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 findings of Professor Richard Hull, published in Chemosphere, that the application of flame retardants "makes furniture burn more quickly, reaching higher temperatures and producing vastly more toxic smoke" when tested in real life environments; and whether they intend to promote the use of flame retardant-free materials.
Answered by Lord Henley
Public protection remains the Government’s priority and it is committed to improving both fire safety and environmental outcomes.
We are aware of the findings of Professor Hull’s paper and they are being considered alongside the evidence from the public consultation and the advice of an Advisory Panel, comprising leading fire safety experts and departmental Chief Scientific Advisors. The Government response to the consultation on the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations will be published in due course.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking action to encourage manufacturers of over-the-counter consumer goods such as soaps, toothpastes, and cosmetics to eliminate triclosan and triclocarbon from their products.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The use of tricolsan and triclocarbon is restricted by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on Cosmetic Products. Manufacturers may only use these preservatives at specified levels and triclosan is only permitted at those levels in a limited range of cosmetic products. Both ingredients have been examined by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety who considered them to be safe at these restricted levels and usages.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government why products are not required to carry labels which indicate exactly what flame retardant materials they contain, including those materials which were permitted at the time of production but have since been banned, in order to (1) enable people to avoid those products if they so wish, and (2) ensure that people are aware that it may not be possible to recycle or sell on those products.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Product safety legislation requires products to be safe when they are placed on the market. It does not specifically require products to be labelled with information about fire retardant material used in the products.
The Government is currently reviewing the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. One of the proposals under consideration is specific labelling to show the presence of fire retardant chemicals to help inform consumers and to aid consumer choice. A consultation on this issue was held in late 2016. The responses to the consultation will help to inform our decisions on this question and will be included in the Government response, to be issued in due course.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 February (HL5402), whether, in the light of the fact that the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC) represents more than 70 per cent of all furniture production in Europe, they will respond specifically to the EFIC on the points made in their letter of 10 November 2016.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC) requested that their letter dated 10th November be considered as part of their formal response to the 2016 consultation on the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Department is therefore considering the points raised by EFIC in the letter as part of the consultation analysis and will respond as part of the formal Government response, which I expect to be published in the spring.
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 is their response to the European Furniture Industry Confederation's supplementary letter to its submission to the consultation on changes to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The consultation on proposals to revise the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 took place between September and November last year. There were over 120 responses, including from the European Furniture Industry Confederation.
Revision of the regulations is complex, with a broad spectrum of views expressed by respondents from industry, fire services, charities and regulators. The responses are currently being analysed and the views expressed and the evidence presented is being considered and evaluated. Once this is completed, the Government will issue its response. We anticipate that this will be in the spring.