HC Deb 05 June 1997 vol 295 cc536-7
6. Mr. Burden

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on her Department's review of firework safety regulations. [660]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Nigel Griffiths)

I plan to introduce a number of new controls on fireworks. Draft regulations will be issued later this month. The proposals include statutory measures and I am confident that many of them will enjoy the support of safety bodies and of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mr. Burden

I welcome my hon. Friend to his new role and pay tribute to the work on firework safety that he did in opposition. We welcome a Government who put public safety first in these matters. Will my hon. Friend address the issue of enforcement as there is evidence that some firms, albeit a minority, may be seeking to get round the existing regulations?

Mr. Griffiths

My hon. Friend fought tirelessly for a ban on aerial shells and other dangerous fireworks, and we plan to ensure that those are kept out of the hands of the public. Anyone seeking to get round the prohibition by using bogus legal arguments will be the subject of swift action by trading standards officers.

Mr. Garnier

What was the value of fireworks imported from China last year?

Mr. Griffiths

I do not have the figures, but I will happily let the hon. Gentleman have them. The history of the Conservative Government in limiting dangerous fireworks coming into this country was woeful. Through the measures that I have outlined, which will go out for consultation shortly, we intend to tackle as effectively as we can the terrible problems that fireworks have caused, and which have resulted in a 50 per cent. increase in the number of injuries over the past five or six years.

Mr. Heppell

Will my hon. Friend keep in mind the tragic death of 10-year-old Dale Mitchell in my constituency, and remember that the age at which people can buy fireworks should be reconsidered, which is one of the things that the Mitchell family wants?

Mr. Griffiths

I can assure my hon. Friend that we shall consider that. I well remember joining him to present a 17,000-name petition to protest about the weak fireworks regulations. The efforts that he put into the fireworks safety campaign will bear fruit on bonfire night this year, and I pay tribute to him.

Rev. Martin Smyth

The Government have come in with a bang and I welcome Ministers to the Front Bench. Despite the Minister's assurance that he will tighten up on regulations, is he satisfied—given the role of Chinese crackers and other fireworks—that the regulations are being properly enforced?

Mr. Griffiths

The hon. Gentleman knows exactly what he is talking about. It is important that the fireworks that he mentions should be rigorously controlled. I am confident that the consultation document will specifically consider those fireworks. Trading standards and other enforcement officers in tandem must ensure that the law is upheld and that the future tougher regulations bring the real benefits that all hon. Members seek.