Unions call on universities to improve asbestos management

The largest union for university workers in the UK, and the National Union of Students, have called on the sector to address concerns raised by Confront in how extensive asbestos across British universities is being managed.

Following Freedom of Information requests to 35 universities, Confront identified multiple instances of universities seemingly failing to fully comply with the regulations designed to protect people from exposure to asbestos today.

This included St Andrews not having a functioning asbestos register, The University of Aberdeen and The University of Newcastle’s asbestos registers appearing not to meet the minimum standard set by law, Imperial College London still using asbestos surveys for some buildings from 1994, and The University of Kent’s register having overdue inspections of more than a year for 261 of its asbestos-containing materials. The average university has over 4,000 asbestos-containing materials still in its buildings, 25 years after the UK implemented a full ban.

“It is completely unacceptable for universities to put their own staff at risk by seemingly refusing to comply with basic health and safety regulations”

Several universities also refused to disclose documents, or their contents, which would shed light on how they have been managing their asbestos.Asbestos-related diseases killed over 5,000 people in the UK in 2023, with campaigners highlighting the increasing risk from asbestos in older buildings.

Now, the University and College Union (UCU), which represents over 120,000 academic and support staff, has called on universities to improve their asbestos management following our investigation.

“UCU is deeply concerned with these findings. We expect employers to have robust processes in place to keep workers and students safe,” UCU health and safety official Alex Lancaster said in a statement released to Confront.

“Asbestos is a killer… asbestos-related deaths are rising fastest in education workers, so it is completely unacceptable for universities to put their own staff at risk by seemingly refusing to comply with basic health and safety regulations.

“UCU has been raising concerns about the management of asbestos in college and university buildings for years, university and college bosses now need to start complying with freedom of information requests, maintain their asbestos registers and work with UCU’s health and safety reps to ensure buildings are safe.”

Several universities failed to disclose key information about their asbestos and asbestos management in the Freedom of Information Requests filed by Confront, including Aston University, The University of Oxford, The University of Kent, and the London School of Economics.

The UCU also told Confront they are calling on universities to be more transparent going forward. “It is a huge red flag that some universities are refusing to disclose information on their management of asbestos in university buildings. Employers must be transparent for safety to be managed properly.

“Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive needs to listen to the widespread concerns being raised and allocate appropriate resources to deal with the exposure risks and any legislative breaches taking place across all education estates.

“Universities now need to publish their asbestos management surveys, risk registers and management plans, and make them freely available to staff, students, visitors and contractors. Failing to do so could lead to many more preventable deaths across the sector.”

Alex Stanley, NUS Vice President Higher Education, commented, “These findings are really worrying. Students deserve to be safe in their universities and university accommodation.

“This is another illustration of why student accommodation must be included in the protections of the Renters’ Rights Bill; students need to have recourse available for when their accommodation is a threat to their health.”

If you want to reach out to Confront with any tips or leads, you can do so here.