§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will report on the operation of the Fireworks Act 1976 and the accompanying measures; what additional steps he is now taking to reduce further firework accidents and to publicise the dangers involved in using fireworks; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Fraser:Reports received by my Department during and after last year's Guy Fawkes season indicated few instances of fireworks being sold to children under 16, a marked decrease in the letting off of fireworks in the street and wide observance of the voluntary agreement by the retail trade to limit the period during which fireworks are on sale. Accidents last year were the lowest on record.
No additional steps to those taken following the comprehensive review of fireworks safety in 1975 are at present contemplated. Under the voluntary agreement then reached with the manufacturers, the quantity of bangers produced this year is more than 50 per cent less than in 1975. My Department has again been active in promoting publicity about the safe use of fireworks. It has distributed a poster for display in shops, and a revised version of the leaflet "Guidance on Organised Firework Displays", both of which are available free of charge from all local authorities. In addition, it has sponsored recorded safety messages for radio broadcasts, and has produced, through the Central Office of Information, a short film on the safe handling of sparklers to supplement the other safety films available for showing on television. A financial contribution has 704W been made towards the production of a school "firework safety pack" sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Firework Makers' Guild.