Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of evidence linking chemical flame retardants to developmental and neurological impacts in children.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) has considered the available evidence for phosphate-based flame retardants (PFRs) and the potential for neurodevelopmental effects in children and the developing foetus. PFRs were introduced in the United Kingdom as an alternative to brominated flame retardants as some of these were banned from use or restricted.
The COT reviewed the potential for PFRs to act via similar mechanisms to organophosphate (OP) compounds, such as OP pesticides, as they have some structural similarities.
Overall, the COT concluded that the available evidence indicates that PFRs do not pose a risk of developmental toxicity at anticipated exposure levels and that PFRs were very unlikely to share the neurodevelopmental effects of other OP compounds. However, the COT could not exclude the possibility that PFRs could produce neurodevelopmental toxicity by some other mechanism. Further information is available in the COTās Statement on phosphate-based flame retardants and the potential for neurodevelopmental toxicity, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the computing and cloud services used by government departments are provided by suppliers that are (1) headquartered outside the UK, or (2) subject to the jurisdiction of a government outside the UK.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This information is not held centrally. Individual government departments are responsible for managing their own commercial arrangements for computing and cloud services and would need to confirm the proportion of services provided by suppliers headquartered outside the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organisationās designation ofĀ tris(chloropropyl) phosphate as a probable carcinogen; and what steps they are taking to reduce public exposure of this compound in domestic furniture.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a growing concern about the health and environmental impacts of some chemical flame retardants, including tris(chloropropyl) phosphate. In June 2025, the Environment Agency published a scoping review of flame retardants relevant to the GB market. This year the Health and Safety Executive added several flame retardants to the UK REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern, signalling their potential for further regulatory control.
There is a growing body of evidence to support action to reduce the volume of chemical flame retardants used to enable upholstered furniture to pass flammability tests set out in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade recently ran a consultation on a set of policy proposals that aim to maintain a high level of fire safety, while meaningfully reducing the reliance on chemical flame retardants.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the average number of kilograms ofĀ tris(chloropropyl) phosphate and melamine present inĀ sitting rooms across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a growing concern about the health and environmental impacts of some chemical flame retardants, including tris(chloropropyl) phosphate. In June 2025, the Environment Agency published a scoping review of flame retardants relevant to the GB market. This year the Health and Safety Executive added several flame retardants to the UK REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern, signalling their potential for further regulatory control.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of off-gassing flame retardants to indoor air contamination, particularly in mechanically ventilated homes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government has made no assessment of a contribution to indoor air contamination by off-gassing flame retardants. Part D of the Building Regulations 2010 relates to toxic substances and associated guidance in Approved Document D (attached) makes clear that formaldehyde fumes, given off by urea formaldehyde foams, should not penetrate to occupied parts of the building. Building Regulations Part F and Approved Document F (attached) relate to ventilation and describe how systems should be designed to supply a minimum level of outdoor air for occupantsā health and to rapidly dilute indoor air pollutants. Approved Document F includes performance criteria for indoor air pollutants, based on the World Health Organizationās Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Selected Pollutants (2010) and Public Health Englandās Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Selected Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the UK (2019 ).
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of requiring sofas and other furniture containing persistent organic pollutants to be incinerated at 800Ā°C alongside clinical waste as per Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a growing concern about the health and environmental impacts of some chemical flame retardants, including tris(chloropropyl) phosphate. In June 2025, the Environment Agency published a scoping review of flame retardants relevant to the GB market. This year the Health and Safety Executive added several flame retardants to the UK REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern, signalling their potential for further regulatory control.
There is a growing body of evidence to support action to reduce the volume of chemical flame retardants used to enable upholstered furniture to pass flammability tests set out in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade recently ran a consultation on a set of policy proposals that aim to maintain a high level of fire safety, while meaningfully reducing the reliance on chemical flame retardants.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fidra's estimate that disposing of sofas containing chemical flame retardants costs local authorities Ā£135 million per year.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are long-lasting chemicals that can harm human health and the environment. Waste containing POPs above legal limits must be managed so that the POPs are destroyed or irreversibly transformed. Some chemical flame retardants previously used on sofas and similar upholstered seating are classified as POPs and therefore must be disposed of in this way.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks posed by volatile chemical flame retardants that off-gas from upholstered furniture into household dust.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Furniture manufacturers must ensure they only place safe products on the UK market. Any chemical flame retardants used in furniture must comply with all relevant UK chemical regulations, including UK REACH.
While the evidence of negative health impacts from chemical flame retardants in furniture is limited, the Government recognises concern about their widespread use. The consultation āProduct regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furnitureā proposes reforming the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, which set flammability requirements for upholstered furniture, to maintain a high level of fire safety while meaningfully reducing the use of chemical flame retardants.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports in The Times on 4 April that domestic chemical flameāretardant requirements increase the cost of UK sofas compared with EU and global markets by up to 30 per cent.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Following the 2023 consultation āSmarter Regulation: Fire safety of domestic upholstered furnitureā, the Government engaged extensively with a wide range of stakeholders, including manufacturers and upholsterers to build our evidence base, including on the costs associated with chemical flame retardant use.
This engagement led to the consultation āProduct regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furnitureā with amended proposals, including ending mandatory open-flame testing and moving to a smoulder-based test consistent with the approaches adopted internationally, and removing re-upholstery and repair from the scope of the regulations so that it is more proportionately regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the 5,793 upholsterers who called for an end to chemical flame-retardant treatments in response to their 2023 consultation, Smarter Regulation: Fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Following the 2023 consultation āSmarter Regulation: Fire safety of domestic upholstered furnitureā, the Government engaged extensively with a wide range of stakeholders, including manufacturers and upholsterers to build our evidence base, including on the costs associated with chemical flame retardant use.
This engagement led to the consultation āProduct regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furnitureā with amended proposals, including ending mandatory open-flame testing and moving to a smoulder-based test consistent with the approaches adopted internationally, and removing re-upholstery and repair from the scope of the regulations so that it is more proportionately regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations.