Fireworks: Sale and Use

Ruth Cadbury Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for introducing this very important debate, and I thank all those who organised the petitions, especially my constituents who signed one or both.

In Hounslow, as in many areas represented by Members here, we have almost continuous fireworks through Diwali, bonfire night and the birthday of Guru Nanak, as well as new year’s eve nowadays, which I do not think used to happen. On new year’s eve, the fireworks can last for 24 hours, as local people who hail from different parts of the world let them off at the same time as their family and friends back home, or just because they feel like it. There is also the danger of exploding fireworks. I have a relative who, as a child, lost her eye when the kids were messing around. One new year’s eve, when we were at a party in our neighbour’s house, suddenly all the children were no longer in the back room watching films—it was suspiciously quiet. They were in the road, egging on a group of very drunk young men who were letting off fireworks with no safety measures whatsoever. Yet again this year, I have had a string of emails over the autumn from concerned constituents who almost certainly signed these petitions.

As Members have said, and as others will no doubt say for the rest of the debate, a common complaint is fireworks being let off well after midnight, sometimes up to 3 am, disturbing families and those doing shift work. People do not object to public displays at a social time, but they do not want them in the middle of the night. The impact on animals is increasingly cited by constituents, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has stated:

“There is increasing evidence that fireworks can have negative effects on the behaviour and wellbeing of animals.”

Constituents cite the increasing number of days on which late-night and early-morning displays happen over a number of weeks from October through to the new year.

I agree with others that the legislation needs updating for our safety, for our ability to get a reasonable night’s sleep, and for the wellbeing of our pets and wild animals, so I welcome the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). Legislation has not been updated for 20 years, but, as other Members have said, fireworks being bought in shops are far louder and more powerful than they were in the past.

The current legislation says that fireworks can be bought from unlicensed traders for Chinese new year, Diwali, bonfire night and new year, but not at other times. Why the religious discrimination in favour of some and not others? How does that work in a highly diverse constituency such as mine, where people celebrate, often with fireworks, on many days, anniversaries and other religious festivals? Sometimes, they might just be celebrating grandad’s birthday. Animals do not know whether it is a religious holiday or grandad’s birthday; they are equally traumatised whatever the occasion, so would it not be fair if there were a level playing field, with organised, licensed displays and quieter, safer fireworks?

[Alex Mayer (Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard) (Lab)]

I want to draw attention to another petition handed into Downing Street recently, which had 1.1 million signatures. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be helpful to encourage manufacturers to design and produce quieter fireworks?

[Ruth Cadbury]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We know that it is possible to buy bright, colourful, exciting fireworks that do not make nearly so much noise, and some jurisdictions already legislate for that.

During the firework season, our hospitals work even harder than ever, treating what are too often life-changing injuries. Local authorities do not have the resources to enforce the 11 pm to 7 am legislation, so, in my experience, that aspect of the law is not worth the paper it is written on.

I support restricting the use of fireworks in some way. Scotland allows local councils to designate firework-free zones in areas where fireworks are likely to have a greater impact on animals, the environment and vulnerable people. As has been mentioned, we could have a decibel limit, as is the case in New Zealand, where the sound level has been brought down from 120 dB to 90 dB. We should certainly address who can sell fireworks and in what circumstances. When I was very young, I was working for a community organisation and I was sent to buy the fireworks for the bonfire night display that we were organising. I found the address of the seller—a flat high up in a tower block in Camden, packed from floor to ceiling with boxes and boxes of fireworks. If that is not a justification for licensing sellers, I do not know what is.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Arthur]

I support the police, both north and south of the border, having more resources. I am one of those people who is quite happy to pose next to the police at a community event and share those pictures on my Facebook page, but the price I pay for that is to support them in their calls. What resources do they need to deal with fireworks? Do they need helicopters to see where they are being launched from? We need to tackle the import and sale of these devices, and we have to be honest about that.

The police officer was clear with me that more could be done to restrict the import and sale of fireworks, which was the point I just made, and I think we have to listen to the police on this issue. The chaos in my constituency and what I hear from police officers is why I am here today. We have known that fireworks are dangerous all my life. I can remember warnings on “Blue Peter”, when we used to get told to keep our fireworks in metal biscuit tins—remember those dangerous days? We knew back then about the impact of fireworks on animals too. At this point, I have to mention my cat, Millie—other people have mentioned dogs, but there have been no cats yet. Since then, fireworks have only got bigger and their misuse has become an increasingly significant driver of antisocial behaviour.

The British Fireworks Association wrote to me—I am sure it wrote to others—to say that fireworks-related injuries account for less than 0.03% of all A&E attendances.

[Ruth Cadbury]

I, too, read the briefing from the British Fireworks Association, and what concerned me was that it seemed to underemphasise the damage being caused by providing the tiny percentage of people who are injured. Does my hon. Friend agree that that ignores the fear, terror and trauma of animals and people, which Members across the Chamber have been addressing in this good debate?

[Dr Arthur]

Absolutely. We cannot reduce the issue to numbers; it is about the human impact. There are 25 million attendances at A&E every year, so that figure of 0.03% is 7,500 people. That is incredible. The British Fireworks Association has a list of actions that it thinks the Government could pursue, and we should engage on that. These are difficult times for Government finances, so why not fund some of those measures via a levy on firework sales?

I apologise to Alan Smith for talking about this, but a video was shared locally of a firework being put through someone’s letterbox that could have started a fire in that house. I checked the data, and between 2010 and 2023 there were 291 non-fatal firework-related casualties due to fires, and seven fatalities. Earlier, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) compared that number with the number of injuries resulting from cows. We are discussing fireworks, not cows. It is time to act and place tighter controls on the sale and import of fireworks. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.