Fireworks

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Westminster Hall

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Nuttall. I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Northampton South (David Mackintosh) and the Petitions Committee on providing this valuable debate. I also congratulate the people who initiated and signed the petition.

It is 12 years since the existing legislation was introduced in 2004, so it is right that we look at it again and consider whether it is adequate. We also need to see whether things are being monitored correctly, because it is not only about having the legislation but about what we do with it, and adequate monitoring and enforcement are key. As many Members have said, in the end, the debate is about balance. As someone who was injured by a firework at the age of four and still bears the scar—do not worry, I am not going to display it—I am very much aware of the dangers of fireworks to human beings. I do not think we considered pets enough in my youth, and it is a positive sign that we are now considering how livestock and pets are affected by fireworks. It used to be all about the terrible tragedies. As my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), who has vast experience of the fire service, knows, they were all that became news at the time. Animals were never mentioned, so we have made progress.

It would be far too simple to see this debate as a clash between two opposing forces. On the one hand, the animal welfare charities bring to our attention the effects of noisy firework on livestock and domestic pets. It is indisputable that loud bangs and bright lights can cause distress to animals. I have had to sit in a garage with my cats for long periods, because it happens not just on firework night but in the period leading up to it and at other times. On the other hand, the fireworks industry, equally understandably, points to the potential loss of jobs if there were further restriction, and to the public’s enjoyment of firework displays. All of us, with the honourable exception of the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes), enjoy firework displays. Although I was injured by a firework, even I watch them at a very, very safe distance.

Both sides have a point. The real questions are, where do we draw the line, and are the laws that are in place enforced sufficiently? Nobody wants a free-for-all in the sale of fireworks, or to go back to the situation where they were on sale for months in supermarkets. We need to look at whether the regulations are sufficient and sufficiently enforced. The Fireworks Regulations 2004 were made under the Fireworks Act 2003, which was a private Member’s Bill—that shows that private Members’ Bills have an effect in this place. The previous Labour Government supported it, and it had cross-party support. We worked together for the good of people and animals. The purpose of the Act was explicitly to stem the trend of year-round fireworks, which concerned the RSPCA and others at the time.

Fireworks can be sold to the public by unlicensed traders, including supermarkets, only for Chinese new year and the preceding three days, Diwali and the preceding three days, the bonfire night period—although if it lasts from 15 October to 10 November, I think that is a very long period—and new year celebrations from 26 to 31 December. That is 41 days in total. Perhaps we should look at the length of time for which they can be sold for bonfire night. As far as I am concerned, they should be sold for 5 November and perhaps the Saturdays around that date, although my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse made a good point: how do we know that people are not stockpiling fireworks and keeping them for other dates?

Suppliers that want to sell fireworks outside the traditional periods have to be licensed by local authorities, which is pretty costly and requires them to comply with stringent conditions. Under the 2004 regulations, it is an offence to use fireworks outside the traditional periods after 11 pm and before 7 am without permission. As my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd South (Susan Elan Jones) asked, how difficult is it to enforce those regulations? Do the police go out if they hear fireworks? What monitoring is done of whether action is taken in areas where the rules are abused? A number of hon. Members mentioned the noise level allowed, which is 120 dB for home fireworks. Will the Government consider that noise level and its effect on animals? Has more research been done? Is the level being continuously monitored?

I have concerns about trading standards organisations’ monitoring of firework sales. We know that trading standards departments are being cut throughout the country, and that they are overworked at the moment. Are they monitoring the illegal sale of fireworks? Do they have the resources to do so at the moment? We need to raise that concern.

The use of fireworks has changed for the better since I was younger. I remember fireworks being available far more widely. They were often bought by what we might call a hooligan element. Bangers were regularly thrown at cars, and there were constant reports of fireworks being tied to cats’ tails. People seemed to have less respect for fireworks in those days. I am pleased that the education appears to be working. The television news used to be full of horrendous incidents, and there were not many reports about pets, apart from the more horrific tales. I am pleased that public concern has been raised, but I would like there to be more education. Perhaps, as my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd South said, people should contact their neighbours if they are going to have a display in their back garden. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Angela Smith): I would like public displays to be much better promoted, although with adequate notice so that people can keep their pets in. Public displays, rather than back garden displays—which are often, frankly, very disappointing and expensive—should be the norm for fireworks.

It is not just the 2004 regulations that protect us from firework misuse. The Explosives Regulations 2014 deal with the storage of fireworks and explosives, and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 deal with the safety of fireworks as a consumer product. We need to look at whether trading standards organisations have enough resources to deal with the illegal trade in fireworks. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires that local authorities’ environmental health officers take “all reasonable steps” to investigate complaints about excessive noise. Have there been any prosecutions for the use of fireworks? Is that monitored? Are the statistics looked at?

To return to the petition, of course animals need to be protected. They do not like fireworks, there is no doubt about that. There is animal protection legislation—under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to animals. There is advice and guidance on the safe use of fireworks on the “Safer Fireworks” website, but it should be better promoted and the information should be strengthened. Perhaps people can be given advice if they really feel it is necessary to have a display in their back garden and want to spend their money on fireworks that fizzle out so quickly. Perhaps they can be asked to inform their neighbours if they have pets.

It is important that the misuse of fireworks is kept to a minimum and that they are prevented from being a nuisance and a danger to people and animals. We have a lot of legislation, but we need to ensure that it is monitored and enforced and look at whether the penalties are set at the right level. If that is combined with a stronger public information campaign, maybe, just maybe, we will ensure that people enjoy fireworks—as most people do—responsibly and safely without instilling fear and distress in animals.