Written question asked by Baroness Berger (Labour) on Monday, 20 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 August 2026. It was answered by Lord Leong (Labour) on Friday, 31 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Health Hazards: Fire Resistant Materials
- Question
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To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks posed by volatile chemical flame retardants that off-gas from upholstered furniture into household dust.
- Answer
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Furniture manufacturers must ensure they only place safe products on the UK market. Any chemical flame retardants used in furniture must comply with all relevant UK chemical regulations, including UK REACH.
While the evidence of negative health impacts from chemical flame retardants in furniture is limited, the Government recognises concern about their widespread use. The consultation ‘Product regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture’ proposes reforming the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, which set flammability requirements for upholstered furniture, to maintain a high level of fire safety while meaningfully reducing the use of chemical flame retardants.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL2281
- Session
- 2026-27
- Subjects
- Chemicals Health hazards Furniture Fire resistant materials
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-07-31 15:15:19 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2026-27/HL2281
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2026-27/HL2281
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2026-27/HL2281