More than 230 public buildings in Bradford contain asbestos

In response to requests submitted by law firm Irwin Mitchell under Freedom of Information Act (FOI), it was revealed that 4,533 public buildings across the 20 councils including Bradford, Leeds and Kirklees, still contain asbestos, averaging around 225 buildings per local authority.

Schools are the largest category of buildings affected, making up almost a quarter of the total number. This is followed by community centres, agricultural and park buildings, office space, libraries, leisure facilities and residential settings.

The figures also show that only 291 buildings across the 20 local authorities in question had asbestos removed from them in the last five years, but that 3,263 had had a survey undertaken within the same timeframe.

Bradford Council confirmed all 238 of their public buildings had surveys undertaken within the past five years, but no figures were provided on asbestos removals.

A spokesperson for Bradford Council added: “We comply with all the relevant laws relating to asbestos and have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with it.

“We have an Asbestos Management Unit at the council which provides each building under its control with an asbestos management plan.

“The plan makes sure the material is checked, managed and kept in good condition so that no-one is exposed to asbestos dust or fibres in any council building.

“We also train all our operational staff and managers in asbestos awareness and before any intrusive work is done on any of our properties we carry out a refurbishment and demolition survey.

“Any local schools that contain asbestos have been given clear guidance on how to manage the material in order to protect pupils, visitors and staff.

“Although the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, a significant amount of it remains in thousands of buildings across the UK.”

Adrian Budgen, an asbestos-related disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Most people associate asbestos with historical exposure in factories or construction work, but these latest figures highlight the extensive risk still posed by the deadly substance across the UK in everyday buildings used by the public.

“One of the main problem areas is revealed to be schools, which are obviously densely populated with pupils, teachers and other school workers for long hours at a time. It’s extremely worrying that so many still contain asbestos, essentially putting children at risk every day.

“Whilst some of the asbestos may not yet be deemed harmful, once it’s disturbed or in a state of disrepair it can quickly become very dangerous, and with many of our public buildings being old and maintenance budgets being stretched, it’s a huge concern.”