Asbestos Safety Policy

We acknowledge and accept our responsibilities under The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) (opens new window) as outlined in Section 5, and we recognise that the main hazard in relation to asbestos is the non-identification of ACMs. As such, we will protect those persons potentially exposed to asbestos as far as is reasonably practicable, using appropriate control measures and working methods.

To fully comply with The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) (opens new window), we have a Cabinet approved Asbestos Safety Policy, an Asbestos Management Plan and we will maintain an asbestos register.

We will carry out an intrusive refurbishment/demolition survey to domestic and non-domestic properties as and when required, as per HSG264.

We will ensure that information about ACMs (known or presumed) is provided to every person liable to disturb it, accidentally or during their work. This includes employees, contractors, and tenants.  Our employees and contractors can access this through our Keystone asbestos register.

We will generally not use asbestos labelling in domestic premises, however, in non-domestic premises and common areas of domestic blocks, labelling will be used where practicable.

We will provide appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to our in-house delivery team where required.

We will ensure that there is a robust process in place to manage immediately dangerous situations identified during asbestos related works.

We will operate effective contract management arrangements with the contractors responsible for delivering the service, including ensuring contracts/service level agreements are in place, conducting client-led performance meetings, and ensuring that contractors' employee and public liability insurances are up to date on an annual basis.

We will use the legal remedies available within the terms of the tenancy and lease agreement should any tenant, leaseholder, or shared owner refuse access to carry out essential asbestos related inspection and remediation works. Where tenant vulnerability issues are known or identified we will ensure we safeguard the wellbeing of the tenant.

We will establish and maintain a risk assessment for asbestos management and operations, setting out our key risks from asbestos and appropriate mitigations.

To comply with the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (opens new window) a Construction Phase Plan (CPP) will be in place for all repairs to void and tenanted properties (at the start of the contract and reviewed annually thereafter), component replacement works and refurbishment projects.

We will ensure there is a robust process in place to minimise any potential non-compliance by ensuring processes are effective and have appropriate control measures in place to mitigate any risks.  We will analyse any non-compliance that do occur, and take action to prevent recurrence.  For example, we will investigate and manage all RIDDOR notifications made to the HSE in relation to asbestos safety and take action to address any issues identified and lessons learned, to prevent a similar incident occurring again.  This includes amending our processes to reflect best practice and ensure that service improvements are implemented.

The document will be strictly controlled in accordance with ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and maintained by the Service Manager Building Safety, in conjunction with the Quality Manager.