Rejected petition Ban the sale and use of fireworks which make loud explosive noises

In these days of awareness the public should be aware that what may be a bit of fun to some is utter despair for others. Large numbers of the population are not able to tolerate loud bangs for a wide variety of reasons. These include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Severe Autism, Dementia and Acute Hearing Sensitivity.

More details

The wide availability of fireworks on the internet as well as in stores means that these are now bigger, louder and more common than at any previous period and can be heard at any time of year and any time of day, without any warning. The period between the start of October to the end of November is, in some areas becoming comparable to being caught up in an active war zone. This really should not be tolerated by a caring community. Silent fireworks are now available and there is no longer any excuse to continue this most hurtful practice.

Why was this petition rejected?

It asks the Senedd to do something that it is not able to do.

The Government of Wales Act 2006 establishes the extent of the Senedd’s power to make new laws and amend existing law (also known as legislative competence). Schedules 7A and 7B of the 2006 Act set out the issues which are ‘restricted’ or ‘reserved’ - i.e. areas where the UK Parliament, not the Senedd, can legislate.

Several reservations limit the Senedd’s legislative competence in this area, including in relation to the ‘sale and supply of goods to consumers’ and ‘product standards, safety and liability’.

Specifically, “technical standards and requirements in relation to products in pursuance of an obligation under EU law” are reserved to the UK Parliament. Technical standards for pyrotechnics (including fireworks) are covered by EU Directive 2013/29/EU, which was transposed into UK law by the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. These regulations set out the technical standards that pyrotechnic articles must meet in order to comply with EU law, including in relation to noise levels.

Countries that are subject to EU law are not able to “prohibit, restrict or hinder the making available on the market of pyrotechnic articles which satisfy the requirements of the Directive”. Therefore it is not possible for the Senedd to take the action called for by your petition.

This position may change after the UK-EU implementation period has ended (it is currently scheduled to end on 31 December 2020). However, it is not currently clear whether the Senedd would then be able to take more action on this issue.

A petition calling for an end to the sale of fireworks to the public is currently collecting signatures: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244400

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards

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Date submitted 4 November 2020
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