Asbestos Survey Accreditation in the UK

Last Updated on 7 July 2025

Asbestos Survey Accreditation in the UK – It’s dysfunctional!

The UK, like many countries, has vast numbers of buildings that have not been surveyed either at all, or to any competent standards. This is despite the fact that legislation requires them to hold appropriate information which allows them to manage asbestos effectively and comply with the legislation.  Alongside the fact that asbestos is still the biggest occupational cause of death in the UK, we clearly have a larger problem.  Therefore, it’s important we have a robust system of ensuring survey quality alongside a suitable framework to ensure compliance. As you will read, we barely have either of those elements. This piece will focus more specifically on the framework surrounding surveyor competence and a lack of asbestos survey accreditation.

Property Sales and Asbestos Surveys

Qualifications of Property Surveyors

If you are selling a property in the UK a building surveyor’ will probably turn up to appraise the condition of the structure. That individual will likely have had a minimum of 5 years training and qualifications to support their efforts.

Inadequate Asbestos Surveyor Training

The surveyor (should they suspect asbestos is present) may suggest a further ‘asbestos survey’ and testing is completed by a qualified individual. This person may have little more than a basic certificate following a three-day course and some limited field experience.

Clearly this is wholly inadequate. So, what is the legislative framework and guidance that applies protection to those seeking such a service in the UK?

Asbestos Survey Accreditation and Compliance Routes

Absence of Individual Accreditation

In the UK, there is no individual asbestos surveyor accreditation or body that supports this option.

Recognised Compliance Routes

There are currently two routes recognised under the legislation and supporting guidance. UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accreditation supports ‘organisations’ who carry out such activities. Or, organisations and individual surveyors can demonstrate that they undertake their own checks and balances to the same level.

Government Recommendation

The relatively recent DWP government report in 2022, outlines asbestos survey accreditation should apply to all ‘people’ carrying out survey work, not ‘companies’.

Role of the Health and Safety Executive

In the UK the Health and Safety Executive are effectively the ‘police force’ ensuring compliance with the regulations. The HSE recommend UKAS accreditation as a way of making it simpler for those purchasing asbestos survey services to ensure some form of quality has been achieved through an accreditation process.

Sounds straightforward? Well not exactly, and here’s why.

UKAS Accreditation is confirmation your ‘organisation’ complies with standards such as ISO 17020. It pays very little attention to the quality of the individual surveyor. In fact, if the company being audited has 20 surveyors, It’s likely that only one or two will have been ‘field audited’ by UKAS on one straightforward site survey. Automatically, all the other surveyors in that organisation now fall under the badge of accreditation.

The Self-Certification Alternative

Many independent surveyors or independent survey companies choose to ‘self-certify’. This means they will undertake the same checks and balances applied by UKAS and have their organisation audited for quality control, but not by UKAS due to either the high charging structure, or several other reasons.

Evaluation of Survey Quality

HSE Investigations and Findings

The HSE have undertaken some limited investigations and suggest the quality of survey reports vary little between UKAS v None UKAS Accredited. Although the survey population size was reportedly less than 100 reports, the findings are probably around the right mark.

My personal experience is close to 40 years in the industry and for most of that running a successful none UKAS organisation. Unusually, I have also, for the last five years been auditing UKAS survey reports and the actual surveys themselves for a third-party client.

Quality Concerns with Reports

Report Standards and Commoditisation

The standards of both surveys and reports vary greatly. But the most disappointing element is the quality of the ‘written’ report, which in most cases does not meet the expected standards and guidance set out to support the legislation. One of the reasons for this is the ‘commoditisation’ of surveys. Many are produced on tablets and churned out with limited proofreading and almost no involvement from the surveyor who completed the work. Whilst these digital survey recording platforms have improved many survey reports, companies have become lazy and do not follow up and audit the reports sufficiently well.

An Example of Best Practice

In our organisation (as an example) there’s a five-stage process including the surveyor, who must also check the laboratory test results and then feed this information back to the client. They must also check their own survey report. These actions help develop surveyor knowledge and confidence. There is also follow up work with the client/duty holder and the offer of appropriate training to assist with asbestos management, should it be required.

Industry Division and Collaboration

Why Surveyors Leave UKAS Companies

Independent surveyors have often previously worked for UKAS companies (including myself) and either become disillusioned or felt they could do it better which is why the industry is broadly split 50/50 between UKAS and None UKAS. And this is not necessarily an ‘us and them’ arrangement. My company has a working relationship with a fantastic UKAS company who I personally vetted.

The Debate on Mandatory Asbestos Survey Accreditation

HSE’s Proposal and Concerns

The HSE are currently considering mandatory UKAS accreditation for all surveying individuals and organisations who offer asbestos survey services. You can understand why, however I believe this would be the wrong path and potentially detrimental to the industry. These reasons include but are not exhaustive:-

• There is a shortage of qualified surveyors in the UK and a bigger shortage of experienced surveyors, particularly since the pandemic.

• Many of the best surveyors in the UK are in none UKAS accredited organisations or working as individuals.

• UKAS can barely sustain their workload, as they also accredit all the other relevant standards in the UK and often take 3–6 months to respond to basic queries. They clearly don’t have the capacity for half the industry to turn up at their door.

A Forward-Thinking Solution To Asbestos Survey Accreditation

The Case for Individual Surveyor Accreditation

So what is the solution? A groundswell of experienced individuals in the UK believes ‘individual surveyor accreditation’ is the way forward. What shape or form this takes could be varied but the benefits are endless. If it is well constructed it will reassure the HSE that the industry is serious in solving the issue

Ethics, Experience, and Purpose

Moral Compass of Surveyors

Many of my industry colleagues hold a vast wealth of personal experience. But more than that, they have a moral compass that is focused less on profit, more on the protection of individuals from being exposed to asbestos. We as surveyors are part of the gatekeeper community who identify and protect us all from exposure to asbestos.

Vision for Future Asbestos Survey Accreditation

My personal hope is that it becomes so successful that individuals working in UKAS companies will seek to join to further their own expertise and experience by working with supportive like-minded individuals.

A Tribute to the Mesothelioma Community

Lessons in Humility and Advocacy

My work over the years in and around the Mesothelioma community has left me humbled by not only the victims and their families, but the amazing nurses, support workers and lawyers who are involved. Particularly the indomitable and fabulous Mavis Nye who is currently handbagging some asbestos company executives in the sky.

Need professional advice?

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