§ 15. Shona McIsaacTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for reducing firework-related injuries. [95838]
§ Dr. HowellsThe comprehensive measures introduced under the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 are again being supplemented by a robust, targeted firework safety campaign. This approach has been shown to work. During the 1998 firework season, 831 people were treated in A&E departments compared to 908 in 1997 and 1233 in 1996.
The theme of this year's campaign, which I launched on 15 October, is that alcohol and fireworks do not mix. As part of the campaign, 1,000 information packs to help mount local safety campaigns have been distributed to trading standards, fire brigades, environmental health officers and for the first time, police forces.