Written evidence submitted by Julie Doorne (FWS0145) in a personal capacity.
In response to the Petitions Committee Inquiry regarding Fireworks
26.03.2019
Summary
Noise levels. For the many people the levels are much too high, it is a problem and extremely unfair, when even in your own home you cannot escape the noise. For the police it is impossible to know if the horribly loud fireworks are stolen retailer/display fireworks or illegal imports or if they are cat 2 or 3 fireworks just too close to the complainant.
Bringing a private court case is beyond the means of most people. The police, even if they arrive, are not qualified to diagnose ‘distress’ or to decide whether the ‘distress’ was necessary or not?
to others, fireworks are used next to animals, regardless of ‘advice’ from government and netmums.
Appropriate balance
365 days a year, all day, every day, is NOT a balance. In the name of a good time and enjoyment of fireworks for some, how much of a thoroughly bad time are you prepared to be inflicted on others? Public mental health has not been considered in any way. Given the current restrictions permit the use of fireworks 365 days a year, consideration must be given to the number of people who are adversely affected with mental health or physical health issues and pet owners. 1 in 6 people are believed to suffer from mental health issues in the UK, many of whom will be severely affected by the year-round random use of fireworks, as well as their families and friends who are also witness to the distress caused. This adds a further unnecessary burden to our mental health/social care as a single incident can create the need for days or even weeks of additional support being required.
It has never been calculated how many vulnerable people, in their own homes, have an adverse reaction to the noise, flashes, smell or smoke from fireworks. We do know that 44% of homes currently own household pets, many of which suffer from anxiety and distress due to firework explosions in proximity. Many are family homes, and it is very distressing for all members of the families to see loved pets suffering due to even a single firework. It is my belief that the right balance has yet to be reached, and that further information must be sought to ensure that vulnerable groups in society and animals/wildlife are adequately protected, even if it seems they are in a minority – the current legislation does not protect these groups in any way, given that fireworks are permitted on any day of the year.
Explosive strength
We have already seen that fireworks can be used together to increase their effects. I don’t believe that the public (in this day and age) should have unnecessary access to any explosives. Necessary would include farmers (bird scarers) and flares for rescue purposes, these would just need to be reclassified.
Current restrictions
In reality, there are no restrictions on public sale and use. Fireworks can be bought online 365 days a year and they can be used 365 days a year. I don’t believe 365/0 is a balance.
A more reasonable balance between those who enjoy fireworks, and those that are negatively affected by them must be found.
Noise levels
The volume and noise of fireworks depends entirely on the surroundings. What sounds reasonable in an open space may be unbearable in a garden surrounded by other houses, where the sound bounces off the buildings.
Even the weather makes a difference, if it is wet or dry, the cloud cover and all the variables.
The categories of fireworks are not comparable with the noise levels as you would imagine, some on the loudest fireworks are category 2 whistling or crackling fountains. So even if the public thought that lower category would be less intrusive, they may not be.
I have seen it suggested, on a public forum, by a pyrotechnic expert, in order to get louder than 120 Db, all you have to do is “buy multiples of the loudest fireworks and let them all off together, then you will have your very own mascletada,” (a pyrotechnic event characterized by the achievement of a noisy and rhythmic composition that features, particularly during daytime, in street festivities)
Existing law enforcement
Existing laws are not able to be enforced with cut backs in public services. John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Policing has been stripped to the bone…” The police are not able to deal with knife crime, fireworks, although still weapons, come very low on their agenda. EVEN IF they had manpower to get to the incident it would be all over by the time they arrived. Trading standards cuts means the same, lack of resources means inspections not taking place as often as they should, they would find that fireworks are stored in unsafe containers that are broken into and stock stolen.
Quote from a UKFR (UK firework retailers) sponsor …….“The current problem is TS don't have the resources to enforce the current laws. Kitchen sellers "aren't worth the hassle" is what I was told...”
It would be much easier for the public to see and report illegal use/fireworks if there were no private use to hide behind. The public would be aware that private firework use was illegal and report to authorities, with a clearer knowledge of where the fireworks were coming from. The police would also find users more easily.
Illegal/imported/stolen fireworks would be much easier to spot if not hidden by legal firework use.
How can this be done differently?
Ban public firework sales, use and ownership. Any illegal use by the public would be easy to spot and reported. You cannot have a secret firework party. Most people are law-abiding and would not buy black market (if in fact there was one) and therefore go to organized displays. Before the complete ban in Australia, they found that the black market was actually supplied by the licenced retailers whose fireworks were resold to the black market by their own legal buyers. This could be prevented by bar coding fireworks to make a digital paper trail. AND AGAIN, I say, you cannot have a secret firework party.
Public v Private displays.
According to the BFA representative on radio today, “the enjoyment is the physical act of setting fireworks off yourself”. I find this disturbing and certainly not a reason to keep the status quo.
There can be very few reasons not to attend a display if you are keen to see fireworks.
Evidence of danger
There are hardly any stats regarding public fireworks display incidents. The NHS hospital admission stats are only half the story, the number of injuries and A&E attendances has been rising year on year, particularly amongst younger people. Many injuries and most mental health issues caused by fireworks are treated either within the home or by GP’s and so are not captured in statistics. In addition, many A&E attendances for treatment do not result in admission. When A&E attendances due to Firework related injuries are considered, there has been over 100% increase to date since 2010. Recent surveys have shown that 1/3 of parents and grandparents have reported witnessing injuries to children. With regards to pets and livestock, many reported cases of distressed animals result in the death of or acute injury to valued family members, and often valuable livestock is lost within the farming and equine community. Random fireworks affect people with mental health issues. 1 in 4 people suffer with their Mental health, Government have previously pledged that Mental Health will receive equal treatment to other health issues. This has not been the case and it is falling further behind – Those with Mental Health issues have become forgotten.
Stats on injury and death to animals from RSPCA, BHS are available but of course, not everyone reports the incidents .
In 2005 the government stopped collecting firework incident statistics.
There are NO statistics collected by any emergency services which would give the government an overall picture of the present situation regarding firework use. Currently there are no statistics gathered in the same format so they cannot be collated. Therefore, it is not possible for the Government to reasonably assess both the current situation regarding firework use or to assess the impact of the preferred approach currently applied. However, given the year on year increases to firework related A&E attendances and attacks on emergency services, the ongoing public support for online Petitions regarding the use of Fireworks and the Police Chiefs Statement 2018, "We cannot go and purchase a weapon, the sale of knives is being restricted," he added. "The time has come to do the same around fireworks." "The answer cannot be that more firefighters and more police officers turn up to deal with this and people are scared to go out of their homes."
it is reasonable to suggest that the current approach is not effective and should be reviewed.
The needs of particular groups if a public ban was put into place.
The only way to protect our emergency services is to make it illegal to buy, carry, possess fireworks unless you have a licence to fire them and are on your way to your event. The law should carry enough of a penalty to make a decent deterrent, there should be more stop and search powers to enable the police to do their job efficiently.
Licenced retailers would still sell for displays. There would likely be more displays if private use was banned.
Cultural needs could be satisfied by local displays that would be well advertised and possibly even help local charities. Diwali is a celebration of light not of fireworks. Some cities in India have banned fireworks because of the pollution during Diwali. Parts of China are doing the same around Chinese New Year. So you can see, it isn’t necessary for the cultural celebrations.
Veterans would be aware of displays in their area and would be able to put their coping strategies into place.
Similarly, children and people with disabilities would not be taken by surprise. Small children should not be close to fireworks, the possibility of hearing damage is too great.
Current legislation does not protect the vulnerable in our modern 21st century multicultural Society and it is therefore not fit for purpose and should be reviewed. It does not actually protect any of the vulnerable people in our society, who are affected, it is flawed in that it unfortunately allows others to have firework fun at the expense of the vulnerable. In the absence of any specific statistical evidence the Government is misguided if it believes the current legislation is effective, the suitability of any Legislation should be borne out by data and evidence, and should consider all aspects of Society, particularly those more vulnerable, even if, or especially if, they are a minority.
A war veteran has appealed for people celebrating Bonfire Night to consider those suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Andy Reid from St Helens asked people setting off fireworks to be "mindful" of war veterans in the vicinity.
He said the impact of explosions and fireworks it could put sufferers "back in a dark place".
The problem here is, unlike years ago when people knew who their neighbours were, these days they do not know who lives in the street behind theirs, or further down the road. It is not reasonable to believe that someone would contact every house within earshot of their fireworks.
Displays by smaller groups raising money for charities, schools etc could still go ahead.
They could utilise a system that is already in place, The Licencing Act 2003
These licences could be revoked for infringements of the licencing rules.
Protecting animals
It should be made illegal to use fireworks within a set distance from stables/farms/rescue centres/anywhere that animals are housed, for even a short time. It is insufficient protection to merely ‘advise’ on this, i.e If a firework party is scaring horses and the owner complains to the holder of the party, they are frequently told, “it’s not illegal, I can do what I want.” Sadly, this is not unusual.
DEFRA have continually refused to help in this respect. The only distance in the law is the distance fireworks must be from the middle of the highway. This is not upheld either. This is easily noticed if you consider how many gardens back/side onto highways.
How could awareness be improved?
The firework code has been updated. Do we know if it is read by anyone? We know it is not adhered to. If it was there would be no need for this inquiry.
Education is not working. There is more anti-social use and more damage to people, animals and property than ever before. Again, there are no statistics to support the statement that appropriate action is taken against those that break the rules. The police do not/can’t act due to the staff shortages. Due to lack of supporting statistics and little information regarding action taken against those that break the regulations, it is impossible to ascertain whether appropriate action is taken in all cases. Members of the public have reported incidents to local police authorities, who are unable to provide resource to investigate apart from very serious life-threatening cases. Many forces do not record reported incidents and do not provide incident numbers. If no incident number is given, then the report is not filed. The current legislation is difficult for the police to apply in many cases, as it is almost impossible to ascertain the location of people launching fireworks. With the help of the public who would report illegal use, the case would be completely different. As the current Regulations permit firework use at any time of the year, this is an ongoing concern for many members of the community.
In 1966 it became compulsory for all new cars to have seat belt fittings. The Department for Transport had been actively promoting the use of seat belts since 1973, but in 1983 they decided they had to make it law. Government knows their ‘advice’ is not taken by many and a law had to be made in order to protect people from themselves.
Soon after the law came into effect in 1983, 90% of car drivers and front seat passengers were observed to be wearing seat belts. As a bonus, the offenders become easier to spot.
As witnessed above, most UK citizens are law abiding and would not suddenly seek to buy illegal imported fireworks as suggested by BFA. (British Firework Association). Once again, you cannot have a secret firework party, so where would they use them without being heard? There is already an illegal market in fireworks, some of them having been stolen from legitimate retailers. Perhaps storage is a regulation that could be tightened up? I understand in Australia many illegal fireworks were retailers’ stock either stolen or sold on illegally.
Conclusion
In my opinion, only licenced firework professionals should be allowed to fire fireworks. In order to gain a licence, apart from product training, they would need to attend safety and awareness courses; the licence would be dependent on passing. This is no different to driving licences.
All prospective venues would need a licence, this would only be granted if not close to vulnerable areas, (barns, animal sanctuaries etc)
The person organising should apply for licence and would be responsible for advertising locally. This would allow people to take the precautions necessary for themselves or their family member, i.e. sitting with an elderly relative, leaving the area for the time, sedating the dog!
This licensing system is already in place, The Licencing Act 2003. It could be amended to fit.
Firework regulations for storage, handling, safety, design, size, noise levels etc are extensive. Many of the concerns and issues would be resolved, IF only they were taken OUT OF THE PUBLICS HANDS. If fireworks were ‘invented’ today, we would never allow public use, certainly not without insurance, a training course and a risk assessment!
Government should not shy away from making laws, just because some people will continue to break those laws.
Law abiding citizens in the UK are in the majority.