§ Mr. Burtasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to modify the regulations regarding foam-filled furniture in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) on 14 March at column600.
§ Mr. Burtasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has about research into the safety aspects of foam-filled furniture in the United States; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardI have received a number of reports and papers on this topic, from which it is clear that research in the United States has not produced definite answers to the problem of flammability of foam-filled furniture. In California fire-resistant foams are required by law, but these products containing well-known fire retardant additives do not provide a reliable and positive answer to the problem of ignition of typical combinations of fabric and filling. In one well-publicised test at the National Bureau of Standards the burning of a chair made of "California foam" produced more heat more quickly than chairs made of a standard foam. Alternative types of foam such as those with high resilience, melamine foams and foams containing hydrated alumina are considerably more expensive than standard foams. All this information is available as background to my current discussions with the British furniture industry on ways of improving the fire resistance and performance in fire of upholstered furniture in Britain.