Asbestos backboard removal- Whose responsible?

Actually it depends on the specific DNO if a meter engineer can pull a main fuse or not. 
In this case you are correct @Steve-o that the backboard is your responsibility but it will certainly take some coordination from both DNO and supplier to replace. There will also need to be some additional support for the asbestos removal and disposal 

Hi guys.

Thank you for your helpful replies. Am I right in thinking I can't get an asbestos specialist in first because they won't be allowed to touch the various units attached to the board? But both Ovo and Scottish and Southern said they won't touch the equipment until the back board is replaced. Is it a question of coordinating a joint visit of Ovo, the DNO and an asbestos specialist to get the job jobbed? If so, who should be doing the coordinating?

I've included a photo for reference, as per ChristopherS's sensible suggestion. 😊

You are correct regarding needing to coordinate all relevant parties for this swap @Steve-o but from the picture, I’m struggling to see the asbestos. 
That backboard looks wooden, unless it has some sort of additional backing

Ha! I've no real idea what I'm talking about, that's why I came here. 😁

That's the picture I sent to OVO customer services. They said it was an asbestos back board. So, if it's not an asbestos back board, where is the asbestos flagged up by the two engineers who aborted the smart meter upgrades (twice)?

I have to admit… I’m not a huge fan of that exposed wire below the main fuse...

Looking back at your picture @Steve-o , I wonder if they’ve looked at the white background (wall?) and presumed that was part of the backboard. The engineers might have looked at the notes rather than examined the board fully … just a thought

This has led me into a veritable rabbit warren. As far as I can make out*, a meter engineer who aborts a task because he suspects asbestos may be present should complete a report to that effect and hand a copy to the customer. This should also be recorded on the customer’s account, which is why there is presumably a ‘predicted abort’ flag on Steve’s. The report should detail where precisely the nasty stuff is, and the engineer should have left a warning sticker (BP’s engineers have left at least four different stickers over the years), but I can’t see one in your picture. Perhaps you could ask Support if they can send you a copy of the report(s) if they exist.

There is one other avenue to explore: your local council’s environmental health department. A good EHO¹ should be able to advise you how to proceed and might even conduct a site survey if one of his parishioners is at risk.  

*  Source: meteroperators.org.uk/download/asbestos-guidance-document_2019/?wpdmdl=8715

 

1. Strictly off-topic: I had a good friend, a retired gentleman. People were always asking him what he did before retiring, and his answer was always ‘ratcatcher’. I eventually learnt that he had a PhD in biology and been for many years the head of the environmental health department for a large local authority in the whisky belt. He would have come to look at your asbestos-infested meter cupboard.

I assumed SSEN, going by “we’ve been sent back and forth between OVO and Scottish and Southern ...” in the OP. 

I had a quick look at your UKPN site and see that they’re pretty clued up as regards this asbestos business. I searched the equivalent SSEN site, but not a whisper about asbestos there. Some DNOs are more equal than others.

When I had recent work done by UKPN they asked me to send a short video of the meter area which meant no surprises when they arrived. A very useful idea.