National Campaign for Firework Safety

Parliament in 1997

House of Lords where stated otherwise, House of Commons

16 January 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a school is permitted as a component part of a local authority to purchase serial shells, aerial maroons, shell-in-mortar, maroon-in-mortar and combinations for the purposes of a firework display. [11043]

Mr. John M. Taylor: In the view of my Department, the reference to local authorities in the regulations refers to the elected members of a council and officers of the council acting in their official capacity. It does not extend to establishments such as schools under the control of local authorities.

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the competence of armed forces establishments to safely operate aerial shells, aerial maroons, shells-in-mortar, maroons-in-mortar and combinations; and if such establishments will be authorised under the Firework Safety Regulations 1996 to acquire such fireworks. [11042]

Mr. Taylor: No assessment of the ability of the armed forces establishments to operate such fireworks safely has been undertaken. However, in the view of my Department such establishments would come within the exemption in regulation 4 (a) because of the exceptionally high level of skill and expertise in handling similar devices possessed by those who will be responsible for operating displays at such establishments, and have the formal management structures which enable displays to be operated safely and professionally.

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms he intends to introduce to ensure that regulation 4 (b) of the Firework Safety Regulations 1996 applies only to those who have the skills and experience to assess compliance safely to operate aerial shells, aerial maroons, shells-in-mortar, maroons-in-mortar and combinations. [11044]

Mr. Taylor: The exemption for any person whose trade or business, or part of whose trade or business, is the supply of fireworks has been included in the regulations to allow those in the distribution chain--such as manufacturers and importers--to supply other persons in the supply chain who may not themselves be in the business of operating firework displays. All those in the business of supplying fireworks are subject to separate legislation covering the safety and storage of fireworks. No other mechanisms are therefore necessary.


21 January 1997

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Fireworks

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the meetings he held between 21 November and 19 December 1996 with individuals and organisations making representations for or against proposals to ban aerial shells and similar fireworks from general sale to the public. [11041]

Mr. John M. Taylor [holding answer 16 January 1997]: In addition to considering a large volume of representations relating to aerial shells, I met two representatives form the firework industry between 21 November and 19 December.


24 January 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 21 January, Official Report, columns 572-73, if he will list the representatives of the firework industry he met to discuss aerial shells between 21 November and 19 December indicating the dates on which he met each. [12620]

Mr. John M. Taylor: I treat the meetings I have with individuals and organisations, on any topic, as private unless it is agreed that the details should be made public. The meetings I had between 21 November and 19 December 1996 took the form of private discussions on a range of issues relating to fireworks, including commercial matters, and I am not therefore at liberty to disclose details.


6 February 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Pike: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what further consultation he proposes to conduct in relation to the use and control of fireworks; what is his timetable; and if he will make a statement. [14415]

Mr. John M. Taylor: I expect to make an announcement shortly of the conclusions arising from my review of the voluntary and statutory controls on fireworks. If it is considered appropriate to tighten the existing statutory controls, a public consultation on specific proposals will be undertaken.


19 February 1997

Firework Safety

9. Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress of his review of firework safety regulations. [15030]

Mr. John M. Taylor: As an initial response to the review, I introduced regulations in December that prohibit the supply of aerial shells to the public. I hope soon to be able to announce my overall response to my Department's discussion document.
In the meantime, I should like to report that the total number of firework injuries in Great Britain last firework season was 1,233--a reduction of 19 per cent. on the previous year. I shall place those figures in the Library.

Mr. Burden: I thank the Minister for having responded positively to repeated calls from the Opposition to introduce a ban on aerial shells. He mentioned a figure of about 1,200 injuries; those shells were responsible for two deaths in the past year. Is he aware that the temporary ban will be welcomed by reputable firework manufacturers, and that some on the fringes of the firework industry are seeking to get round the ban? What monitoring system has he put in place to ensure that the ban is effective? When will he introduce a national training scheme to ensure that aerial shells are available only to those certified competent to use them?

Mr. Taylor: I did not respond to Labour when I took action at the end of last year; I responded to a thorough-going consultation that I initiated.
Voluntary training has an important role to play in encouraging the safe use of fireworks. Trading standards officers will have my full support in their surveillance work.

Sir Irvine Patnick: Many people present for this programme will recollect that it used to be called Question Time--I do not know whether Labour Front Benchers have had a new idea. I come from the old school of sparklers and catherine wheels; the worst thing we had was bangers.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton: It is a bit of a damp squib.

Madam Speaker: Order. I want to hear the jokes, too, but I cannot.

Sir Irvine Patnick: It is rare that one is heckled from one's own side of the House.
I hope that, after the consultations, the enjoyment that some people have had in this theatre, programme or Chamber will not be stopped and that, through legislation, powers will be given to local authorities to control the sale of certain types of firework that should never have been imported into this country.

Mr. Taylor: In the spirit of that question, I shall content myself by saying that, in my experience, sparklers can be more dangerous than bangers.



24 February 1997

Deregulation (Leisure Industry)

Mr. Flynn: Was it not deregulation and the revocation of firework safety orders in 1986, 1993 and 1995 that led directly to the three deaths of men when they were using mortar fireworks and aerial fireworks? Is it not true that the Government, in some panic, had to push through new regulations in December 1996 to correct the problems caused by their deregulation laws? Should we not look again at all the deregulation measures, not in the way in which the Government look at them, to appease their paymasters in big business, but on safety grounds? Is it not true that, in those three cases, and possibly others, deregulation kills?

Mr. Freeman: I do not for one moment believe that to be the case. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it is important to proceed with the deregulation initiative on the assumption that one will not weaken safety standards, harm the environment or weaken the proper protection for the consumer and the employee. All that is sensible. Our initiative on the deregulation programme that is under way is to reduce the burden on businesses, large and small. The 44 deregulation orders that the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) is considering should save businesses, including small businesses, more than £100 million per annum.

Mr. Brooke: When addressing the question of deregulation on licensing procedures, will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that as much attention will be given to members of the public who are affected by the licence applications as is given to the licence applicants themselves?

Mr. Freeman: I believe that I can give my right hon. Friend that assurance. In terms of nuisance, noise, and the implications for planning law, it is certainly important to our citizens who live close by pubs, casinos, bingo halls and other leisure centres that their interests also be taken into account.


3 June 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Pike: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations her Department has received in the last 12 months relating to the misuse of fireworks; what consultations her Department has undertaken on firework safety in the last 12 months; what action she proposes to take to regulate the (a) sale and (b) use of fireworks; and if she will make a statement. [1441]

Mr. Nigel Griffiths: My Department has received several hundred complaints from the public about the misuse of fireworks and I propose shortly to consult interested organisations on draft regulations to introduce additional restrictions on the types of fireworks which should be sold to the public, including some types of fireworks which feature in complaints of misuse.


5 June 1997

Fireworks

6. Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on her Department's review of firework safety regulations. [660]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Nigel Griffiths): I plan to introduce a number of new controls on fireworks. Draft regulations will be issued later this month. The proposals include statutory measures and I am confident that many of them will enjoy the support of safety bodies and of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mr. Burden: I welcome my hon. Friend to his new role and pay tribute to the work on firework safety that he did in opposition. We welcome a Government who put public safety first in these matters. Will my hon. Friend address the issue of enforcement as there is evidence that some firms, albeit a minority, may be seeking to get round the existing regulations?

Mr. Griffiths: My hon. Friend fought tirelessly for a ban on aerial shells and other dangerous fireworks, and we plan to ensure that those are kept out of the hands of the public. Anyone seeking to get round the prohibition by using bogus legal arguments will be the subject of swift action by trading standards officers.

Mr. Garnier: What was the value of fireworks imported from China last year?

Mr. Griffiths: I do not have the figures, but I will happily let the hon. Gentleman have them. The history
of the Conservative Government in limiting dangerous fireworks coming into this country was woeful. Through the measures that I have outlined, which will go out for consultation shortly, we intend to tackle as effectively as we can the terrible problems that fireworks have caused, and which have resulted in a 50 per cent. increase in the number of injuries over the past five or six years.

Mr. Heppell: Will my hon. Friend keep in mind the tragic death of 10-year-old Dale Mitchell in my constituency, and remember that the age at which people can buy fireworks should be reconsidered, which is one of the things that the Mitchell family wants?

Mr. Griffiths: I can assure my hon. Friend that we shall consider that. I well remember joining him to present a 17,000-name petition to protest about the weak fireworks regulations. The efforts that he put into the fireworks safety campaign will bear fruit on bonfire night this year, and I pay tribute to him.

Rev. Martin Smyth: The Government have come in with a bang and I welcome Ministers to the Front Bench. Despite the Minister's assurance that he will tighten up on regulations, is he satisfied--given the role of Chinese crackers and other fireworks--that the regulations are being properly enforced?

Mr. Griffiths: The hon. Gentleman knows exactly what he is talking about. It is important that the fireworks that he mentions should be rigorously controlled. I am confident that the consultation document will specifically consider those fireworks. Trading standards and other enforcement officers in tandem must ensure that the law is upheld and that the future tougher regulations bring the real benefits that all hon. Members seek.


18 June 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she intends to publish the revised draft firework safety regulations. [4831]

Mr. Nigel Griffiths: I propose to publish my proposals for new firework safety regulations tomorrow. Copies of the consultation document will be sent to a wide range of organisations with an interest in firework safety, including consumer groups, enforcement authorities, industry, firework user groups and other groups who use fireworks during religious and cultural festivals. Copies of both the consultation document and the draft regulations are being placed in the Library of the House.


29 October 1997

Q7. Mr. Burden: My right hon. Friend will be aware of the two dreadful recent firework accidents in the west midlands; one in which 14-year-old James Townsend suffered severe injuries to his hands because of a banger, the other in which 24 people were injured at a bonfire party. Does he agree that that proves that the Government were right to introduce tough new firework safety regulations and that we now need to move on to a proper, recognised training scheme for people who want to operate firework displays? In the run-up to bonfire night, we must ensure that the fun is put back into fireworks and the danger taken out of them. [12441]

The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is right. The new firework regulations, which represent the toughest crackdown on dangerous fireworks in the history of the United Kingdom, will make a significant contribution to safety. I therefore share my hon. Friend's welcome for these measures. The Fireworks Bill that is to be introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Mrs. Gilroy) will provide the Government with the capability to deal with a number of fireworks issues that are outside the scope of present regulations. I greatly welcome her initiative.


17 November 1997

Fireworks

Mr. Goggins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will publish the amount of Government expenditure on firework safety campaigns for each year since 1979. [15532]

Mr. Nigel Griffiths: The cost of fireworks safety campaigns between 1979 and 1983 cannot be produced without incurring disproportionate cost. The figures from 1984 are as follows: