Continued Petitions

The final petition for consideration in public today is PE1687, on the regulation of fireworks displays in Scotland, which is by Jane Erskine. The clerk’s note summarises the submissions from the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments, along with the petitioner’s response to those submissions.

The UK Government minister’s submission addresses the need for appropriate guidance, education and public awareness raising to promote the responsible use of fireworks. He considers that it is a matter for the Scottish Government to work with local agencies to identify what measures are best to apply in the context of this petition.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the issues raised in the petition in the context of animals and livestock in rural areas. It notes the petitioner’s concern that, as an animal owner in a rural area, she is liable under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 for any harm to the animals in her care but considers that this may be an unintended consequence.

The Scottish Government’s submission outlines activity that it and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland have been taking forward since last year, principally in the context of incidents where the Fire and Rescue Service has been subject to attack, but also highlighting the possible impact on the provision of emergency support.

In recent correspondence with the clerks, the Scottish Government has also stated that the Minister for Community Safety has written to all community safety partnerships across Scotland, and also to the UK Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility to request an update on any actions following the Westminster Hall debate in January this year.

The petitioner acknowledges the Scottish Government’s submission and considers that it serves to highlight the impact that there is on animals and animal owners in rural areas. She indicates that she would like to see the UK and Scottish Governments adopt a preventative and proactive approach to the restriction of fireworks displays in rural areas.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

Perhaps we can contact COSLA in the first instance. I guess that the petitioner is really talking about the legislative context in which everybody is operating. If you accept that you can have fireworks displays, it is about managing them safely. There is quite an interesting argument about the extent to which, if her animals are in fear and alarm, she is responsible for that as someone who is responsible under the act for the care of the animals. I would not have thought that there would be a court in the land that would blame her if her animals are distressed as a consequence of fireworks displays that the law allows, but that is an interesting insight that I had not really thought about before.

An issue that has been raised with me by people who have pets is that, during what can be quite an intense period around 5 November, animals are in fear and alarm in urban areas as well, but that is not the focus of this petition.

We can certainly write to COSLA and we should write to the Scottish Government for an update on its recent action. It might be worth writing to Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, because they must have a view on whether it is creating extra work for them. I know that in one area historically there were problems with the fire service being attacked when it come in to deal with unlicensed fireworks displays, which is maybe a different thing altogether. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service may have a view on how this is all managed safely and on the specific action that the petition calls for, so it might be worth while contacting it, in particular about the comments in the petitioner’s most recent submission. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

We are coming up to that period now, so it will be interesting to see whether the concerns about the implications of celebrations with fireworks continue to have the impact that has been flagged up by the petitioner. We thank the petitioner for providing us with an update on her views.

We now close the public session of the meeting and move into private. We will have a quick break before we deal with the last item on the agenda.

10:43 Meeting continued in private until 11:02.