§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the figures of injuries caused by fireworks in 1989.
§ Mr. ForthAccording to reports from hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland, 800 people required treatment for injuries caused by fireworks during the three weeks leading up to 5 November 1989 and the few days after. This represents a very welcome decrease of nearly 9 per cent. over 1988. Particularly encouraging were the sharp falls in serious injuries and casual incidents in the street, where our emphasis on rigorously enforcing the existing law on selling fireworks to the under-16s or misusing them in public seems to be bearing fruit. Also welcome is the fall in sparkler injuries as these tend to affect very young children and was an area where we put a lot of effort during last year's successful firework safety campaign. However, there is no room for complacency and we will be looking for a further reduction in injuries this year. The detailed breakdown for 1989 and the preceding four years is as follows:
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Year 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 Total 800 877 960 846 968 2. 16–20 135 151 168 145 161 3. 13–15 152 166 220 207 271 4. Under 13 262 280 320 259 322