UK proposes sweeping product safety reform: furniture fire rules, marketplace liability, enforcement overhaul
Three linked consultations under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 propose the biggest UK product safety overhaul in a generation, including replacing the 1988 furniture flammability regulations with a smoulder-test regime that aims to cut chemical flame retardant use while maintaining fire performance.
INFIRISK Team·5 min read·
On 31 March 2026, Consumer Protection Minister Kate Dearden MP announced three linked consultations under powers granted by the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. Taken together, they represent the most significant overhaul of UK product safety law in a generation. The reforms tighten rules on online marketplaces, modernise enforcement, and, most directly relevant to fire safety professionals, launch a long-awaited rewrite of the 1988 furniture flammability regulations.
The three consultations at a glance
All three opened on the same day and close on 23 June 2026. They draw on powers in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in late 2025 but deliberately left the detail to secondary legislation so the Government could consult on specifics.
1. A new product safety framework
The first consultation proposes widening the scope of regulated products so fewer goods fall through gaps in consumer protection. It updates how a "safe product" is defined and assessed, and crucially, brings online marketplaces into line with physical retailers. A product listed on an online platform would face the same regulatory obligations as one on a shop shelf, closing the loophole that has allowed non-compliant goods to reach UK consumers via third-party sellers. The proposals also allow digital-format product labelling, including UKCA markings, so that mandatory information can appear on-screen rather than on a physical tag.
2. Enforcement and market surveillance
The second consultation targets the speed and consistency of enforcement. OPSS and local trading standards have long flagged the difficulty of acting quickly against unsafe products, particularly those imported in small batches or sold through multiple marketplace accounts. The proposals aim to simplify the enforcement toolkit so that when a dangerous product is identified, it can be removed from sale faster and across more channels simultaneously. The Government's announcement cited fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes as a real-world example of the risks posed by products that enter the market outside traditional supply chains.
3. Furniture fire safety
The third consultation is the one that matters most for the fire sector. The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 have governed domestic upholstered furniture for nearly four decades. The Government now proposes to replace the existing open-flame ignition tests with a new smoulder test, introduce pragmatic testing solutions designed to facilitate material innovation, and make proportionate adjustments to the scope of the regulations. Critically, the stated aim is to maintain a high level of fire safety while meaningfully reducing the use of chemical flame retardants, substances that, according to peer-reviewed research, can increase smoke toxicity more than they reduce fire growth rate.
Why furniture flammability still matters
Government fire data tells a stark story. Upholstered items, including beds, mattresses and furniture, were the material first ignited in 12% of domestic fire incidents in England, but were responsible for 29% of fatalities. When measured by what mainly spread the fire, the picture is worse: textiles, upholstery and furnishings accounted for 23% of primary dwelling fires but 60% of fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2023, according to the Home Office detailed fire statistics. The disproportionate lethality of upholstered furniture fires is the reason these regulations exist, and the reason their update cannot afford to trade fire performance for chemical convenience.
The 1988 regulations drove manufacturers towards chemical flame retardants to pass the open-flame test. Over time, evidence mounted that many of these chemicals persist in the environment, accumulate in human tissue and, in fire conditions, increase the toxicity of smoke, the primary killer in domestic fires. The new smoulder-test approach is intended to break this dependency. A smoulder test assesses a material's resistance to a low-energy ignition source such as a cigarette or smouldering ember, which is the ignition scenario most commonly associated with upholstered furniture fires. If the test standard is set correctly, manufacturers should be able to achieve compliance through fabric selection and construction technique rather than chemical additives.
What this means for fire safety professionals
The consultations are open until 23 June 2026 and the Government is actively inviting responses from the fire sector. For fire risk assessors, fire engineers and anyone involved in specifying furniture for regulated premises, three things are worth watching closely.
First, the transition period. Once the new furniture fire safety requirements are finalised, there will be a window during which both old and new standards coexist. Risk assessors will need to understand which test regime a piece of furniture was certified under and whether it still meets the legal standard for the premises in which it sits.
Second, the marketplace enforcement change. If online platforms become liable for the safety of products sold through them, fire safety professionals advising clients on procurement should be aware that the legal landscape for sourcing furniture, fire equipment and safety-critical components online is about to shift.
Read and respond to the three consultations before 23 June 2026. The Government has explicitly asked for fire sector input, and the smoulder-test proposal will directly affect how furniture in regulated premises is specified and assessed.
Review any current procurement processes that source fire safety products, furniture or furnishings through online marketplaces. Once the new framework is in force, platform liability will change the risk profile of online purchasing for regulated premises.
Note that the enforcement time-limit extension (6 to 12 months) under the 2025 Amendment Regulations is already in force. Non-compliant furniture identified during a fire risk assessment now carries a longer window for prosecution.
Watch for the consultation outcome in late 2026 or early 2027. The transition from open-flame testing to smoulder testing will require updated knowledge for anyone who assesses furniture fire safety in HMOs, care homes, hotels and student accommodation.
