Chamber and committees

I am happy to report back to the committee on that.

Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about these two sets of regulations relating to the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022. I will go through the regulations and then give an update on where we are with the act.

The two sets of regulations, along with the commencement regulations, will allow the pyrotechnic possession offence provisions in part 5 of the 2022 act to take effect from 6 June.

The reckless and dangerous misuse of pyrotechnics at events is a growing problem. I strongly believe that this legislation is necessary if we are to ensure that preventative action can be taken to stop it in all places where it occurs.

Most recently, the misuse of pyrotechnics at football matches has been the focus of much media attention. I am sure that we have all seen the unacceptable images of whole sections of stands lit up with flares and blanketed with smoke. However, pyrotechnic misuse is not limited only to football; it happens at music concerts, festivals and public gatherings.

Such misuse has the potential to cause serious harm and to distress those in the vicinity, including through the smoke that is emitted. Physical risks include burns, the maiming of limbs, hearing injuries and breathing difficulties, particularly among people with health conditions such as asthma. There is also a risk of crowd panic and crowd surge when pyrotechnics are used unexpectedly in crowded places, and there is the risk that using them will cause fear and alarm through the noise of explosions and the brightness of flares.

Key to the new legislation is the ability to take action before a situation potentially becomes dangerous for the individual or those around them, including police officers and security staff.

Taking a pyrotechnic article into a designated football ground is, of course, already a criminal offence. However, by the time that an individual has reached the ground, the ability to take preventative action can be hindered by the volume of people entering the ground at the same time. Once a pyrotechnic has been carried into the ground, and certainly by the time that it has been deployed, it can be extremely difficult for the police and security staff at the ground to identify, isolate and detain the culprit safely.

In developing the legislation, we listened to our partners and stakeholders, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Federation, health advocacy groups and the wider public, who made it clear that something more needed to be done. That is why the 2022 act created two offences relating to the possession of pyrotechnics: first, an offence of being in possession of a pyrotechnic article, excluding F1 fireworks, in any public place “without reasonable excuse”; secondly, an offence of being in possession of any pyrotechnic article, including all fireworks, at a designated sporting or music venue or event “without reasonable excuse”.

In passing the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 last year, the Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly agreed that the introduction of those offences was necessary. The Scottish statutory instruments that are being considered today ensure that those offences can operate effectively, proportionately and transparently.

Although the draft Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 (Consequential Modifications, Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2023 is a fairly technical instrument, it is necessary in order to give full effect to the new offences. The regulations repeal the offence relating to pyrotechnics in certain sports grounds, which is set out in the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. In practice, that offence currently applies only to certain football matches and stadia, and it is no longer needed, as the new offence will apply to all designated venues or events, including football matches. The instrument also ensures that any relevant criminal proceedings that are already in progress under the 1995 act at the time of commencement can continue and that the accused in any such case will receive parity with regard to the available defence.

The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 (Designation of Events and Incidental Provision) Regulations 2023 designate

“the class of sporting events”

and “music events” for the purpose of section 36 of the 2022 act. The regulations provide that the new offence will apply to live sports events before an audience and in a venue with a

“capacity for 1,000 or more”

spectators and that it will also apply to live music performances, again in a venue with

“capacity for 1,000 or more ... within the audience”.

In relation to music events, such as festivals, the regulations will also cover areas such as camping sites that are linked to the event.

In designating classes of sporting and music events in that way, and by the creation of two distinct offences in the 2022 act, we ensure proportionality in the restrictions that are applied to the different places. We ensure, too, that the new legislation maintains and adds to the protection of sports grounds that was set out in the 1995 act.

The 2022 act provides the police with a

“stop and search”

power

“without warrant”,

when reasonable grounds exist on which to suspect that a person is committing an offence under the act, which supports the intelligence-led policing that the police already carry out at many sporting and music events.

We are clear that the legislation is about preventing the misuse of pyrotechnics and not about preventing the spectacle of professionally organised pyrotechnic displays at events or the use of safety flares. It is vital that we do nothing that could inhibit the possession and use of potentially life-saving devices for those people who are involved in activities such as sailing, mountaineering and hill walking.

A need exists, therefore, for clear messaging and awareness raising to accompany the new legislation, which will ensure understanding of, and increased compliance with, the law. That is why we have been engaging with a wide range of organisations, including football authorities, the events industry, Marine Scotland, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Royal Yachting Association, Asthma and Lung UK and the Epilepsy Society in advance of the commencement of these provisions. I have also asked my officials to develop a public awareness and information campaign to coincide with the commencement of the new offences, in early June, and we will continue to involve those key organisations as that campaign is developed and implemented.

The SSIs that are being discussed today are necessary to allow the provisions of part 5 of the act that was passed by Parliament last year to operate effectively and proportionately. That is essential if we are to enable positive preventative action to stop the misuse of pyrotechnics, which is a problem that the committee has already agreed needs to be addressed.

I understand that the committee would like to discuss implementation timescales for the remaining measures of the 2022 act. The on-going challenging financial context is significantly impacting our ability to implement the remaining measures in the originally anticipated timescales. Since the passage through Parliament of the bill that became the 2022 act, the financial context has shifted significantly, and decisive budget decisions have been required to ensure that vital public services across the justice portfolio—and wider portfolios—are protected.

Although full implementation of the 2022 act will take place over a longer period, the revised timings will continue to build on the good progress that has already been made and will deliver further positive change, year on year, for our communities.

The revised timescales mean that, as was originally planned, the firework control zone provisions will commence in June, ahead of bonfire night this year. I intend to lay commencement regulations in Parliament before the summer recess in order to deliver that. The personal fireworks licensing system will take effect in autumn 2024 at the earliest, and the restricted days of supply and use provisions, as well as any related compensation arrangements, will commence in a future financial year beyond 2024.

I reassure the committee that I am committed to the implementation of the 2022 act and believe that the adapted, incremental approach to its implementation is the best route forward in delivering tangible changes in the light of the unprecedented financial challenges that we currently face.

I am happy to take questions from committee members.

Sure. As I said in my opening statement, we saw at the weekend with the old firm game that it is about the logistics of trying to get down there and detain the people who have deployed the pyrotechnic devices. I will not get into police operations because it is up to them to gather intelligence, look at who is doing that at football stadiums and to search those people proactively as they enter the stadium and remove the pyrotechnic from them or charge them with having a pyrotechnic.

As I said in my opening statement, it is in 2024 for the next financial year.

We had to engage with stakeholders, so we were not able to implement the provisions before June. We did not have the detail to move forward with the public campaign. I am very keen for the public campaign to go live in June, so that it is in place for bonfire night this year.

As I said, we will have a public awareness campaign in June, and we are working with Police Scotland and all local authorities on that. The regulations are being introduced today so that people are aware of them as we progress through the implementation of the 2022 act.

The football clubs are supportive of that. I hope that, when we have our public campaign, they will support that as well, to deter fans from using pyrotechnics at football games.

I will answer the second part of your question first, if I may, then bring in officials for the first part.

The legislation is coming in June, so if it goes out to consultation there will be a tight timescale. The local authorities are working with our officials. I am not sure of the exact councils, but I think that Glasgow and Lothian will have zones in place for bonfire night this November. I am unsure of any other local authority, but those are the ones that have engaged with us and really want to use the legislation. Being an ex-councillor, and knowing what a topical issue this is locally, I think that there will be further take-up from local authorities.

I have not discussed what happened on Sunday with Police Scotland. I saw what was happening, and I think that you are 100 per cent correct that it was totally orchestrated. As I have mentioned, the issue seems to be escalating and it is dangerous. I believe that this SSI, which will enable to the police to search the general public before they enter the ground and to remove pyrotechnics from them, is different from waiting for someone to explode the device and then trying to arrest them safely in a large crowd.

They do, but there will also be a public awareness campaign. At the moment, I think that people think that they can get away with it, but they cannot. Bringing in the legislation and having a public awareness campaign will reiterate that to fans, especially if we have the football clubs on our side as well.