No final decision has been made on whether to use Site A MoD Bicester for asylum accommodation. Due diligence and assurance work for all proposed large sites including Bicester is still ongoing.

The Home Office will manage any asbestos on site adhering to the ‘Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012’ and the associated Approved Code Of Practice (L143 ACOPS).

Under UK law, businesses placing consumer products on the market, including importers, are responsible for ensuring they are safe. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and local authorities have powers to require unsafe products be withdrawn from sale. Local Authorities are overseeing business recalls of products containing asbestos, and OPSS has notified major online marketplaces so they can swiftly identify and remove listings of affected products.

OPSS coordinates activity at ports and borders to identify and block non-compliant imports, and has asked local authorities in border locations to increase checks for asbestos-contaminated products.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is continuing its long-term work to deliver regulatory interventions, new communication campaigns and asbestos-related research in support of wider Government priorities. This work is aligned with those recommendations in the 2022 Work and Pensions Select Committee (WPC) report on HSE’s approach to asbestos management, which were accepted in the previous government’s response.

Three WPC recommendations related to specific requirements of Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and HSE is considering how best to address the findings of a public consultation which closed in January 2026. The consultation sought stakeholder’s views on regulatory and non-regulatory proposals to ensure the independence and impartiality of roles in the four-stage clearance process, improving the standard of asbestos surveys, and clarifying the type of work that constitutes Notifiable Non-Licensed Work with asbestos.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR) provide a robust regulatory system to ensure that asbestos-containing materials in non-domestic buildings are managed proactively, to prevent harm to building occupants on the basis that asbestos in good condition that is undamaged, undisturbed, properly maintained and regularly monitored can be safely left in situ.

Where asbestos cannot be managed safely in situ it must be removed. Asbestos must also be removed before any major refurbishment work or before demolition.

We take those issues seriously across the energy resilience and security piece. It is for individual developers to look at their individual sites and ensure that they comply with the regulations that are in place. We are also looking at what more needs to be done, because the security and resilience of all our energy infrastructure has never been more important.

The Government have stressed the importance of energy independence, sovereignty and security. How concerned are they that it is difficult to pin down, as we have tried to do, exactly how many, and what percentage, of the wind turbines in this country are produced in China, considering that a thousand of them were recently discovered to have been manufactured using asbestos?

Our laws are clear: the UK has a zero-tolerance approach to asbestos in consumer products. Where it is identified, businesses that supplied affected products must recall them, taking all reasonable steps to identify and notify affected consumers, and publishing information to raise broader awareness. Local Authorities are overseeing product recalls led by businesses within their areas, ensuring these are effective and follow best practices. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and local authorities have powers to take further action where business actions are not effective in mitigating the risks. Recalls are published by OPSS on GOV.UK to further raise awareness.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is leading work with industry to establish the extent of any asbestos-containing components in wind turbines operating in the United Kingdom. DESNZ does not hold comprehensive data on the number of affected turbines.

The Government takes health and safety risks across the wind supply chain very seriously and expects all developers and suppliers to comply fully with existing legislation, including strict controls governing hazardous materials such as asbestos.

HSE has advised that, where present, asbestos is contained within sealed systems and monitoring has not identified airborne fibres or evidence of risk to workers or the public. They will continue to work with industry to ensure it delivers safe and prompt removal of affected components.

The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February, sets out several actions and commitments on rare cancers, including mesothelioma, to be delivered within the next ten years.

These include appointing a national lead for rare cancers, prioritising access to specialist treatment for patients with rare cancers, and working with charities to improve post-treatment support. The National Cancer Plan underpins a proactive approach to early diagnosis of rare cancers by utilising new artificial intelligence support tools and supporting research improving detection of rare cancers in Multi-Cancer Detection Tests. Research of rare cancers is crucial to the development of novel diagnostic and treatment routes. The National Cancer Plan sets out how rare cancers will be a research priority, including implementing the Rare Cancers Act to expand trial access, and accelerating movement from foundational research to innovative treatments.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government, and closely with partners including charities, the National Health Service, and specialist organisations to learn and share best practice, with the goal of improving the lives and outcomes of people with rare cancers, including mesothelioma. The Government also provides financial support available through the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, and two lump sum compensation schemes delivered through the Department of Work and Pensions.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), in my department, holds regular meetings with a range of online marketplaces operating in the UK. OPSS engages to ensure platforms deliver their obligations for preventing the supply of unsafe products, and holds them to account for the sellers and products available on their sites.

OPSS has raised the issue of asbestos in sand-containing products in recent meetings to ensure online marketplaces take swift action to remove recalled products, and to check the compliance of similar products. This has resulted in hundreds of online listings being removed across all major platforms.

UK law is clear that products must be safe, including those sold online. Despite this, we recognise that non-compliant products remain available to consumers.

On 31 March, the Government launched a major package of consultations on updating the product safety legislative framework. These include proposals for strong and clear duties on online marketplaces to be proactive in ensuring that the products and sellers on their sites are safe and abide by the law.

Following consultation, Government intends to bring forward legislation to implement these proposals using powers in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), in my department, is coordinating the regulatory response to asbestos-contaminated consumer products, working closely with Local Authorities to enforce the regulations and monitor ongoing product recalls to ensure businesses are acting.

OPSS is in regular contact with businesses, including online marketplaces, to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities and take appropriate action.

The Government is currently consulting on a range of proposals to modernise and strengthen the UK’s product safety enforcement framework, including online, following royal assent of the PRAM Act 2025.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), in my department, holds regular meetings with a range of online marketplaces operating in the UK. OPSS engages to ensure platforms deliver their obligations for preventing the supply of unsafe products, and holds them to account for the sellers and products available on their sites.

OPSS has raised the issue of asbestos in sand-containing products in recent meetings to ensure online marketplaces take swift action to remove recalled products, and to check the compliance of similar products. This has resulted in hundreds of online listings being removed across all major platforms.

Existing product safety rules make businesses responsible for the safety of the products they place on the UK market. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) in my Department is working with HSE, departments and agencies across UK Government to effectively tackle the sale of asbestos-containing products, whether online or through physical stores, in line with its published incident management plan.

OPSS has led and coordinated the wider government response, bringing together experts to ensure a coherent approach to keeping people safe. Specific resources have been developed by OPSS, HSE and partners for consumers, businesses and schools.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) in my Department is coordinating the regulatory response to product safety concerns regarding asbestos, supporting Local Authorities who are leading regulatory activity with businesses in their areas, including those supplying online in line with its published incident management plan.

OPSS works with LAs providing tools they need to ensure businesses comply with the law and take necessary steps to keep the public safe, including briefing to local authorities on issues related to asbestos in sand, updates in weekly communications, and information materials and online resources to support their enforcement activity.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), in my department, is coordinating the regulatory response to asbestos-contaminated consumer products, working closely with Local Authorities to enforce the regulations and monitor ongoing product recalls to ensure businesses are acting.

OPSS is in regular contact with businesses, including online marketplaces, to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities and take appropriate action.

The Government is currently consulting on a range of proposals to modernise and strengthen the UK’s product safety enforcement framework, including online, following royal assent of the PRAM Act 2025.

The UK product safety regime places responsibilities on manufacturers and importers to assess any risks their products may pose and ensure consumer products, including imports, are safe before being placed on the market. No level of asbestos is permitted in consumer products in the UK and where non-compliant products have been identified the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Local Authority Trading Standards, have acted quickly to ensure recalls are undertaken.

Over the last 12 months, a total of 40 tasks has been carried out by the Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor within the Palace of Westminster to seal, encapsulate, or remove asbestos containing materials.

Asbestos removal will take place as part of maintenance and project works:

1. Where asbestos presents safety risks to delivery of project works.

2. Where asbestos is likely to result in risks in relation to ongoing maintenance and business as usual activities.

3. Where asbestos has been identified by a risk assessment to require removal due to the level of risk to building occupants.

The House Administration employs an Asbestos Compliance Manager who oversees asbestos surveys and removal activities and provides specialist advice to maintenance and project teams across the Estate.

The House Administration also holds contracts with an asbestos consultancy, which maintains three permanent site‑based staff to undertake surveys and inspections, and with a Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor, which provides two permanent site‑based staff to manage asbestos removal and remediation works required for maintenance and construction projects.

Where a section of the Estate is temporarily handed over to a contractor as a controlled construction zone with restricted access, they may use their own licensed asbestos teams. They are required to liaise with the Asbestos Compliance Manager and, once the area is handed back, ensure all asbestos removal activity is fully logged.

The number of staff deployed by these contractors varies according to operational requirements, including during recess periods when asbestos removal works are more frequently scheduled.