Is pressure mounting for the government to change its approach to managing asbestos?

Is the government running out of time to make significant changes to the way it manages asbestos risk management in the UK?

Read this article for commentary on asbestos industry milestones and developments from 2026, and why the unity of campaigners, charities, unions and victim support groups under a national asbestos taskforce could bring about lasting pressure on the government to take action.

In this article:

1. EU to impose stricter measures
2. Work and Pensions Committee recommendations not accepted
3. National Asbestos Taskforce created
4. Schools-focused asbestos register would need ‘significant resource’
5. Learn more
6. Take action: Keep your premises safe

The biggest asbestos management headline of 2026 (so far) has been the Health and Safety Executive’s conclusion that there is no clear evidence that lowering the asbestos control limit in the UK would reduce current or further exposures to asbestos.

EU to impose stricter measures

The announcement in May came after the EU’s decision in 2025 to further reduce its occupational exposure limit to 0.01 fibres/ml. The UK’s currently remains at 0.1 fibres/ml.

While stricter limits are one way to reduce harmful exposure, the UK government has faced increasing pressure over the past 5 years to make big changes to everyday asbestos management.

“Simple reliance on a set of regulations which devolve asbestos management to duty holders will not be good enough”, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee declared in 2022.

Its recommendations still echo as a better course of action according to many campaigners and experts. They include:

• Keeping a central digital register of non-domestic buildings
• More HSE inspections and enforcement action
• A 40-year deadline for removing asbestos from non-domestic buildings, starting with high-risk locations such as schools and hospitals.

Work and Pensions Committee recommendations not accepted

While the Work and Pensions Committee had the weight of cross-party scrutiny, the Conservative government were not convinced, and more recent governments seem reluctant to act due to the scale, complexity and, no doubt, cost of the challenge.

National Asbestos Taskforce created

In April 2026, an independent National Asbestos Taskforce was publicly launched to unite campaigners from industry including charities, unions, and support groups. Former chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, Sir Stephen Timms, commended the taskforce’s creation and the ‘shared challenge of tackling asbestos.’

Schools-focused asbestos register would need ‘significant resource’

Meanwhile, a bid to create a schools-focused asbestos register – as recommended by Parliament’s Education Committee – was rejected as it would need ‘significant resource’. The government is also reported to have turned down annual reporting of asbestos removal ‘from the education estate through capital programmes’ (Construction News, April 2026).

The national taskforce voiced its concerns to the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham in July, via a letter that warned of the dangers of ‘environmental exposure’, in schools, hospitals and homes, highlighting that asbestos deaths are not a ‘legacy of our industrial past’. Only time will tell whether asbestos risk management is set to become a priority for the former Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Despite the efforts of industry experts, government is hesitant to make any broad reform to asbestos risk management. It seems logical that an improved nationwide approach to managing the risk of asbestos is needed, along with much greater awareness for the public, as well as trades. But what this will look like, and how it will be funded, remains uncertain.

Learn more

Read more about the national proposal for an asbestos strategy that was presented at Parliament in 2025.

Take action: Keep your premises safe

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