CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskThe duty to manage under CAR 2012, what the plan must contain, and the contractor briefing process that most providers skip.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 impose a legal duty to manage asbestos in all non-domestic premises built before 2000. For care homes, this duty sits with the registered provider. It requires: assessing whether asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are present, maintaining a written asbestos register, assessing the condition and risk of any ACMs, preparing a management plan, and ensuring the plan is implemented and regularly reviewed.
The register must record: the location of every known or presumed ACM, the type of asbestos where confirmed, the quantity, the condition of the material, the risk assessment score, and any actions taken or planned. It must also record any areas inaccessible during the survey. The register must be kept up to date whenever works are carried out in surveyed areas.
The management plan sets out: details of each ACM and its assessed risk, the management action for each item, the schedule for re-inspection of ACMs left in place, the procedure for informing contractors before works commence, and the name of the person responsible for implementing the plan.
The most common failures, based on HSE enforcement action, are: having a survey but no management plan; having a plan that has never been reviewed; not having a contractor briefing process; and not updating the register after works are carried out. An out-of-date register is as bad as no register.
Before any contractor begins any works -- including routine maintenance -- they must review the relevant pages of the asbestos register and sign to confirm they have done so. This must be a documented step in your contractor sign-in procedure. Any contractor who refuses to review the register before starting works should not be permitted on site.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.