Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (1) the basis, and (2) the supporting evidence, for the proposal contained in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s 2016 consultation on the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations to continue to include children’s mattresses in the scope of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, in the light of the EU ban on the use of brominated and organophosphate chemicals in children’s mattresses.

The Government has been reviewing the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The 2016 consultation on updating the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations sought views on proposals for clarifying and amending the scope of the regulations. The Department will publish its response to the 2016 consultation in due course.

Chemicals, including brominated and organophosphate flame retardants used in UK furniture, are regulated under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). REACH aims to provide a high level of protection for health and the environment from the use of chemicals including those used in products.