§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the coroner's finding at the inquest into the fire at Woolworth's store in Manchester in May 1979 that in the case of fires involving polyurethane foam there is less than two minutes in which to escape, he will now set a date for banning the use of polyurethane foam in hospital mattresses and furniture; and if he will make a statemant.
§ Sir George YoungNo. The realistic short-term approach to reducing potential fire hazards from the use156W of polyurethane foam in hospital mattresses and furniture is for health authorities to provide covering materials—such as counterpanes and blankets—which have fire-retardant properties. This advice was given to health authorities in 1976 and repeated in August 1980. As an additional precaution, a fire-retardant mattress cover is being developed for use in hospitals. In the longer term, I am hopeful that current investigations will lead to the development of fire-retardant materials suitable for mattress cores for hospital use.