Figures released today by the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) in conjunction with asbestos in schools’ campaigner Lucie Stephens and MP Rachel Reeves, chair of the Asbestos in Schools group, reveal huge disparities in asbestos management across Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) – groups of academies governed by the same group of directors.
The JUAC, whose members include the eight teaching unions, sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 1,280 MATs last year asking about the presence and management of asbestos within their academies. A total of 442 MATs responded. Within these MATS, 1,863 academies were reported to have asbestos present.
The responses from the MATs showed 54 incidents of asbestos exposure within academies had been reported, often because previously unknown asbestos was discovered. Exposure to asbestos can cause a number of diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma cancer.
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