§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle the misuse of fireworks. [75342]
§ Mr. DenhamWe have been working closely with the Department of Trade and Industry to address the issue of fireworks safety and misuse, and to curb the problem of noise and nuisance they cause. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Trade and Industry (Melanie Johnson) launched this year's safety campaign on 15 October when she announced a range of measures, including proposals to ban air bombs.
We are encouraging trading standards officers, Health and Safety Executive and police forces to make full use of existing legislation. Throwing fireworks is one of the offences covered in the fixed penalty notice scheme being piloted in four police force areas. A 627W monitoring scheme has also been set up with nine CDRPs to focus on best practice and identify clearly the number and scale of the problems caused.