Fireworks: Sale and Use

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 8th November 2021 Westminster Hall

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I apologise, Mr Twigg, that I will not be able to stay for the very end of the debate, because I have to chair a Committee upstairs.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) on introducing the debate so well. Things have moved on from the time of my grandfather, who was an orphan in south London in the late 1890s. Just ahead of bonfire night, the superintendent of the orphanage went round with a bucket of fireworks, and each young lad was told to take a firework and to go out and light it. Can anyone imagine that happening today?

Distressingly, however, a very large number of people are injured each year because of the use of fireworks in domestic settings. Over 100 people go to hospital each year as a result of fireworks-related accidents; over 1,000 people are hurt, half of whom are children; there are over 40,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour related to fireworks; and 4,500 animals are injured and require veterinary support as a result of activities related to bonfire night.

I support the wording of the petition. I think there should be a ban—an outright ban—on the retail sale of fireworks, and that we should encourage licensed, organised displays. The point about such displays is that they are the best way to appreciate fireworks, while also raising a lot of money for charity. The thing about fireworks is that they are great if they can be seen and are well organised, but they are universally awful if they can only be heard. That is what happens with domestic firework displays. If the fireworks cannot be seen, they cannot be appreciated. It is animals in particular that suffer. Hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, horses and other animals every year are quaking in fear because of the loud bangs going off in the vicinity.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is rightly highlighting the awful impact that fireworks can have on pets and other animals. Will he join me in praising the work of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Dogs Trust—to name but two organisations—which have published their advice to pet owners on what they can do to safeguard their pets against fireworks?

[Mr Hollobone]

I am grateful for that intervention, because the RSPCA calculates that fireworks cause distress in 62% of dogs, 54% of cats and 55% of horses. The RSPCA estimates that 85% of people whom it has surveyed think that firework displays should be licensed and that the retail sale of fireworks should be abolished. The point is this. As human beings, we can all be frightened by noise, but we can rationalise it, understand it, and most of us can overcome it, but very, very few animals can do that, so if we want to stop hundreds of thousands of animals quaking in fear year in, year out, as a result of fireworks, let us ban the wretched things from retail sale and have organised, licensed public displays only.

--- Later in debate ---

[Paul Scully]

I was not going to. Let me tackle that issue now: I talked about the fact that legislation already exists to limit the noise levels of fireworks available to consumers to 120 dB, and we said that we were going to work on a report on that topic. I freely admit that that report has not been published: the testing work on the noise was delayed due to covid and adverse weather conditions impacting the laboratory’s ability to carry out the necessary testing. However, the result of that testing will be available in due course, and we will reflect on what is in that report as we proceed.

[Mr Hollobone]

I look forward to the publication of that report. If neighbours ramped up the stereo and pumped out music at 120 dB every 5 November, there are laws in place to deal with that. However, as far as the Government are concerned, it seems to be socially acceptable to let off fireworks of up to 120 dB without any legal recourse at all.

[Paul Scully]

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. I would differentiate between a constant noise of 120 dB in a confined area and the more individual use of fireworks in an outdoor area, but none the less I take his point.

The Government are also committed to giving the police what they need to support local communities, including through the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023 and investment in measures to make communities safer through the safer streets fund. That being said, I understand the challenges faced by enforcement authorities, and I assure Members that the Government are not complacent in this area.