§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice he is currently giving retailers on the sale of cot mattresses.
§ Mr. Ian Taylor[holding answer 25 November 1994]: The Department has been in close contact with the Department of Health over recent claims that cot deaths have resulted from the use of fire retardant treatments in cot mattresses. The theory that flame retardants in cot mattresses released toxic gases, which caused sudden infant death syndrome, was thoroughly investigated by an expert working group set up by the Chief Medical Officer of Health in 1990. The working group concluded—the Turner report, 1991—that this theory was not supported by the experimental evidence.
The Department of Health has advised that there is nothing in the recent claims which invalidates the conclusions of the Turner report of May 1991 and that there is no reason for retailers to withdraw cot mattresses from sale.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health has recently set up a working group of experts to study the questions which were raised by the current media speculation surrounding the research contained in the Rubens Institute study. The Department will be kept fully informed of their deliberations.