The SoR has joined a coalition of industry, unions, charities and wider campaign groups pushing for asbestos removal in seeking a National Asbestos Register.
Known as the National Asbestos Taskforce this group, independent of government, is supporting a campaign to improve the UK's approach to the management of asbestos.
Last month, the group expressed its disappointment in the government’s response to a report recommending a national digital register of asbestos in the education estate.
Urgent and effective action
Despite a ban on the use of asbestos in 1999, an estimated six million tonnes of the deadly material remain embedded in buildings across the UK – including in hospitals and schools.
The SoR has joined the taskforce alongside the Trades Union Congress and other advocacy groups in order to lobby for a government‑mandated, phased programme for the removal of all asbestos from UK buildings.
Early priorities for the group include early action focused on high‑risk or damaged asbestos materials, rather than the policy of indefinite management that the UK currently relies upon.
Leandre Archer, head of industrial relations at the SoR, said: “Our members and workplace representatives see first-hand the risks that asbestos still poses. By joining the asbestos taskforce, the Society of Radiographers is reinforcing its commitment to supporting them and ensuring these risks are tackled urgently and effectively.”
Asbestos is the largest cause of occupational death in the UK, causing 2,218 deaths from mesothelioma in 2023 alone, alongside a host of additional deaths caused by asbestos-related diseases, such as lung cancer.
Evidence and realism
AZ, chair of the first National Asbestos Taskforce meeting, which took place on 1 April, said: “The UK has relied too long on the assumption that asbestos can be managed indefinitely. Those who work with it know deterioration and exposure are inevitable. This taskforce exists to bring evidence and realism to the debate and to make the case for a phased programme of removal that genuinely reduces risk.”
Last month (April 27), the taskforce wrote to the UK Parliament Education Committee's Chair, Helen Hayes MP, to protest the government’s decision to reject the committee’s request for the establishment of a National Asbestos Register.
Earlier this year, the Education Committee recommended the government establish a national digital register for asbestos across the school estate, as part of its wider inquiry into school building safety.
The committee’s recommendation was for a central register, alongside annual reporting, on Health and Safety Executive (HSE) compliance and asbestos removal achieved through capital programmes. This register would make it easier to identify where asbestos is located, what condition it is in, whether remediation has taken place, and where compliance may be inadequate.
However, this recommendation was rejected by ministers due to concerns over the resources required and the duplication of records already maintained by schools.
Responsible removal
Sir Stephen Timms MP is the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability and met with the taskforce during its first meeting.
His department is part of the Department for Work and Pensions and oversees the compensation schemes for those with asbestos-related illnesses.
Sir Stephen said: “I am encouraged to see organisations from across charities, industry, and campaign groups coming together around the shared challenge of tackling asbestos.
“The Government and HSE have a programme of action already underway, including changing the law, sponsoring new research, inspecting buildings, and running public awareness campaigns reaching hundreds of thousands of people. We are committed to making British workplaces safe from asbestos, and building the evidence base to allow us to plan properly for its removal in a responsible way.”
The Independent Asbestos Task Force membership includes:
- The Society of Radiographers
- Airtight on Asbestos
- Mesothelioma UK
- Asbestos Information CIC
- The National Education Union (NEU)
- Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA)
- The PREDICT-Meso international consortium
- Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association (ATaC)
- Asbestos Victims Support Group Forum UK
- The Trades Union Congress (TUC)
- The Communication Workers Union (CWU)
Find out more about the taskforce’s work, and read the letter in full, online here.
(Image: Stephen Timms MP)