§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many illegal fireworks were seized in(a) 2003 and (b) the past five years. [154887]
§ Mr. Sutcliffe[holding answer 23 February 2004]The question is taken to refer to three areas where fireworks could be illegal, those are:(a) fireworks seized that do not comply with the British Standards (BS 7114); (b)those seized at port by Customs and Excise; and, (c) those found to be illegally stored (in unregistered premises).
With regard to (a), such information is not centrally available from Trading Standards Departments.
With regard to (b), Customs and Excise have seized the amounts set out in the following table. The Figures provided are for a three year period—as information prior to April 2000 is not available.
414W
Individual fireworks
Boxes of fireworks
April 2000 to March 2001 2,681 8 April 2001 to March 2002 142 5 April 2002 to March 2003 702 27 March 2003 to December 2003 17,872 24 The large number of fireworks seized last year can be put down to a single seizure of approx 3.5 tons (17.4000 individual fireworks) which were detected upon entry into the UK.
The figures compiled by Customs and Excise also include flares.
Finally, with regard to (c), I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 10 November 2003, Official Report, column 146W.