The payments have been made to 220 former pupils, school employees, and former employees.
The figures have come to light following Freedom of Information requests submitted by asbestos campaigner Lucie Stephens, whose mother was a teacher for 30 years and died of mesothelioma – the asbestos-related cancer – in June.
The data also shows that there were 99 reported incidents of asbestos exposure in schools between 2011 and 2016, although campaigners say this is likely to be a “massive understatement” given that these are incidents of known exposure.
The figures show that within the 135 local authorities (out of 173 in England and Wales) that responded to the FoI requests, there are 12,600 schools where asbestos is known to be present.
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