Asbestos in Public & Council Buildings: UK Statistics 2026 (FOI Data & Removal Rates)

Asbestos remains in parts of the public estate. This page brings together dated council disclosures, research projects and parliamentary evidence. Their coverage differs: some include schools, some exclude housing, and some count spaces within one building. They cannot be added together or treated as a current national census of public buildings containing asbestos.

Key facts and figures

4,533 buildings reported in Irwin Mitchell’s project approaching 20 large councils; the findings were published in April 2023 and include schools.
291 buildings had asbestos removal recorded and 3,263 had surveys in the project’s 2017/18–2021/22 returns; removal does not necessarily mean asbestos-free.
258 buildings across the same 20 councils had asbestos removed in the 12 months to April 2023, at a confirmed cost of around £1,111,000 (Irwin Mitchell, Apr 2024).
31,030 buildings owned or run by English councils contain asbestos, per an FOI project covering 253 responding authorities (Stephensons, Mar 2022).
177 police stations in Scotland were reported to contain asbestos in an August 2025 FOI story. The source does not support a 214-station denominator or an 83% prevalence rate.
620 of 3,999 spaces in the Palace of Westminster were confirmed or presumed to contain asbestos, according to evidence on 19 March 2026: approximately 15.5%.
307 Cardiff buildings under the council’s duty or maintenance responsibility were reported to contain asbestos in an LDRS disclosure published on 2 July 2026.
40 years: the removal deadline recommended by the Work and Pensions Committee in 2022. It was a recommendation, not a legal deadline.

Reviewed 15 October 2026. These are the dated disclosures and official releases identified below, not a continuous national series. Building records, surveys and management plans should be checked locally before work.

How many public and council buildings contain asbestos?

Irwin Mitchell reported 4,533 buildings with asbestos in April 2023 after approaching 20 large councils. The project covered 2017/18–2021/22 and included schools and other building types. Its extrapolation of about 87,000 across Great Britain was an assumption-based estimate, not a measured total or statistical lower bound.

Stephensons reported 31,030 asbestos-containing buildings owned or managed by 253 responding English councils in March 2022, from 333 approached. Every responding council reported some asbestos. This historical FOI total depends on the records and definitions supplied; it is not the current number of affected buildings across the UK.

Older buildings may contain asbestos installed before restrictions took effect. The risk depends on the material’s condition, accessibility and likelihood of disturbance. See our guides to asbestos-containing materials and the asbestos bans.

Research dataset	Reported buildings or premises	Coverage	Published
Irwin Mitchell FOI	4,533	Project approaching 20 large councils; includes schools	April 2023
Irwin Mitchell extrapolation	About 87,000	Assumption-based GB estimate, not a census	April 2023
Stephensons FOI	31,030	253 responding English councils	March 2022
TUC / Labour Research Department	At least 2,690	31 councils supplying counts; excludes schools and housing	May 2022
LDRS — Cardiff	307	One council’s duty/maintenance estate	July 2026

How fast is asbestos being removed from public buildings?

The initial Irwin Mitchell project recorded asbestos removal in 291 buildings and surveys in 3,263 during 2017/18–2021/22. A survey and a removal are different activities. Removal of some material does not establish that a whole building is asbestos-free, so these figures cannot safely predict when the estate will be cleared.

The April 2024 follow-up reported removal in 258 buildings in the 12 months to April 2023, with disclosed costs of about £1.111 million. Kent reported 56 and Wiltshire 54; many were education buildings. The disclosures do not establish a national removal rate or a comparable cost per building.

Measure in the council FOI projects	Reported figure	Period
Buildings reported with asbestos	4,533	Initial 2017/18–2021/22 returns
Buildings surveyed	3,263	2017/18–2021/22
Buildings with removal activity	291	2017/18–2021/22
Buildings with removal activity	258	12 months to April 2023
Disclosed removal cost	About £1,111,000	12 months to April 2023
Kent buildings with removal activity	56	12 months to April 2023

Which councils reported the most asbestos buildings?

The initial project reported 1,001 public and non-public buildings for BCP Council and 712 for Buckinghamshire. These are not rates adjusted for estate size, nor a ranking of safety performance. A high count can reflect the number and age of buildings and how records are compiled.

A separate TUC/Labour Research Department project found at least 2,690 premises with asbestos among 31 councils able to supply counts or lists, excluding schools and housing. Of 41 responding councils, only Chorley said asbestos had been removed from all its premises. These May 2022 findings should not be extrapolated to all UK councils without a representative sampling method.

How much asbestos is in the UK's police and emergency estate?

STV’s August 2025 report of a Scottish Conservatives FOI request identified 177 Scottish police stations containing asbestos. It named 25 in Aberdeenshire and Moray, 23 in Greater Glasgow and 21 in Tayside. That report does not provide a matching total estate denominator, so it cannot substantiate an 83% prevalence rate.

This is a dated Scotland-specific disclosure, not a UK emergency-services estimate. Presence alone does not establish an uncontrolled exposure. The material’s condition, management and any planned disturbance need assessment; an estate strategy does not guarantee a particular future fall in the count.

How much asbestos is in the Parliamentary estate?

Evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on 19 March 2026 stated that 620 of 3,999 spaces in the Palace were confirmed or presumed to contain asbestos—approximately 15.5%, with about a third of those in the basement. These are spaces, not separate buildings. The witnesses explained that knowledge would develop through further intrusive investigation.

The NAO’s June 2026 report identifies asbestos alongside fire risks, deteriorating services and defects in the historic fabric. It describes a proposed seven-year initial works package capped at £3 billion; that is the wider restoration programme, not an asbestos-removal budget. The March evidence put routine repair and maintenance at £1.5 million a week, again covering much more than asbestos.

What does the latest council FOI show?

An LDRS FOI report published on 2 July 2026 identified 307 buildings for which Cardiff Council had duty-holder or maintenance responsibility: 120 education, 62 leisure/cultural, 31 civic/administrative, 22 health/institutional and 72 other buildings. The council described surveys, condition monitoring and a team of four BOHS-certified asbestos officers. These are council-reported arrangements, not an independent compliance rating.

The Cardiff disclosure is useful local evidence with a defined scope. It overlaps building types covered by other surveys on this page; it should not be added to older totals or used to estimate the prevalence across Wales or the UK.

Who is responsible, and why is asbestos left in place?

In Great Britain, Regulation 4 of CAR 2012 requires those with relevant maintenance obligations or control to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises and common parts of domestic buildings. Duties can be shared. They include identifying or presuming asbestos, assessing risk, maintaining records and a plan, and providing information to people liable to disturb it. Northern Ireland has separate regulations.

There is no blanket requirement to remove every asbestos-containing material immediately. Material in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed can often be managed in place; damaged material or planned work may require repair, protection or removal after assessment. The 2022 committee proposed a 40-year deadline, which the Government did not adopt. Its report quoted HSE’s provisional best estimate of 310,000 GB non-domestic premises, with a range of 210,000–410,000—not a measured minimum of 300,000.

What is the human cost across the whole estate?

HSE’s provisional figures record 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2024, compared with a revised 2,255 in 2023. There were 523 deaths mentioning asbestosis in 2024, or 503 when deaths also mentioning mesothelioma are excluded. These are different, potentially overlapping death-certificate measures. HSE continues to describe around 5,000 asbestos-related deaths a year overall.

These national deaths cannot be allocated to public buildings from the figures quoted here. Occupation, diagnosis and place of exposure are different information. For the broader evidence, see our UK asbestos statistics and asbestosis statistics.

Frequently asked questions

How many council buildings in the UK contain asbestos?

The projects on this page have different dates and definitions. The 2023 Irwin Mitchell project and 2022 Stephensons research are historical FOI findings, not current national censuses. An extrapolation from selected councils is not a minimum estimate.

Why is asbestos still allowed to remain in public buildings?

There is no blanket immediate-removal requirement. In Great Britain, duty holders must assess and manage the risk. Good-condition material unlikely to be disturbed can often remain with appropriate management; repair or removal may be needed where conditions or planned work make that necessary. The 2022 committee’s proposed deadline was not adopted.

Who is responsible for managing asbestos in council and public buildings?

Responsibility follows maintenance obligations or control and may be shared. A council, landlord, managing body or other party can have duties. Staff and contractors need appropriate information and training for their work; awareness training alone does not authorise work that disturbs asbestos.

How long would it take to remove asbestos from the UK's public estate?

These disclosures cannot establish a UK-wide completion date. They do not consistently measure complete asbestos clearance, the remaining quantity or future resources. A programme would need reliable building-level information and risk-based planning, rather than a simple extrapolation of historical removals.

Are the public-building asbestos figures official statistics?

The council totals mainly come from dated FOI research and reporting. Parliamentary evidence concerns a specific estate. HSE’s mortality figures are official national statistics, but they do not measure deaths caused specifically by public-building exposure.

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Sources & references

Mark McShane

Health & Safety Training Specialist, Online CPD Academy

Mark writes about workplace health & safety, asbestos awareness and accredited online training for Asbestos Awareness Course, part of Online CPD Academy.