§ Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the figures for firework injuries in November 1980; and how they compare with the previous two years' figures.
§ Mrs. Sally OppenheimI am pleased to announce that following an even more extensive publicity campaign by my Department in 1980 the figures for firework injuries in Great Britain fell once again and are the lowest ever recorded.
In 1978, 953 persons required hospital treatment; in 1979 there were 745 and in 1980 the number fell to 555.
The number of more serious injuries fell by about 12 per cent. and minor injuries by 29 per cent. Injuries to children under 13 fell by almost a quarter.
It is worth noting that following an agreement with the manufacturers to reduce the explosive content in bangers, the number of injuries caused by bangers fell by nearly 30 per cent. The number of street incidents also fell significantly.
The detailed breakdown of the figures is as follows: 13W
Firework Injuries in England and Wales (4 week period in October-November) Year 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 Place of accident 1. Family or private party 163 233 345 272 273 2. Semi-public party (e.g. Scouts, cricket club) 47 3. Large public display 90 128 164 138 161 4. Casual incident in street etc. 177 277 336 248 154 5. Other place 31 49 49 51 75 6. Indoors* 17 18 18 — — Total 525 715 912 709 663 Type of firework 1. Banger 125 183 210 174 153 2. Rocket 64 64 111 82 85 3. Roman candle, coloured lire etc. 79 118 153 111 89 4. Home-made or extracted powder 18 33 39 18 17 5. Other proprietary fireworks 45 64 103 90 119 of which: 5.1 Flyabout† — — — 14 14 6. Sparklers‡ 30 47 70 65 72 7. Unspecified type 164 206 226 234 200 Severity of injury 1. Fatal injury — — — 1 — 2. Detained more than one night 44 47 62 65 47 3. Sufficient to cause absence from work or equivalent 80 91 117 88 112 4. Minor injury 380 545 694 523 473 5. Unspecified injury 21 32 39 32 31 Eye injuries (included in 2–5) 247 303 350 268 300 Age group of injured persons Over 20 94 139 161 141 126 16–20 65 78 68 38 47 13–15 140 203 216 185 143 Under 13 226 294 467 345 347 * Included in 'other place' prior to 1978. † Included in other proprietary fireworks from 1978. ‡ Included in other proprietary fireworks prior to 1978.