The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) have provided an update on progress made re His Majesty’s Government’s (HMG’s) review of the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture.
WHILST the current legislation, (the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988) have been regarded as having contributed significantly throughout the last thirty-six odd years in protecting the buying market, they are now regarded as out of step with modern methodologies used for product safety and could even present a potential barrier to innovation and the circular economy.
There has also been, since the legislation’s introduction in 1988, evidence of emerging risks associated with chemical flame retardants, used to pass flammability tests.
There are six core themes to be implemented, but also some obstacles to overcome in the next year to finalise the reforms that will continue to protect consumers and provide the certainty business needs, to invest in the sector.
The latest consultation on the legislation occurred between 2nd August 2023 and 24th October 2023, and to be seen as acting in the “interests of transparency”, HMG has chosen to issue a summary of the responses received, alongside the policy paper itself. Core themes address:
- Defining the responsibilities, scope and definitions;
- Product compliance requirements;
- Information provision (labelling and technical documents)
- Re-upholstery of and (second hand) furniture;
- Implementation, enforcement and statutory review; and
- The impacts of the changes to be brought forward.
The policy paper ends with an assessment of next steps to be taken.
- Any Government-led reforms are to be ambitious and reconcile complex and competing challenges in order to keep consumers safe.
- Following further stakeholder engagement, clear timelines for implementing the new regulatory approach in full will be laid out as well as the publication of new British Standards in order to support businesses with their compliance.
HMG and stakeholders have already built a substantive evidence base to support and inform change, including a growing body of evidence to support action to reduce the volume of chemical flame retardants, which are used to ensure that upholstered furniture passes the necessary flammability tests.
The ongoing review of furniture fire safety represents a first step in a series of sector reviews HMG is planning to undertake in order to update and streamline the product safety framework in the UK, to ensure it addresses the challenges faced both now and in the future.
HMG intends to build on scope proposals set out in the 2023 consultation, with product scope set by an overarching definition of domestic upholstered products, supplemented by a list of excluded products to ensure greater clarity for businesses of which products fall in scope, thereby allowing consistent compliance.
Consideration will be given to the status of natural materials so that products made of them are fire-safe, and that obligations / testing requirements are proportionate / evidence-based.
The proposed size cut-offs for certain products, (i.e., scatter cushions / modular mattresses), will also be given further consideration to ensure that where size cut-offs are used, they are clear to businesses, are based on any easily understandable rationale and best address the fire risk posed by those products.
A way of ensuring product compliance could be by introducing a Flame-Retardant Technology Hierarchy to support a reduction in chemical flame-retardant usage and facilitate innovative ways of producing fire-safe furniture and whilst the majority of stakeholders support the principle, some feel it could go further. Conversely, others have expressed concern about how much of a burden it will place on businesses and whether it is appropriate to steer manufacturers away from using chemicals as long as they are being used in accordance with wider UK chemical legislation.
HMG will continue to consider the objectives and likely effectiveness of Flame-Retardant Technology Hierarchy in the context of feedback received to ensure that, if retained, it contributes effectively to reducing the use of chemical flame-retardants, while also supporting innovation.
HMG believes that provision of compliance and traceability information to consumers, enforcement authorities and to waste disposal operatives should be improved. Implementing that will support more informed consumer choices and more effective enforcement as well as the circular economy and second-hand sales.
Current labelling requirements will be simplified in the longer term, thereby consolidating labelling to a single new permanent label that will provide clear supply chain information to better enable enforcement officers to trace a product back to its place of manufacture, via importers, distributors and further suppliers.
Officials in the OPSS will continue to work closely with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA ) regarding the provision of chemical information, including through digital means, and will provide an update later this year. DEFRA is considering more broadly how best to improve the availability and communication of information on chemicals in products across supply chains.
The change that HMG is bringing forward now to remove display labels will represent “an immediate simplification” of the requirements for second-hand products. Beyond that initial change, further consideration will be given to second-hand product requirements in order to ensure the correct balance is struck in support of the second-hand market and ensuring that products remain fire-safe when they are resupplied.
Implementation and enforcement – HMG will bring forward amendments to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 in 2025 to extend the enforcement window from 6 to 12 months.
Strong arguments to extend the enforcement window beyond 12 months, and to start the clock from the discovery of an offence, were actively presented by stakeholders but, at present, reforms are limited by the legal powers granted in the Consumer Protection Act 1987. Going forward, HMG will consider further extending the enforcement window available under new regulations.
Next steps – HMG will be taking immediate action to amend the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 based on evidence already collected in consultation responses. Changes to the existing legislation will be made as soon as Parliamentary time allows and will take effect six months later, in line with obligations under the UK’s World Trade Organisation commitments. The amendments are as follows:
- Remove certain baby and children’s products from the scope of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 where evidence supports this. This will reduce babies’ and children’s exposure to chemical flame-retardants where the risk of exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is greater than the fire risk posed by those products
- Remove the requirement for manufacturers to affix a display label to new products, reflecting the limited value of the display label;
- Extend the timeframe for instituting legal proceedings from 6 to 12 months, thereby providing “the right tools” for effective enforcement.
To ensure your business does not fall foul of health and safety law in 2025.
- Conduct risk assessments as and when required (prior to undertaking activities).
- Provide training regarding the risks involved and how to manage them.
- Supervise risk management, as necessary, until competence is demonstrated.
- Formally review risk assessments and associated safe systems of work, regularly.
- Update training provided (toolbox talks, in-house or external formal training).
- Keep / update records of all the above processes.
If you need help with any health & safety related issue do not hesitate to contact your health & safety consultancy. We can provide advice / assistance with:
- Your legal requirements with regards to safety and health.
- The management of health and safety – generally or specific to business activity.
- The risk assessment process and how to conduct and record risk assessments
- Required conduct – as per legal requirements to meet when managing an activity.
- Required health surveillance – as per the activity.
- How to evidence due diligence conducted.
- Training needs and how they can be met (provided and recorded).