Important update: UK domestic flammability regulations consultation is now live

On 2nd August the Research Association were advised by the Government that their long-awaited consultation for the proposed revision to the UK flammability regulations for domestic upholstered furniture was publicly available.

The Government consultation is seeking views from the furniture industry on:

• The scope of the regulations
• The essential safety requirements
• The conformity assessment procedure
• The labelling requirements
• The technical file requirements
• The proposed timescales for the implementation of and transition to the new regulations
• Measures to encourage and enable a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants

You can view the consultation on the Government website. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smarter-regulation-fire-safety-of-domestic-upholstered-furniture. Documents available include:

• Smarter Regulation: consultation on the new approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture
• Fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture: Impact assessment
• Fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture: Draft regulations

Plans are being made to hold member-only Forums to gain collective feedback and ensure this is passed back directly to Government. Details on the Forums will be released shortly so please look out for further information via email, our website and LinkedIn.

This review will impact many of you, so in the first instance, we advise you to familiarise yourself with the documents and then attend our Forums for a wider understanding. Both Howard James and Levent Caglar from our service provider, FIRA International, sit on the BSI Committee that is working on developing the test methods to support the revised regulations, so will be well-placed to support with gaining feedback at these events.

If you have any initial urgent queries, please email info@fira.co.uk.

We’ll be back in touch shortly with details of our next steps as we support you through this process.