Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to remove upholstered furniture, carpets and curtains in UK (a) hotels, (b) care homes, (c) hospitals and (d) other non-domestic properties that still contain the flame retardant chemical DecaBDE since that chemical was banned under REACH in March 2019.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO) is the legislation covering fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales.? The FSO requires the person responsible for the premises to undertake a fire risk assessment of the premises and put in place and maintain adequate fire protection measures to reduce the risk to life from fire to as low as reasonably practicable.

The FSO does not prescribe the levels of flame-retardant chemicals used in products. Product safety comes under the Office of Product Safety and Standards, which is the body responsible for the regulations that apply to furniture and furnishings.