocated funds so that schools could manage their asbestos. They also have open, pragmatic policies so that staff and parents are informed of the presence of asbestos in their schools and what measures are in place to manage it.
If staff and pupils are to be safe in our schools then similar policies have to be adopted in this country, and also the schools have to brought up to a safe and structurally sound condition.
Michael Lees www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk
MOTHER DIES AFTER PAYOUT 15th October 2009
It was a landmark ruling, paving the way for more cases
A woman who battled for two years for a payout after contracting an asbestos-related disease has died a day after a judge said she should be paid £240,000.
Dianne Willmore, 49, from North Wales, passed away on Thursday from malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused mainly by breathing in asbestos.
She inhaled the dangerous substance as a pupil at Huyton’s Bowring School in Merseyside in the 1970s.Knowsley Council, which is responsible, said its thoughts were with the family.
In a landmark ruling, the High Court decided that Mrs Willmore was entitled to the cash because the council “knew or ought to have known that any more than minimal exposure to asbestos dust was foreseeably hazardous.”
It is the first time a case relating to exposure in a school has been found in favour of a pupil.Mrs Willmore, who was from Huyton and went to school there, later moved to Wrexham in north Wales.
The mother-of-two managed to attend much of the hearing in the High Court despite the severity of her condition.Her solicitor, Ruth Davies, said: “She was a very courageous, bubbly woman who had to face a lot to find justice.
“I managed to contact her last night to tell her the good news, she was delighted. Obviously she was having problems speaking because breathing had become so hard for her.”
MESOTHELIOMA
A cancer of the mesothelial cells which cover the outer surface of the lungs and, less commonly, the abdomen
Most cases caused by exposure to asbestos
The tiny fibres which make up asbestos are breathed in and irritate the lining of the lung, causing cell damage
Alternatively, the fibres may be coughed up and swallowed, leading to damage to the abdomen
The UK mesothelioma death rate is now the highest in the world, with 1,749 deaths in men in 2005
She was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2007 and in July 2009 Liverpool High Court found Knowsley Council liable for damages for negligently exposing her to asbestos fibres while she was a pupil.
The local authority then appealed against this decision and it went to the Court of Appeal. The hearing was heard on Wednesday, where the judge said the council did not have a case to pursue.
She had told the court that she was exposed to asbestos fibres through the ceiling tiles in the school toilets.
They were disturbed by children who used to hide items up there, causing the leak.
Paul Rowan, MP for Rochdale who has campaigned on behalf of Mrs Willmore, welcomed the ruling, saying it was a case that could “affect many more people suffering from the disease”.
He said: “She was a brave, brave lady. In doing what she has done she has helped every member of staff and pupil who has been, or will be, exposed to asbestos in a school.”
A spokesman for Knowsley Council said: “We have always been extremely sympathetic towards Mrs Willmore’s condition and our thoughts are with her family at this time.
“Given the tragic circumstances, the council does not feel it is appropriate to comment any further at this stage.”
