Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 May (HL15638), what steps they are taking to clarify which of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 or the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 should take precedence in circumstances where either might apply, such as in (1) domestic and communal spaces in care homes, or (2) an office room based in a domestic dwelling.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 apply to upholstered furniture which is ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) is primarily for businesses and other non-domestic premises including communal areas of multi-occupied residential premises – where the communal areas are effectively workplaces and not primarily domestic premises. For care homes where the main use is the provision of residential care, the FSO applies to the entire premises as they are a workplace. It does not apply to people’s private homes.