National Campaign for Firework Safety

Parliament in 1992

House of Lords where stated, otherwise House of Commons

13 March 1992

Fireworks

Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the figures of injuries caused by fireworks in 1991.

Mr. Leigh : According to reports from accident and emergency units in hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland, 723 people required treatment for injuries caused by fireworks during the three weeks leading up to November 5 1991 and the few days after, a decrease of just over 10 per cent. Serious injuries fell by 23 per cent. There was a decrease in injuries to all age groups, but particularly to 16 to 20-year-olds, where the fall was 31 per cent. There were also significant reductions in injuries to those under 16 years of age. There was a decrease of 36 per cent. in injuries from rockets and of 8 per cent. for bangers, but an increase of 9 per cent. from sparklers. Injuries from incidents in the street were down 21 per cent., from large public displays 18 per cent., from small public displays 3 per cent. and from family firework parties 2 per cent. There were over 110 million fireworks let off in 1990, but we estimate that there were 2 to 5 per cent. less in 1991. The detailed breakdown for 1991 and the preceding four years is as follows :

Firework injuries in Great Britain     (4 week period in October-November) 

 
   
   
   
 
     
 

15 June 1992

TRADE AND INDUSTRY


Fireworks

Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for limitations on the maximum noise emitted by imported fireworks, with particular reference to bangers imported from the People's Republic of China ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Leigh : To comply with the general safety requirement of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, all imported fireworks are required to conform to the British standard for fireworks. This limits the explosive content of bangers which in effect limits the noise of the explosion. The United Kingdom is currently taking part in discussions to develop a European standard on fireworks, which will include restrictions on the maximum noise emitted.


8 July 1992

Fireworks

Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics his Department holds on the incidence of injury to animals from fireworks ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Charles Warble : I have been asked to reply.
No information is collected on the incidence of injury to animals from fireworks.


4 November 1992

Firework Safety

16. Mr. Cohen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current year's firework safety campaign.

Mr. Leigh : This year's firework safety campaign was launched on 15 October. The aim of the campaign is to make sure that all those handling fireworks, whether as retailers or as users, are aware of their legal obligations and of the precautions that they should take to make sure of an accident-free Guy Fawkes night.

21. Mr. Speller : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the effect that a European standard for fireworks will have on British safety standards.

Mr. Leigh : It is not certain at this stage what effect a European standard for fireworks will have on British safety standards. Negotiations will continue for some considerable time as our aim is to ensure that any European standard for fireworks is consistent with standards of safety in the United Kingdom.


6 November 1992

Firework Safety

Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what effect the single European market will have on firework safety in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that any European standard is at least as high as the existing British Standard (BS 7114) on firework safety.

Mr. Leigh [holding answer 2 November 1992] : The single European market should not have an immediate direct effect on fireworks safety in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom delegation on the CEN technical committee will continue to try to ensure that any European standard for fireworks matches the high standards of safety in the United Kingdom ; work on producing such a standard is some years away from completion.



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