Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to promote innovation and market uptake of flame-resistant chemical-free materials.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are being reviewed to ensure they reflect changed fire safety risks, innovation, manufacturing processes and environmental and health concerns of chemical flame retardants whilst maintaining product safety protections.
The Department welcomes any innovative approaches that deliver consumer safety and comply with existing fire safety regulations, including methods which do not use flame retardants.
The Department will publish its response to the 2016 consultation on the regulations in due course. This will take account of the responses received, the views of experts from across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services, as well as a range of evidence from external sources such as academic papers.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the development of materials and products that meet fire safety requirements without the use of chemical flame retardants.
Answered by Lord Henley
The existing regulatory framework already allows for the use of materials and products that deliver consumer safety from fires, without using chemical flame retardants and the Government continues to welcome innovative approaches that deliver safe outcomes for consumers.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to the September 2016 consultation on necessary fire safety changes to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; and what account they will take of the December 2017 Chemosphere article Flame retardants in UK furniture increase smoke toxicity more than they reduce fire growth rate.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department will publish its response to the consultation in due course.
This will take account of the responses received, the views of experts from across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services, as well as a range of evidence from external sources such as academic papers.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings they have held or attended since the end of the consultation on the changes to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 in November 2016 to discuss possible proposals; with whom; on what dates, and what, if any, were the outcomes.
Answered by Lord Henley
Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the Gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. A copy is also attached.
Officials meet regularly with stakeholders with an interest in product safety to hear their views on a range of product safety issues including the fire safety of furniture.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that all flame retardants are safe (1) in normal use, (2) during fires, and (3) at the end of life when they are disposed of.
Answered by Lord Henley
Manufacturers and distributors must ensure all consumer products are safe before they are placed on the UK market, including those that use flame retardants. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have lead responsibility for environmental policy and restrictions on chemicals.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why products labelled flame resistant do not contain details of the chemicals used in them.
Answered by Lord Henley
All products must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market. While there is no legal requirement for products labelled flame resistant to contain details of chemicals used in them, manufacturers may voluntarily provide any further details that would be helpful to their consumers.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whom the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy consults for advice about the health and environmental effects of flame retardants; and whether that Department will make its final policy decisions about flame retardants available for scrutiny.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department works with experts across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services. We also consider the latest scientific research from academia. Any proposals for legislative change will be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is taking to promote innovation and market uptake of flame-resistant chemical-free materials such as mixtures of wool and cotton.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department welcomes any innovative approaches that deliver consumer safety and comply with existing fire safety regulations, including methods which do not use flame retardants.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the study by the University of Central Lancashire, Flame retardants in UK furniture increase smoke toxicity more than they reduce fire growth rate, published in April; whether they have consulted with their Chief Scientist in forming that assessment; and whether, following that study, they intend to reconsider the efficacy of current flame retardants.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department welcomes the paper by University of Central Lancashire and it forms part of the evidence we are considering in reviewing the legislation regulating the safety of furniture.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when allowances for members of Scientific Advisory Committees were last reviewed; and what are the differential rates of allowances for every relevant department’s committees in the 2017–18 financial year.
Answered by Lord Henley
Allowances for members of Science Advisory Committees are set by the government department that sponsors them. There has been no recent cross-government review of allowances. Information on differentials between allowances is not held by the Government Office for Science.