Steps taken by the Tory government to address the crisis it created are too little, too late.

When Rishi Sunak was chancellor, he was told that lightweight concrete in our school buildings was a threat to life and opted not to provide the funds to fix the problem. Twickenham Labour has also learned that asbestos is also widely present in our public buildings. We acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and this government’s culpability in creating this crisis and passed a motion accordingly at our all Members Meeting on Monday.

We have also written to Bridget Philippson, Wes Streeting and Steve Reed, respectively the shadow Education, Helath and Justice secrtaries, urging the Labour party to initiate steps that will ensure the problem is properly dealth with. That letter is attached below.

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to you because school, hospital and court buildings, which fall under your shadow brief, are affected by a motion passed by Twickenham Labour Party.

The motion was proposed by one of our members, Richard Ennals, who worked with the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) from 2000, and as an Executive Board member 2003-6.  In that capacity he drafted the ICOH policy on asbestos. The motion reads:

The outgoing Labour Government in 2010 had a programme Building Better Schools. The incoming Education Secretary Michael Gove abolished the programme. Today we see the consequences. RAAC concrete has been found in many schools, hospitals and other public buildings such as courts. The situation is complicated by the widespread presence of asbestos. 5,000 people died from asbestos last year in the U.K., through mesothelioma and lung cancer. It is a national emergency.

Twickenham CLP calls for:

• An immediate survey of all public buildings for the presence of RAAC and asbestos.
• The Conservative government to accept responsibility to meet all of the costs of mitigation and temporary measures.
• Legislation on Health and Safety, including support for HSE, to be strengthened in the context of a national emergency.

Many thanks for your attention.

All best.

Derek Gadd

Labour Party Joint Secretary and Agent

Twickenham Labour Party