Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

Mr. Robathan: This is almost certainly the last time that I-and perhaps anyone else-will say anything in this Committee, so I should like to congratulate the hon. Member for Hamilton, South on introducing the Bill and on steering it through Committee, which is not always easy. I am delighted that it has got through its Committee stage. We support any measure that improves the lives of our constituents without unreasonable penalty or spoiling other people's enjoyment. We wish the Bill a fair wind.

However, we are concerned because this is an enabling Bill. I do not impugn the Minister's motivation; I am optimistic that she will be sensible in introducing regulations. In 1997, the hon. Lady's predecessor, the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South, introduced regulations by statutory instrument. There is no specific content as yet, but I should like to know what extra powers the clause gives the Government that they do not already have to introduce a statutory instrument.

Ross Cranston: I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South on introducing the Bill and shepherding it through the Committee.

I want to put the Minister on the spot in respect of the regulation-making power: when can we expect regulations?

Shona McIsaac: I echo hon. Members' comments.
When the Bill received its Second Reading, many of our constituents were excited that the noise nuisance from fireworks would end. I reassured them but explained that the Bill had many stages to get through and there could be problems along the way. However, my constituents still think that because it got its Second Reading, the Bill has become law. In the past couple of weeks, people have been letting off very loud fireworks in my constituency and it is vital that we give some indication of when the regulations will be made. I do not want to go through another autumn having to answer hundreds, if not thousands, of letters from angry, upset and distressed constituents suffering from the misuse of fireworks.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I welcome the tone of our proceedings this afternoon. It has been one of the most mollifying experiences I have had in a Committee. It must be something to do with the chairmanship, Mr. Benton. That is enough obsequiousness for today.

I refer back to clause 2(1)(b), which says:

''the risk that the use of fireworks will have those consequences is the minimum that is compatible with their being used.'' {**w10**}

That strikes the balance appropriately. Our debate has shown that we are not trying to ruin the enjoyment that many families gain from fireworks, either in public displays or in their back gardens, safely and responsibly. We are seeking to protect everybody who is involved in the industry and in the enjoyment of fireworks. I pay tribute to the way in which the Bill has been drafted, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South for having brought it into being. In closing, can I ask the Minister when the regulations will be ready for consideration?

4.15 pm
Andrew Selous: I echo the kinds words that have been expressed about your chairmanship, Mr. Benton, and the comments about the way in which the hon. Member for Hamilton, South has brought the Bill to this stage.

Can the Minister tell me whether the power to make regulation would be of any help to Coventry city council? We have heard about its application for a byelaw banning the use of fireworks between 11 o'clock at night and 7 o'clock in the morning, which was turned down on the basis that local laws should not be used to address a national problem. That seems to be an eminently sensible byelaw for a local authority to have. The hon. Members for Hamilton, South and for Glasgow, Anniesland made the point that local authorities know their areas and should be able to make sensible byelaws. Can the Minister give me some comfort that the clause will enable authorities such as Coventry city to make such byelaws?

Miss Johnson: I make the same presumption as the hon. Member for Blaby in assuming that the Bill will successfully conclude its consideration in Committee, and add my warm congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South on his stewardship and guidance of it in Committee. He has undertaken a wide range of discussions with all interested parties and has spent much time on the detail that underlies the Bill. I also thank you, Mr. Benton, for your chairmanship of the Committee.

In response to the question of powers raised by the hon. Member for Blaby, clause 16 allows us to make regulations as negative instruments. Those clauses that require affirmative resolutions will be made that way; they are not necessarily on a par. There is a separate issue, which is relevant to the question of whether we want to have affirmative resolution for every power under the Bill, which is not the case at the moment. That is that some of the safety regulations would have to be made under section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987. Some would be fireworks regulations covering non-safety aspects, deriving from the Bill. The arrangements would be affirmative in one case and negative in the other, so we could end up doubling the amount of consideration of issues in cases in which both pieces of legislation had to be brought to bear on the matter.

There is a role for affirmative powers, and we have undertaken to ensure that it can be used on key topics in this instance. It would be helpful if Committee members would indicate in discussions outside the Committee any areas in which they feel strongly that there should be affirmative resolution. I undertake to consider such comments and to declare on Report whether further affirmative powers are needed. I reiterate that the Bill secures regulations under the powers in clauses 1(2) and 14(3) that will now be subject to the affirmative procedure, which they would not have been under the 1997 private Member's Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton.

The regulations on consultation and timing will be subject to Government guidelines, under which we have to consult for a minimum of 12 weeks. We shall also consult more generally on the content before that. I cannot promise regulations for this November's fireworks season. By way of consolation to those hon. Members who are disappointed, I should point out that given the lead time for the production of fireworks, most of the fireworks will be imported fairly soon, if they are not already here. We therefore have a reasonable lead-time. We shall endeavour to come forward with the statutory instruments as soon as practicable. Those, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore, who urge consultation on me and who press me on the time scale, know and appreciate the tension between those two factors.

Mr. Tynan: The power exists for emergency legislation to be invoked, which would last for 12 months. In present circumstances, the importation and storage of fireworks is an issue that could be subject to that type of legislation. Would not the Minister consider using such legislation to ensure that companies importing fireworks into the UK should keep them in proper storage areas? Could that part of the emergency legislation be used in that way? It would solve many of the problems, and it would prevent rogue retailers selling fireworks from lorries and ice-cream vans.

Miss Johnson: There is a procedure under clause 2 for emergency regulations to be made if there is an urgent need to protect the public. I assume that that is the power to which my hon. Friend refers. Those regulations would remain in force for no longer than 12 months. We can consider whether certain areas could be addressed under such emergency provisions, but we must bear in mind that we need also to allow people time to adjust and to make the right arrangements. We must therefore think carefully about what is sensibly covered under emergency legislation. I would like more time to reflect on the detail and, indeed, to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend subsequent to this afternoon's sitting.

The hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire mentioned the need for byelaws. It is a national problem and it will need a national solution. However, some consideration is being given by my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to using the provisions of the Noise Act 1996, to ascertain what scope local authorities have to use the powers of that Act.

Byelaws could lead to consumers crossing the county, city or borough border to buy fireworks in an area that has no or different requirements. That is what I was saying to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dudley, North on the question of cultural diversity and licensing arrangements. Obviously in a small, fairly compact country such as this, and with modern travel, people can easily move from one area to the next. We have to recognise the practical realities of all that in what we are doing. The Bill does not have provision for byelaws and it is important to recognise that.

Andrew Selous: Is it the position that local authorities do not fully understand the legislation that is in place and open to them under the Noise Act 1996 or the powers of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs? Will the Minister take steps to ensure that the powers within existing legislation are more clearly explained to local authorities, as I was not clear how we were going to take the matter forward?

Miss Johnson: It is not a matter for me because the legislation relates to another Department. I understand that it is looking at ways in which more provisions can be appropriately used by councils. Indeed, as with some of the other legislation that is designed to protect local communities through local councils, the take-up and implementation can sometimes lag behind what is available to the councils concerned. Those are not principally matters for my Department or my hon. Friend's Bill. I conclude by saying that I believe that the Bill needs to be used moderately and with a sense of balance and proportion. There are serious issues in our communities relating to the use and abuse of fireworks that need to be addressed. I particularly bear in mind the points that hon. Members on both sides of the Committee have made about the important issue of noise.

Shona McIsaac: Could my hon. Friend have a word with her colleagues in the Northern Ireland Department, who have brought in a system that is working very successfully to control fireworks? Perhaps some of the good practice from that side of the water can be considered and used here. I understand from Northern Ireland Members that they received many complaints in 2001 about firework misuse, yet after the law was toughened up they did not receive one complaint in 2002.

Miss Johnson: My hon. Friend sets very high standards for success. I do not think that I would be as ambitious as to aspire to no complaints. We are in regular contact with colleagues in Northern Ireland. I will certainly bear in mind her encouragement to examine their experience of making changes, albeit under difference circumstances. The Bill will make a huge difference to what has become a major problem for our communities. I should like to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South for bringing it forward.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 16 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 17 to 19 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Schedule agreed to.
Bill, as amended, to be reported.
Committee rose at twenty-eight minutes past Four o'clock.

The following Members attended the Committee:
Benton, Mr. Joe (Chairman)
Conway, Derek
Cranston, Ross
Dobbin, Jim
Irranca-Davies, Huw
Johnson, Miss Melanie
McIsaac, Shona
Robathan, Mr.
Robertson, John
Selous, Andrew
Truswell, Mr.
Tynan, Mr.
Watson, Mr.
Weir, Mr.

May 21 2003
Written Questions for Answer on Wednesday 21 May 2003
Mr Paul Truswell (Pudsey): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with (a) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) other departments regarding the enforcement of (i) current and (ii) potential future fireworks regulations; and if she will make a statement

May 22 2003
Written Questions for Answer on Thursday 22 May 2003

Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussion she has had with the Home Department regarding the anti-social behaviour aspect of firework abuse; and if she will make a statement. [115439]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has been in discussion with the Home Office about its penalty notices for the disorder offences scheme. Pilots are currently running in four police force areas in England and Wales. There are 11 penalty offences in the scheme, including that of throwing fireworks in the street. The Home Secretary announced on 14 May that the scheme is now to be rolled out nationally.
Discussions with the Home Office have also taken place on the anti-social misuse of fireworks relating to issues of enforcement arising from the current Private Member's Fireworks Bill.

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office regarding the implementation of the Explosives (Fireworks) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002. [115662]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department had discussions with the Northern Ireland Office regarding the Explosives (Fireworks) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 when the Fireworks Bill, which my right hon. Friend sponsors was being drafted.
In the light of the recent press notice issued by the Northern Ireland Office highlighting the success of the Northern Ireland Regulations, officials will be having further discussions particularly in relation to the lessons learned in Northern Ireland and what elements of the Northern Ireland legislation might be used in any fireworks regulations applying to the rest of the United Kingdom which may come out of the Fireworks Bill currently before Parliament.

3.23 pm
Mr. Tom Watson (West Bromwich, East): As the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler) has returned from his cold soup, .....
Local people always tell me on the doorstep, at my surgeries, when they stop me in the streets and in their letters and e-mails that they are sick and tired of graffiti, fly tipping, noise, vandalism, the misuse of fireworks and air guns, drunken and loutish behaviour, rubbish and litter on the streets, abandoned cars and neighbours from hell. The problem of noisy fireworks going off, all year round, at all times of the day and night, and the misuse of fireworks by those who are not even old enough to buy them legally seems to have got worse each autumn and winter.
This year things will be different in one important respect. The industry has come together to produce a voluntary code to ban the noisiest fireworks--air bombs--that drive all our constituents to despair. However, in future years, my constituents hope to have far fewer rude awakenings and sleepless nights, thanks to new legislation introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, South (Mr. Tynan); the Fireworks Bill is long overdue. I hope that the powers it gives the Government to regulate the noisiest fireworks and to ban their use late at night will be introduced as quickly as possible when those measures reach their completion.

5.46 pm
The Parliamentary Secretary, Privy Council Office (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): The right hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth) was courteous to give me a little more time than I expected.....
Several Members talked about the problem of crime and antisocial behaviour. The hon. Member for East Antrim (Mr. Beggs) discussed in detail the very good work that is being done to tackle crime in Northern Ireland. He said something very wise when he pointed out that the fear of crime, particularly among older people, is often a bigger problem than crime itself. My hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) welcomed a number of Government measures that have had a positive impact in his constituency. He expressed the view of those on both sides of the House when he hoped that the Fireworks Bill, which returns to the House on 13 June, has a successful passage and gets on the statute book. I hope that the right hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst does not use the same wrecking tactics that destroyed a previous Bill on fireworks, introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Linda Gilroy). Many people throughout the country will be extremely angry and disappointed if we do not get the Fireworks Bill on the statute book.