§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures are in place to assess the impact of furniture fire-safety regulations that came into effect in 1997; and what the findings have been. [166293]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe DTI commissioned the University of Surrey to research the effectiveness of the Regulations. The resulting report—"Effectiveness of the Furniture & Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988"—was published in June 2000 and copies were placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report's findings were "extremely good news". At a conservative estimate, the Regulations had saved at least 710 lives in the first ten years since their introduction, and at least 5,770 fewer people were injured in the same period. The benefits of the Regulations were most likely to be realised by the financially challenged, young children between 1 and 4 years of age, and the elderly. Recent figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister indicate that this downward trend has continued.