THE CURRENT constitutional arrangement prevented the government from imposing a complete clampdown on the sale of fireworks, an SNP minister has told MSPs.

Speaking to Holyrood’s Justice Committee, the Minister for Community Safety, Ash Regan said there were also concerns over whether a ban would be a proportionate reaction to increasing concerns over their use

Last month the government unveiled The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill, which would make it a criminal offence to buy, possess or use fireworks without a licence, with offenders facing fines or up to six months in prison.

It would also limit the use of fireworks to certain holidays and festivals including Hogmanay, Guy Fawkes Night, Diwali, Vaisakhi and Chinese New Year.

Ms Regan rejected claims that these new restrictions could lead to a "black market" in bangers. 

Earlier this month, representatives of the pyrotechnics industry warned the committee that the unintended consequences of the Bill could see responsible sellers penalised, while illegal vendors flourished. 

But Ms Regan told MSPs that the evidence from other countries with tougher laws on fireworks didn’t back that. 

The minister said there was mounting evidence of the dangers of unregulated firework sales. 

She pointed to recent statistics showing that 40 per cent of attacks on firefighters happen around bonfire night. NHS injury data also spikes around November 5. 

The minister also pointed to public consultations which overwhelmingly show support for tougher laws on fireworks. 

The new Bill, she said, was a “proportionate” response to the problem. 

“A lot of people have said to me over the last few years, we should just ban them, ban fireworks. Now in Scotland, under the devolution settlement, we don't have the power to ban them, first of all, so that's a legal reason why we wouldn't have gone down that route. 

“But also there's a policy reason here… is [the proposed legislation] proportionate? And I would say that it is proportionate because there's still an obvious route for people to go through. 

“Albeit we're putting slightly more restrictions on it by suggesting that we set up the licencing scheme, but people are still able to if they want to, they can still go and buy fireworks and they can still use them.” 

Tory MSP Russell Findlay pushed the minister on the constitutional question, asking her if she was “seriously proposing” that an independent Scotland would ban fireworks. 

Ms Regan replied: “The reason I talked about the ban is because that is something that when you talk about fireworks when you talk about restricting them, people often talk about the merits of a ban or not a ban. 

“And I did set out that we considered it and I think the member will accept that for constitutional reasons, Scotland is not able to do everything exactly the way it would want to. 

“We have to work within the constitutional arrangements.”

She added: “But also we decided not to pursue a ban for policy reasons anyway because we didn't think it was proportionate.”

At a previous meeting of the committee, Fraser Stevenson, vice chairman of the British Fireworks Association (BFA), said that the Bill appeared “to target the majority of consumers who are using fireworks in an appropriate way.”

He added: “Greater restrictions would not be appropriate due to the real risk of creating a black market. The BFA feels this Bill will be the biggest contributor to the creation of a black market.”

Norman Donald, owner of NJE Fireworks in Aberdeen, told the committee: “If we create a black market we are definitely going to put the public in danger, injuries are going to be vast and it probably will lead to deaths.”

Mr Findlay raised these concerns with the minister. 

He said: “We've also heard evidence of the fabled white van man of Blackburn who roams around selling fireworks to children. The unintended consequence of this Bill is that while it puts legitimate operators out of business, it's an absolute gift to the white van men. Is that really something that you want to see happen?”

Ms Regan told the MSP: “We don't have the evidence to suggest it will fuel a black market. And we've looked carefully at the evidence from countries where they've tightened the restrictions and we can't find the evidence to say that that has fueled the black market. 

“We've looked at Scotland and there doesn't seem to be too much evidence of a black market at the moment. The agencies that work in that area will continue to review that. And hopefully, we'll be able to come back to the committee with some evidence on that in a few years' time and be able to talk about what impact it's had.”