I totally agree with the right hon. Lady. When I say wildlife, I mean livestock, but we are talking about wildlife as well, because of course it is also affected.
Although the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk) talked about the issues surrounding a total ban and although a ban was intimated in the petition, in the speeches so far no one has argued for that. We are just arguing for tighter regulation and an increasing emphasis on official firework displays, rather than what is happening, with people still letting off fireworks at the wrong time, in the wrong place and often gratuitously, ignoring the impact on other people.
In terms of the five questions about how we regulate, doing so at the point of sale is clearly not working, because too many people obtain fireworks for the wrong purposes and misuse them. We will have to look at that. We have the 2003 Act, which has been mentioned; that was updated by the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015, to which the Minister will no doubt also refer. We have heard in great detail about the number of accidents and some of the real problems with fires, arson attacks and deliberate violence against people and property. I am told by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that 45% of dogs in the UK are fearful when they heard fireworks—I am not sure who has asked them, but from their response we can be pretty sure that they are suffering.
We must find a way of working around the traditional festivals, but, as a number of hon. Members have said, 5 November is a date. It is not a week or a whole series of events. There are official firework displays, but we can accommodate them, because we can tell people and warn them when they are going to take place. Outside those important dates, there should be no use of fireworks.
I am afraid we are moving toward people not having private use of fireworks, just because if they choose to act irresponsibly they are damaging things for everyone else. We are also talking about bringing decibel levels down, certainly below 120 dB. Some say it should be well below the human pain threshold, which I gather is 97 dB. That also needs to be considered.
Referring to the impact on pets and other animals, which is what most of us are talking about, there is unanimity now among the animal welfare charities that they want more action. They feel that whatever is in place is not working satisfactorily. Whether that is Dogs Trust, the RSPCA or Cats Protection, they are all of one mind and have one stated aim: to have the Government look at how they can at least enforce the regulations better and, dare I say, revisit those particular regulations.
I hope the Minister will say something about what she intends to do, because it is important we hear that today. Otherwise, another year has slipped by with apparently no action. We all know that we get regular complaints about this issue, and if we are not seen to be doing anything about it, people will think that we are not really that effective—so for all our sakes, I hope the Minister will make us more effective.
6.4 pm