§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the number of (a) fires in dwellings due to the ignition of upholstery covers, (b) non-fatal casualties from such fires and (c) fatalities from such fires, separately for each year from 1980 to 1985, giving estimates where appropriate; and if he will give the same information under the same headings in relation to bedding.
§ Mr. Hurd"Fire Statistics United Kingdom", published annually contains information on fires in dwellings attended by local authority fire brigades in which the material first ignited was upholstery or covers, or bedding. This information is in tables 27, 28, 32, 33 and 35, respectively, of the annual volumes for 1980 to 1984. Publication of 1985 information has been delayed by computer processing problems but provisional figures are:
Materials first ignited Upholstery or covers Bedding Fires 3,934 4,844 Non-fatal casualties 1,186 1,044 Fatal casualties 167 129