Asbestos Exposure

The request was partially successful.

Dear Queen Mary University of London,

For each of the last 5 academic years, please detail how many staff the university has informed of their exposure to asbestos.

Where possible, please break this down by school/institute/department and year.

Yours faithfully,

John Thompson

Queen Mary, University of London FOI, Queen Mary University of London

We acknowledge receipt of your request and will respond as soon as we can.

QM FOI Enquiries, Queen Mary University of London

FOI 2020/F131

 

Dear John Thompson,

 

Thank you for your email of 10^th March.

 

We did inform some staff of potential exposure to asbestos in 2018, but as
this was done verbally, we do not  hold information on the exact number.

 

If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may ask QMUL to conduct a
review of this decision.  To do this, please contact the College in
writing (including by fax, letter or email), describe the original
request, explain your grounds for dissatisfaction, and include an address
for correspondence.  You have 40 working days from receipt of this
communication to submit a review request.  When the review process has
been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may ask the Information
Commissioner to intervene. Please see [1]www.ico.org.uk for details.

Yours sincerely

 

Paul Smallcombe

Records & Information Compliance Manager

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear Queen Mary University of London,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Queen Mary University of London's handling of my FOI request 'Asbestos Exposure'.

The Approved Code of Practice and guidance on the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 [https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l143... sets out the university's duties. Paragraph 370 stipulates that "For any employee who was not wearing adequate RPE or has been potentially exposed to asbestos fibres in an incident, a note that the exposure has occurred must be made on that employee’s health record. If the employee does not have a health record, the note must be made on that employee’s personal record.".

It, seems inconceivable that the university would not comply with its duty to keep such records. I, therefore, assume that the statement "We did inform some staff of potential exposure to asbestos in 2018, but as this was done verbally, we do not hold information on the exact number." is an error.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

I look forward to your revised response to my original request.

Yours faithfully,

John Thompson

Dear QM FOI Enquiries,

I’m writing for an acknowledgement that you have received my request for an internal review and an update on the progress of that review. You can find my request for a review, along with my original request and all correspondence relating to the FOI request here https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

Yours sincerely,

John Thompson

QM FOI Enquiries, Queen Mary University of London

We acknowledge receipt of your internal review request.

Dear QM FOI Enquiries,

It has been some time since I asked for an internal review of my request. Could you let me know when I am likely to receive a response?

Yours sincerely,

John Thompson

Dear QM FOI Enquiries,

I requested an internal review in relation to this request on 06 April 2020.

You acknowledged receipt of that request (after prompting) on 12 May 2020.

I requested an update on the progress of the review on 18 July 2020, which you have not responded to.

I am aware that COVID-19 is putting particular pressures on organisations responding to requests, but I can see from FOI enquiries submitted to you by other users of whatdotheyknow.com that you are responding to requests (as recently as 24 July 2020).

If I do not receive a satisfactory response by close of business on 07 August 2020, I will refer this to the Information Commissioner as a complaint.

Yours sincerely,

John Thompson

QM FOI Enquiries, Queen Mary University of London

Dear John Thompson,
 
Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding. This has been
caused by unprecedented challenges faced in recent months as a result of
the pandemic, meaning colleagues and resources have had to reprioritise
work.
 
We have not carried out an internal review. In relation to the 2018
occasion mentioned, the University sought expert advice from an external
asbestos consultant. In the consultant’s opinion there was no evidence any
of our staff had been exposed. Whilst we kept staff verbally updated with
the progress of the work, there was no reason to keep records on
individuals’ files.
 
If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to raise a complaint with
the Information Commissioner. Please see [1]www.ico.org.uk for details.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Paul Smallcombe
Records & Information Compliance Manager
 
 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/