October 1997 Report
The Government has announced new plans to stop the sale of
dangerous category 4 display fireworks Aerial Shells and Aerial
Maroons to the public following the fatalities of a Headmaster
David Hattersley and city man Steve Timcke, last November.
Unfortunately they have put in a series of "opt out" clauses in the new regulation which make their proposals meaningless. Anybody calling themselves a firework display operator even putting on one display a year for a school or for friends, as were the cases of the 2 men killed last year, would be exempted from the regulations. This would drive a coach and horses through the regulations. Although category 4 Fireworks will not be on sale in the shops they will be available from the suppliers which are listed in the yellow pages.
Last December the former Tory Consumer Affairs Minister, John Taylor, after seeing 3 fatalities, 2 of men from category 4 fireworks, one of a 10 year old child, when fireworks were put through his letter box did a little panicking and decided introduce a temporary ban on Aerial Shells and Aerial Maroons before New Years Eve. Some people had been seriously injured by these fireworks, and according to the DTI Consumer Safety People, there could have been some more fatalities and serious injuries on New Year's Eve. The ban was for a year. With the temporary ban came a series of opt out arrangements. (Regulation 5) Those who were exempted were,"persons in the business of supplying fireworks". This includes just about everybody, since anybody can now import the most dangerous fireworks without licenses from wherever.
The DTI admits that they have no control over the people who supply fireworks. As no special licence is required to put on a firework display or to purchase display fireworks, there are hundreds of people who are "once a year display people" who have no special training, but who will consider themselves to be "professional display organisers".
The so called new regulation will be sweet music to the "black marketeers" who have been buying and selling dangerous fireworks from car bootsales and street markets for years. Other exemptions refer to "Any person who requires fireworks for the purpose of testing the safety of ancillary products". Since the deregulation dating back to the late 1980s, the regulations allow any importer to test his own imports. "Any Local Authority its elected members and Officers". "Any UK Government Department". In fact just about anybody will be able to purchase dangerous fireworks in category 4 provided they say they are a display. Category 3 fireworks for displays some of which are as dangerous as category 4 will continue to be sold quite legitimately from retail outlets. It should be remembered that the 2 banned fireworks were moved from category 3 to 4 just a year ago.
Firework Injury Statistics for 1996
In 1996 2 adults and one child died and 1233 people were injured
by fireworks. 700 people required further and long term treatment
from the NHS at a cost of £25 million. There were 413 eye
injuries. Most of the injuries were caused to children but
amazingly 18 under 1 year old were injured, 16 of 2 year olds,
23 of 3 year olds, 19 of 4 year olds, and 30 5 year olds were
injured by fireworks.
Last June the new Minister for Consumer Affairs, Nigel Griffiths MP, announced his proposals for firework legislation. The age for buying fireworks would be raised from 16 to 18. We have been campaigning for this for 27 years, but at our meeting with the Consumer Affairs Minister, Nigel Griffiths last July, we told him that because of previous abuses with the sales regulations an ID card would be necessary with the age increase. This was rejected because of cost.
Bangers and Mini Rockets would be phased out as well as flyabout fireworks which were banned through a voluntary agreement during the last review 20 years ago. However Bangers which caused 273 injuries last year would continue on sale until December as a sop to the firework industry, because as the campaign was told there were 500,000 bangers still stored in Warehouses, and the industry would not be compensated to get rid of them. There will be howls of anguish in the country when parents realise that their child faces injury from Bangers and Mini Rockets. The official response from the DTI is that category 3 Bangers will be banned from October 1997 and Category 2 Bangers from December. It is Category 2 Bangers we use in the UK. According to Standard Fireworks Category 3 are used in Europe and have only recently arrived.
Meanwhile there was no mention of the licensing of firework displays, nor the setting up of a training scheme for display operators, which we have campaigned for these past 27 years. This time the whole of the firework industry and all the major safety and other organisations including ROSPA and the RSPCA, are speaking with one voice. The campaign asks how can their be a proper review of firework safety if the Government is not even looking at licensed firework displays and training.
In a debate in the house of Commons last November the present Consumer Affairs Minister, Nigel Griffiths then Shadow Consumer Affairs Minister made a strong case for licensing dangerous fireworks and firework displays. "We must ensure", he said "that those responsible for firework displays are properly trained and licensed, and that dangerous fireworks such as 'aerial shells' are not available to members of the public but are restricted to those who run professional firework displays". John Taylor the Tory Consumer Affairs Minister was asked why it was necessary to set up another review of the firework laws "when it was already known what needed to be done". There had been a review of the firework laws being carried out in parallel by the Health and Safety Commission. They were abolishing the antiquated 1875 Explosives Act, and the 2 sections dealing with fireworks at a suggestion made by us 2 years earlier. At a Press launch last June to announce his new proposals on changes to the regulations and voluntary measures the Consumer Minister announced a review of the law and all voluntary measures to take place for 3 months. The proposals that have come from that review are the same as those announced in June. Yet the campaign and the other major safety organisations including the emergency services, and the firework industry asked for no more than the minister demanded from his Tory counterpart in the House of Commons debate last November. The previous Minister had said, "There are no quick fixes". "Simply shuffling one kind of fireworks from Category 3 into Category 4 will not overcome all the problems that we face. I want to be thorough".
The National Campaign for Firework Safety want Aerial Shells and Aerial Maroons and all category 4 fireworks at the top end of the displays banned from sale from whatever source, until the Government has set up a licensing system so that they do not get into the hands of amateurs, and the people who claim they are professionals, but who are neither trained or licensed - the "once a year display organisers". We believe that emergency powers already exist in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 and 1988, the powers currently being used for increasing the age limit to 18. There are also powers held at the Health and Safety Commission. We say the Minister should check them out and use them immediately. There are some good training schemes around from people in the industry. At our meeting with Mr Griffiths last July we asked him to look at them and take on one training scheme and make it the requirement. If we make a start now we could have a scheme up and running within 3 months.
Conclusion
It all sounded remarkable last June when the Minister had his big
PR event. They were going to get rid of all dangerous fireworks,
a radical step until we read the small print. It would be
churlish not to congratulate the Minister for at least raising
the age for purchasing fireworks from 16 to 18, and taking the
great interest he has taken over the past 4 years, but it will
be to no avail if at the end of the day he does not listen and
act with decision. For instance most of us have asked for an ID
check with the age increase. This has been turned down on grounds
of cost. Mr Griffiths thought it a good idea to ask the industry
to pay, but was not willing to do the job himself.
When people go to their local shop in October they will see the same fireworks on sale as last year. They will cause a similar number of injuries as before being available without license. When people hear huge explosions in back gardens they will ask how category 4 fireworks, the most dangerous fireworks, were still available from suppliers to anybody without licensing or training. They will ask why the Government put in "opt outs" for the most dangerous fireworks allowing amateur display operators who claim they are professionals to continue buying them. It has been suggested to us by the DTI that a list would be drawn up of the eligible display operators. But the Government could not guarantee it because of the numbers if the questionable companies and suppliers. For instance the storage requirements for fireworks coming into this country are still questionable. "There is no requirement for Trading Standards Officers to inform either HSE or the DTI when they come across cases of illegal or unsafe fireworks". Said the previous Tory Minister, John Taylor in a letter to us on 30th January. There is to be a private members bill on new firework legislation, but sponsored by the government. However officials talk glibly about keeping its proposals to draft regulations just published. In other words, the minimum in case it is "talked out". The Government must name the powers they seek on licensing and training. There can be no more fudging. We have waited too long for legislation and training that will end the yearly horror that the public have to endure. The public made their feelings known last year when 3 people died in firework accidents. It is time for that public mobilisation to start once again.
Noel Tobin
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October 1997