§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what measures she has taken to ensure that fireworks are sold only close to specific dates such as 5 November and 31 December; [21062]
(2)what recent guidelines she has provided retailers selling fireworks; [21061]
(3)how many (a) children and (b) adults were injured by fireworks in (i) 1995 and (ii) 2001 to date; [21303]
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§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were injured by fireworks in(a) the UK, (b) the north-east and (c) south Tyneside in each year since 1997. [20975]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe powers available under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 allow for regulations to be made that address the intrinsic safety of goods but do not allow for the periods of sale to be regulated. We have, therefore, entered into a voluntary agreement with the industry that fireworks should only be made available for general retail sale for a period of three weeks around the 5 November and for a similar period around new year.
Our fireworks Safety Toolkit includes advice to retailers as to their responsibilities under the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997, the voluntary agreement on the period of sale and best safety practice.
Data on firework injuries for this year (2001) are still being collated, therefore the latest data available are for 2000. Firework injuries in 1995 and 2000 are as follows:
- In 1995: Children (under 18 years) 929, adults 556, not specified 45;
- In 2000: Children (under 18 years) 557, adults 415.
We collect data from accident and emergency departments across Great Britain of accidents involving fireworks over a four week period around 5 November. We do not have separate data for the north-east or south Tyneside. The nearest we can provide is as follows:
1997 1998 1999 2000 Great Britain 908 831 1,056 972 Northern and Yorkshire Region 143 144 167 142 South Tyneside Healthcare NHS Trust 3 5 2 3