Asbestos Still Kills — Here’s What the UK Government Must Do About It
Asbestos remains the single largest cause of work-related deaths in Britain. Thousands of people die every year from mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-related lung cancer — diseases that develop decades after exposure, making them easy to overlook as a problem of the past. They are not. So what actions can the UK government take to reduce the risk of asbestos exposure in the workplace, and how far do current measures actually go?
The regulatory framework exists. The Control of Asbestos Regulations sets out clear duties for dutyholders, employers, and contractors. But regulation without robust enforcement, adequate funding, and genuine public awareness is only ever part of the answer.
Here is a practical, no-nonsense look at the most impactful actions available to government right now.
Strengthen and Modernise the Regulatory Framework
Close the Gaps in the Control of Asbestos Regulations
The Control of Asbestos Regulations provides a solid foundation, but there are areas where it falls short of what is needed in practice. One of the most significant is the inconsistent application of survey requirements across different building types and tenures.
Currently, domestic properties — including houses of multiple occupation and private rented homes — sit largely outside the scope of the dutyholder regulations. Workers who enter these properties, from electricians and plumbers to heating engineers, can be exposed to undocumented asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) with no legal obligation on the owner to inform them.
The government should consider extending dutyholder obligations to a broader range of property types, particularly where tradespeople regularly carry out maintenance and refurbishment work. A clearer, more consistent survey requirement across all property categories would reduce the number of accidental disturbances that go undetected and unreported.
Mandate Surveys Before Refurbishment or Demolition Work
A demolition survey is already a legal requirement before any work that may disturb the fabric of a building. But enforcement of this requirement is patchy, and many smaller contractors — particularly sole traders — either are not aware of the obligation or choose to ignore it.
The government should look at making planning permission and building regulation approval conditional on evidence that an appropriate survey has been carried out. This would create a practical checkpoint before any significant work begins, rather than relying solely on post-incident enforcement.
Toughen Penalties for Non-Compliance
Penalties for breaching asbestos regulations need to reflect the seriousness of the risk. Fines that feel manageable for larger businesses simply do not work as a deterrent.
The government should review sentencing guidelines for asbestos-related offences to ensure that penalties — financial and otherwise — are genuinely dissuasive. A transparent enforcement register, publicly listing businesses that have been prosecuted or issued improvement notices for asbestos violations, would add significant reputational pressure alongside financial penalties. This kind of public accountability often proves more effective than fines alone.
Improve Asbestos Awareness and Training Across the Workforce
Make Asbestos Awareness Training Mandatory for High-Risk Trades
Asbestos awareness training is a legal requirement for anyone whose work could foreseeably disturb ACMs. In practice, the quality and consistency of this training varies enormously. Short online courses that tick a compliance box but leave workers genuinely unprepared are commonplace.
The government, working with the HSE and industry bodies, should establish a minimum standard for asbestos awareness training — one that covers not just identification but practical decision-making: when to stop work, who to call, and how to avoid disturbing a suspected ACM. This standard should apply to all workers in construction, maintenance, demolition, and related trades, with refresher training required at regular intervals.
Trades consistently identified as high-risk — electricians, plumbers, joiners, plasterers — should face a mandatory, verified training requirement as part of their licensing or qualification process where applicable.
Embed Asbestos Risk into Construction and Trade Education
The time to teach someone about asbestos is before they pick up a drill in an older building for the first time. Asbestos awareness should be a core component of apprenticeship programmes, NVQs, and further education courses in construction and related trades — not an optional add-on.
Young workers entering high-risk industries are among the most vulnerable, precisely because they have the least experience recognising where ACMs might be present. Getting the message in early, through formal education, would significantly reduce accidental exposures over the long term.
Run Targeted Public Awareness Campaigns
The HSE’s “Asbestos — the hidden killer” campaign has done valuable work, but public understanding of where asbestos is found and what to do if you suspect it remains low — particularly among homeowners undertaking DIY work in pre-2000 properties.
Government-backed campaigns should focus on practical, accessible messaging: asbestos can be found in artex coatings, floor tiles, pipe lagging, and roof sheeting — and disturbing it without knowing what you are dealing with is genuinely dangerous. Campaigns should direct people to professional testing and survey services rather than encouraging any form of DIY assessment.
Strengthen Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement
Adequately Resource the Health and Safety Executive
The HSE is the primary enforcement body for asbestos regulations in the workplace, but its capacity to carry out proactive inspections has been stretched by sustained resource constraints over many years. The result is a system that tends to be reactive — responding to incidents and complaints — rather than one that actively monitors compliance across high-risk sectors.
Meaningful improvement requires meaningful investment. Increasing HSE funding to allow for more proactive, targeted inspection programmes in construction, maintenance, and facilities management would have a direct impact on compliance levels. The HSE should be empowered to conduct unannounced site visits and carry out air monitoring checks as part of routine inspection activity.
Improve Asbestos Data and Reporting
There is currently no comprehensive national database of known asbestos locations in commercial and public buildings. Asbestos registers exist at the building level, held by individual dutyholders, but there is no centralised system that would allow emergency services or utility workers to check whether a building they are entering contains ACMs.
The government should explore what a practical, accessible national asbestos register might look like — not necessarily a public database, but a system that relevant professionals can query before undertaking work. The technology to build such a system exists; the political will to do so is what is needed.
Enforce Proper Asbestos Management in Public Buildings
Schools, hospitals, council offices, and other public buildings managed by government bodies or local authorities should be held to the highest possible standard when it comes to asbestos management. This means not just having an asbestos register in place, but ensuring it is current, accessible to relevant staff, and acted upon.
Regular, independent re-inspection survey programmes should be a requirement for public buildings — not just a recommendation. Where ACMs are in deteriorating condition or at risk of disturbance, there should be a clear, funded pathway to remediation or removal.
Support Safe Removal and Promote Best Practice
Ensure the Licensed Contractor System Remains Robust
The licensing regime for asbestos removal — requiring HSE-licensed contractors for the most hazardous work — is a cornerstone of UK asbestos safety. It must remain well-resourced and actively enforced.
The government should ensure that licence conditions are regularly reviewed, that unannounced audits of licensed contractors take place, and that unlicensed removal is pursued and prosecuted robustly. There is also a case for reviewing the boundaries of what constitutes notifiable non-licensed work, to ensure that the distinction between licensed and non-licensed activity does not inadvertently create a loophole that puts workers at risk.
Provide Clear Guidance on Asbestos Disposal
Safe disposal of asbestos waste is a critical part of the removal process, but inconsistent guidance and a lack of accessible disposal facilities in some parts of the country remain a practical barrier. The government should work with local authorities and the Environment Agency to ensure that licensed disposal routes are readily accessible and clearly signposted for contractors and householders alike.
Key principles for safe asbestos disposal include:
- Using only HSE-licensed contractors for the removal of licensable ACMs
- Double-bagging and clearly labelling all asbestos waste in heavy-duty polythene bags
- Transporting asbestos waste only in appropriate, covered vehicles
- Disposing of waste only at licensed sites approved for hazardous materials
- Retaining waste transfer notes and disposal certificates as part of the project record
Invest in Research and Detection Technology
Fund Research into Safer Alternative Materials
While the ban on asbestos in new construction is absolute, the legacy of existing ACMs means the problem will not disappear quickly. Government investment in research into alternative, non-hazardous materials with comparable properties — fire resistance, durability, thermal insulation — supports the long-term reduction of asbestos risk by reducing the circumstances in which historical asbestos use continues to pose a challenge.
Support Innovation in Asbestos Detection
Accurate, rapid identification of ACMs remains one of the practical challenges in asbestos management. Advances in portable detection technology — including real-time fibre analysis and AI-assisted microscopy — have the potential to transform the speed and accuracy of asbestos identification on site.
Government support for research and development in this area, through innovation grants and partnerships with universities and private sector specialists, would accelerate the adoption of better detection tools across the industry. Faster, more reliable identification means fewer accidental disturbances and more targeted management decisions.
What a Coordinated National Strategy Would Actually Look Like
When considering what actions can the UK government take to reduce the risk of asbestos exposure in the workplace, the honest answer is that no single measure will be sufficient. What is missing from the UK’s current approach is not one specific thing — it is coordination.
The regulations, the enforcement body, the licensed contractor framework, and the training requirements are all broadly in the right place. What lacks is a joined-up national strategy that brings these elements together under a single, clearly accountable plan with defined objectives and regular reporting on progress.
Other countries have committed to specific timelines for systematic removal from public buildings, established national asbestos registers, and invested in coordinated awareness campaigns. The UK has the regulatory and institutional infrastructure to do the same. It requires political commitment and sustained investment rather than new legislation alone.
A genuinely effective national strategy would need to include:
- A defined timeline for the phased removal of ACMs from public buildings, starting with those in the poorest condition
- A national asbestos register accessible to relevant professionals, emergency services, and local authorities
- Mandatory pre-work surveys tied to planning and building regulation approval processes
- Adequately funded HSE inspection programmes focused on high-risk sectors
- Minimum training standards enforced through trade licensing and qualification bodies
- Regular public reporting on enforcement activity, compliance rates, and progress against removal targets
None of these actions is technically difficult. All of them require political will and sustained resource commitment. The toll of asbestos-related disease is not a legacy problem that will resolve itself — it is an ongoing public health crisis that demands an ongoing, active response.
The Role of Professional Surveys in Reducing Workplace Exposure
While government action sets the framework, the practical work of identifying and managing asbestos falls to dutyholders, employers, and the surveyors they commission. Professional asbestos surveys remain the most reliable tool for understanding what is present in a building, where it is, and what condition it is in.
Whether you manage a commercial property, oversee facilities for a public body, or are planning refurbishment work, commissioning a survey from a qualified, accredited surveyor is the essential first step. This applies equally whether your building is in a major city or a smaller regional location — the obligation and the risk are the same.
If you are based in the capital, professional asbestos survey London services are available across all boroughs. For those managing properties in the north-west, asbestos survey Manchester provision covers the full Greater Manchester area. And for the Midlands, asbestos survey Birmingham services are available to support dutyholders across the region.
The HSG264 guidance published by the HSE sets out the standards that surveys must meet — ensure any surveyor you appoint works to these standards and holds appropriate UKAS-accredited laboratory support for any samples taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main UK regulation covering asbestos in the workplace?
The Control of Asbestos Regulations is the primary legislation governing the management, survey, and removal of asbestos-containing materials in non-domestic premises. It places a duty to manage asbestos on those responsible for the maintenance and repair of buildings, and sets out requirements for surveys, risk assessments, asbestos registers, and management plans. The HSE’s HSG264 guidance document provides detailed technical guidance on how surveys should be conducted.
Why do workers in construction and maintenance face the highest asbestos risk?
Workers in construction, maintenance, and refurbishment trades are most at risk because their work regularly involves disturbing the fabric of older buildings where ACMs may be present. Electricians, plumbers, joiners, and plasterers are among the trades most frequently cited in exposure incidents, often because they are working in buildings where no survey has been carried out or where the asbestos register has not been consulted before work begins.
What should a dutyholder do if asbestos is found in their building?
Finding asbestos in a building does not automatically mean it needs to be removed. The duty to manage asbestos requires dutyholders to assess the condition and risk posed by any ACMs and to put a management plan in place. ACMs in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed can often be safely managed in situ, with regular monitoring and a re-inspection programme. Where materials are deteriorating or at risk of disturbance, professional removal by an HSE-licensed contractor should be considered.
Is asbestos still a problem in UK buildings today?
Yes. Asbestos was used extensively in UK construction until its ban in the late 1990s, meaning a very large proportion of commercial, public, and residential buildings constructed before 2000 may contain ACMs. The materials do not become safe simply because they are old — in fact, ageing can increase the risk as materials degrade and become more friable. Asbestos-related diseases continue to cause thousands of deaths each year in the UK, and the HSE consistently identifies it as the country’s leading cause of work-related fatality.
How often should asbestos surveys be repeated?
An initial management survey establishes the baseline position. After that, the asbestos register and management plan should be reviewed regularly — typically annually — and a formal re-inspection carried out to check the condition of any known ACMs. The frequency of re-inspections should reflect the condition and risk level of the materials present. Where refurbishment or demolition work is planned, a separate refurbishment or demolition survey is required regardless of when the last management survey was completed.
Work With the UK’s Most Experienced Asbestos Surveyors
Supernova Asbestos Surveys has completed over 50,000 surveys across the UK, working with property managers, local authorities, facilities teams, and contractors to identify and manage asbestos risk. Our surveyors are fully qualified, our laboratory partners are UKAS-accredited, and every survey we carry out meets the standards set out in HSG264.
Whether you need a management survey, a refurbishment survey, a demolition survey, or ongoing re-inspection support, we can help. Call us on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to find out more or request a quote.