Fireworks Bill

Paula Barker Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

It is a pleasure to bring the Bill to the House. We all know that our constituents, whether we live in a town, city or village, are fed up with nuisance loud fireworks. This is no longer something that just happens once or twice a year; it plagues our constituents’ nights almost every night, particularly in places like Luton North. I want to thank the co-sponsors of the Bill, my hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) and for Newport East (Jessica Morden), and another big supporter of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed). We have had wide support for the Bill, because we know the impact this issue has on people’s lives.

I have heard about this issue consistently from hundreds of constituents across Luton North over the past five years. To put it into context, it does not just affect people with pets or the elderly. I was at Parklea primary school last week and spoke to the students. Every single one of them said that they had been kept up by fireworks, so it is having a detrimental impact not just on our environment or mental health, but on education. Groups across Luton North and the country reported that last year was possibly the worst for fireworks in terms of loudness, frequency and antisocial use. In some communities, they were used almost as a weapon.

What is the problem? Under current laws, any adult is able to purchase fireworks that can make noise of up to 120 decibels. I am loud, but that is as loud as a rock concert, and any member of the public can go ahead and buy something that loud.

[Paula Barker (Liverpool Wavertree) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a wonderful start to her speech. I congratulate her on a second bite of the cherry, as this is her second time with this private Member’s Bill. She talks about education and loudness. Does she agree that there is a particularly bad and detrimental impact on those suffering from neurodiverse conditions?

[Sarah Owen]

Absolutely. I have parents with children with special educational needs. It is particularly distressing in the middle of the night for non-verbal autistic children and young people, and calming down loved ones is really difficult. They say that the sporadic nature of the fireworks causes distress: they cannot plan in advance, and cannot prepare young and neurodiverse people for a barrage of noise.