BBC NEWS | Talking Point | Forum | Six Forum: Firework Safety

They're bigger, louder and some critics say more dangerous than ever: fireworks.

People concerned about safety are claiming that the legislation governing the sale of fireworks needs to be tightened. 200,000 people have signed a petition to that effect.

The legislative framework for the sale of fireworks is currently controlled by the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 and the Explosives Acts of 1875 and 1923.

Police and others have stated that the regulations governing the manufacture, storage and retail sale of fireworks are in desperate need of review.

At this time, anyone can apply for registration to allow them to sell fireworks in the United Kingdom. There are no provisions for the refusal or revocation of an application which remains valid for 12 months. And there is no vetting of the sellers to ensure that those applying for a certificate to sell fireworks are of 'good character'.

Through out the country, there are many cases where fireworks are set off indiscriminately or thrown at people. And campaigners for tighter legislation on firework sales complain that the firework 'season' now runs from September through December.

Barry Gardiner MP says this is a huge issue for constituency MPs. Manisha Tank put your questions to Mr Gardiner in a live Six O'Clock News forum.

Transcript

Manisha Tank:
Hello, it's the Six Forum. I'm Manisha Tank and welcome to the programme. Fireworks have sparked a debate over safety. They're getting bigger, they're getting louder and they're even getting more dangerous.

Two hundred thousand people have signed a petition claiming legislation over fireworks and how they're sold needs to be tightened. But where to begin; is it the fireworks themselves or is it the people that sell them? Barry Gardiner MP is leading the charge for new tighter rules and he's here to address your queries.

We've had an e-mail from R.M.Woolley, Leeds, England:I passed a local shop two nights ago and witnessed several youths setting off fireworks in the store. People were running out holding their ears in pain, and screaming in fear. Is this not tantamount to terror? Perhaps the private sale of explosives should be made illegal?

Barry Gardiner:
That's why I've introduced the Bill to make sure that it does get properly regulated and controlled.

Manisha Tank:
Dave, Halifax, England: Why isn't there a law that only allows the retail sale of fireworks for the week preceding bonfire night?

Barry Gardiner:
There was supposed to be a voluntary code between the manufacturers and retailers that simply said they would only be sold for about a three-week period around Guy Fawkes and Diwali time. I'm afraid that what happened was the Millennium rather drove a coach and horses through that because they were then able to extend that through to the New Year.

But now, as you rightly say, people are selling fireworks from September right through to then end of January and it's making people's lives a complete misery. That's why we have to get action to control the times of the year that people are allowed to set fireworks off and the times of day and night because it goes on not just every day for three or four months but it goes on until one or two in the morning as well and that's not acceptable.

Manisha Tank:
J Burke, Harrogate, N.Yorks: What is the best European legislation on fireworks? Do other countries have the same problems with hooligans misusing fireworks or unlicensed displays at the wrong times of the year the way we do here in the UK?

Barry Gardiner:
Very good question. The answer to that is that I haven't studied all the different legislations that apply. What I can say is that in Northern Ireland quite recently the Government once again banned fireworks there because some of the explosives were being used by some of the paramilitary groups to use in pipe bombs and so on. That was done very simply overnight and it hasn't caused a great outcry there. So I think we can go to far stricter controls that makes it clear that people can't sell these at any time of day or night and that their usage must be very strictly regulated.

Manisha Tank:
Simon Rockman, London: We don't need a nanny state. Of course fireworks are dangerous - so is horse-riding, mountain-climbing and parachuting. It's all a matter of personal responsibility.

Barry Gardiner:
That is a very good point. What I would say to him is that what we're trying to do here is not to stop people buying fireworks and not to stop them enjoying them. There are some people who would like to do that but I'm not one of them.

I think people should be able to purchase fireworks but then it isn't just a matter of nanny stating them, it's a matter of them saying, quite rightly, they must be responsible in the way in which they use them. That means being responsible not only for not using them to injure children or other people or animals but also for not setting them off at all times of day and night and not having it as a constantly barrage for months on end.

I am afraid that is what people are suffering. The SSPCA in Scotland did a very good survey last year of vets and they found the number of animals that been affected - had to pay a visit to the vet as a result of fireworks - was quite enormous, something like 80,000 separate visits.

Now the RSPCA, I hope, will be doing that in England this coming year. But you get a sense of the scale of injury, damage and violence that's being done to animals and the disruption that there is to elderly people who are sitting in fear in their own homes because fireworks get put through the letterbox. It isn't acceptable, people must use them responsibly and we must regulate it so that they do.

Manisha Tank:
M Collinson, Leeds, UK: What limits are there on quantities of fireworks that may be stored by a private individual?

Barry Gardiner:
It's quite staggering - I think I am right in saying that the limit is 5 tons of fireworks can be stored by a private individual for up to 14 days without having a licence. I did actually use the figure in a speech in the House that I gave earlier in the year. I think it was 5 tons but at the back of mind I am actually wondering whether it might have 20! But in any event, what you can see is that it is wholly unacceptable that any individual should be able to store that amount of explosives without having a licence to do so.

Manisha Tank:
You say 5 tons for 14 days - how on earth did that legislation come about in the first place?

Barry Gardiner:
Well the reason it came about in the first place was because it dated from 1872 - it was certainly some time back there. We're talking about legislation that is well over 100 years old.

Manisha Tank:
Dave, Greater Manchester, UK: At what point does a "harmless" firework become a dangerous explosive device? Do you believe many of the fireworks now on sale have passed that point and should be treated accordingly?

Barry Gardiner:
I think there are many fireworks which, if they're used improperly, of course they can be dangerous and indeed some of the smallest fireworks can be extremely dangerous if they're used improperly.

I would like to see a noise limitation put on fireworks because I think one of the greatest problems for people, in terms of the quality of life and the way in which they suffer, is that the noise the fireworks make is so great. But yes, fireworks can be tremendously dangerous, they can cause blindness, they can cause scarring and burning and of course each year they cause death as well.

So that is a matter very much of the way in which they are used. But we have to get the larger fireworks, the larger end of the scale down and certainly the larger noise levels we have to reduce as well.

Manisha Tank:
We've had an e-mail in from Nigel Hatfield, Colchester, UK: Private firework displays should be discouraged not encouraged because people simply disregard basic safety. There are children lighting these fireworks too close to them. There should be emphasis on public displays and someone in your position, you can encourage that - councils around the country and local MPs should be getting people to do exactly that.

Barry Gardiner:
He is absolutely right. What my Bill does is it says that if you are going to be displaying fireworks to other people - to the public - then you should have a licence - you need to be licensed to organise a public display. So I'm trying to make sure that the legislation is brought in that will licence pyro-technicians.

But yes, we must move to public displays because they are the safer way of doing things where the public can be kept back behind barriers and still enjoy fireworks - nobody wants to stop the enjoyment. What we want to do is to make them safe and to regulate them so they are not a nightly nuisance for months on end.

Manisha Tank:
Paula Davis, Farnham, Surrey: We really believe that if they wish to use them year round then noiseless fireworks could be sold. It is a senseless crime to put animals and people through this misery.

Is there such a thing as noiseless fireworks?

Barry Gardiner:
The manufacturers and I have now been discussing that and they are trying to reduce the noise level of fireworks that are in circulation. I hope next year we will see a difference there. But I don't just want this to be voluntary by the manufacturers, I want this to be by legislation.

I would urge all of the people who are concerned this to write to me at the House of Commons to add their weight to the petition. As you said at the beginning of the programme, there are already up to 200,000 people who have written in on this. I'd like to take a quarter of a million signatures with me to Downing Street when I go there on the 16th October.


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