Fireworks: Public Sales

Alex Chalk Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2018 Westminster Hall

[Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to be able to say a few words in this debate. The petition is quite stark—it proposes banning the sale of fireworks to the public and limiting displays to licensed venues. There is no doubt that that would mark a significant departure. Wherever one stands in this debate, it is important to recognise that that is potentially quite a draconian step. Parliament should think very carefully before infringing individual liberties excessively.

One cannot take that argument to the extreme—we infringe liberty for perfectly good public policy reasons all the time—but we must recognise that we have to strike a balance between the liberty of the individual and social welfare. It is important to recognise that, were we to follow through entirely with what the petition proposes, we would in effect outlaw individuals having small fireworks displays in their back garden and so on. It is important also to note that such individuals may not have the money to go to a public display. Be that as it may, there is concern that things have moved on to the extent that that balance is now being looked at slightly differently. Let me give an indication of that.

I suggested on Facebook that I would speak in this debate, and I invited people to engage with me. I was astonished by the level of interaction by people in Cheltenham. They argued on both sides of the debate, but one thing shone out. One person suggested that

“firework usage has got completely out of control.”

Someone else indicated that many fireworks were let off in the street, particularly in the town centre, and another person pointed out that they were let off over an extended period. In other words, something appears to have changed in where and the extent to which fireworks are used. That may cause us to look again at the balance we need to strike between individual freedoms and the rights of the wider public.

Let me deal first with the point about where fireworks are let off. As I indicated, someone wrote that they were let off in the town centre. Another person wrote on Facebook:

“In Rowanfield people let off fireworks at all hours of the day and night (several times we had them go off in the middle of the night repeatedly, right above our house). I think there are a few who let the side down but unfortunately it means that I am FOR banning the sale of fireworks to the public. People should be encouraged to go to official events instead.”

Right there we have an individual saying the balance needs to be struck differently. Another person wrote that fireworks had dented the roof of his car. I recognise that those may be the actions of an idiotic few, but there seems to be little doubt that they are growing in number, and that is having a significant impact. The second point, about fireworks being let off over an extended period, has been made already.

The third issue is the impact of fireworks, which other hon. Members touched on. Someone wrote:

“As the owner of four rescue dogs, fireworks are a huge problem.”

We have an animal rescue shelter in Cheltenham, and there are a huge number of rescue dogs in the town.

Another piece of feedback particularly resonated with me. Someone wrote:

“As the wife of a veteran, wholeheartedly support this.”

We must recognise that, increasingly, we have people in our society who may be distressed by fireworks. That ought to be taken into account.

Although I recognise that the Government will have to consider this issue, I also recognise that we need to strike a balance. We should proceed with care. It is not enough—he says, speaking against his own argument—simply to act on the basis of anecdote. If the Government are to act, we have to ensure that there is proper evidence. It is perhaps inevitable that there is more feedback around the firework period. We need a scientific process to establish whether that is simply a spike or a recognised long-term issue—we need an empirically based assessment of whether the problem has got worse.

I invite the Government to look at proceeding incrementally with a calibrated response. They might want to consider whether there are other proportionate measures to address the problem; other hon. Members mentioned some. Should we increase the age at which people can purchase fireworks? It is already 18, but is there a case for increasing it still further? Is there also a case for restricting the use of fireworks—not just their purchase—to certain times of year?

In a free society, we in Parliament should be slow to restrict individual liberties, particularly where there might be an impact on individuals who are not able to attend other fireworks displays, but we should look at the issue none the less. There is a huge number of excellent organised displays in Cheltenham. Other hon. Members mentioned displays in their constituencies. We have Cheltenham Round Table fireworks at the racecourse, which attracts 10,000 people and raises money for the Sue Ryder hospice in Leckhampton and so on. Fairview fireworks party at Cheltenham cricket club raises money for St Vincent’s and St George’s Association. A number of people wrote to say that we should encourage people to attend those displays, so as to put more money in the pockets of local charities that do such invaluable work. That is a powerful argument, which ought to be weighed in the mix.

I invite the Government to recognise that there is a problem, establish its scale on the basis of empirical evidence and consider incremental, proportionate steps to address the problem as they find it to be. If, all those things having been done, there remains a growing issue in our society, the Government will have to look with great care at imposing the kinds of measure set out in the petition. It is certainly my experience that this problem cannot be ignored.