A consultation on fireworks in Scotland: Your experiences, your ideas, your views

We published the Scottish Government national online consultation on fireworks: Your experiences, your ideas, your views, at the beginning of February. In addition to the online consultation, 29 events were held across Scotland and a range of social media platforms were used to seek people's views.

We sought your views on:

• the sale of fireworks to the general public.
• how people use and enjoy fireworks.
• the impact of fireworks on people, communities and animals.
• ideas on what actions could be taken to ensure fireworks continue to be enjoyed safely and responsibly.

The consultation closed on 13 May, having received a total of 16,420 responses. Over 7,000 responses were received in the first 24 hours of the consultation launch.

The results of the consultation demonstrate strong support for a change in how fireworks are sold.

Key findings included: 

• 70% of respondents reported that they had been affected by fireworks used in an irresponsible or unsafe way.

• 94% of respondents thought there should be more controls over the sale of fireworks.

• 87% of respondents would welcome a ban on the sale of fireworks to the public in Scotland.

• 92% of respondents thought there should be more controls over how fireworks can be used in Scotland.

• 93% of respondents thought there should be more controls to make sure animals are not caused unnecessary suffering because of the use of fireworks.

Many respondents went on to make further comments, ranging from 10,940 comments from those who had been directly affected by the use of fireworks to 14,290 from those looking for more controls on sales of fireworks to the public. 

On 4 October 2019, we published:

• Analysis of the consultation responses.
• A nationally representative opinion poll of people’s views on increasing control over the sale and use of fireworks, providing findings that are representative of adults across Scotland.
• A rapid review of the existing evidence that considers the impact of fireworks in the context of international legislation and regulations, including evidence relating to injury, pollution, noise and animal welfare. 

The Scottish Government is committed to driving forward action to reduce the negative impact of firework use and to ensure that fireworks are used safely and appropriately.

Following further discussions with stakeholders on the consultation findings, the Minister for Community Safety launched the Fireworks Action Plan: Promoting the safe and appropriate use of fireworks in Scotland in a Statement to Parliament on 29^th October 2019. The Action Plan sets out activities that will be taken forward immediately, as well as longer term actions that will collectively support a change in how fireworks are used in Scotland.  This includes establishing a Firework Review Group to develop clear recommendations for tightening regulations on where and when fireworks can be used in Scotland.