Clause 11 - Offences
Fireworks Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I shall briefly raise a couple of points that were raised on Second Reading. Perhaps the Minister can give me some comfort as to what
could be done about them. The Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 are not particularly effective. There is a problem with the inability to hand out on-the-spot fines to those aged under 18. My district council in south Bedfordshire has told me that it cannot take action against offenders unless the offence is persistent, which quite often it is not. I wonder whether that issue could be worked into the Bill or other legislation coming before the House. I should be grateful for any comments from the Minister about how those aspects of current law are not serving us well.