Consultation on Fireworks and other Pyrotechnics (P.111/2025): comments

STATES OF JERSEY

CONSULTATION ON FIREWORKS AND OTHER PYROTECHNICS (P.111/2025): COMMENTS

Presented to the States on 26th January 2026 by the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2025  P.111 Com.

COMMENTS

The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, accepts this Proposition.

Current position

Since January 2024 when I became the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, I have been  mindful  of  the  range  of  views  relating  to  fireworks  in  Jersey.  While  my predecessor,   Deputy   Miles  made  a  formal  commitment  to  bring  forward  revised regulations on fireworks in response to a petition in 2023, I have not been able to prioritise this work during my term in office due to other priorities within my area of responsibility.

Despite this, I have still wanted to progress my understanding of the key issues. In February 2025 I held a productive meeting with the Comité des Connétable s to discuss

feedback from their parishioners, and to identify any priorities for change. Connétable s have an important role as they grant licenses to sell fireworks under the Explosives (Jersey) Law 1970. This built on previous engagement with the Comité by previous Ministers  for  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  including   Deputy  Guida  and   Connétable Norman.

I am conscious that some islanders have already provided their views on fireworks. Deputy Andrews ' proposition references petitions in 2021 and 2023 focussing on the issue of noise. He also provides testimony from 3 islanders in relation to the impact on their animals in addition to his own survey work focussed on dog owners. Figure 29 of the  2025  Jersey  Opinions  and  Lifestyle  Survey also  demonstrated  the  views  of approximately 1,400 islanders on a range of questions in relation to fireworks.

While these sources of evidence are valuable, it is clear that a full and thorough consultation would be beneficial to ensure all islanders on all sides of the debate can provide their views and ideas. The consultation would seek to cover the areas required by Deputy Andrews ' proposition. Namely:

• gathering  views  from  the  public,  animal  welfare  organisations,  and  other relevant stakeholders, regarding the impacts of fireworks and pyrotechnics, including  the  effects  of  noise  and  disturbance  on  pets,  livestock,  and individuals;

• seeking views on whether current laws and administrative practices require reform on the sale, possession, and private use of fireworks; and

• inviting feedback on possible measures to mitigate the negative impacts of fireworks and other pyrotechnic articles, including (but not limited to) – (i) the issuance  of  permits  or  licences  for  private  fireworks  displays;  and  (ii) mandating the use of quieter fireworks;

Some care will be required on Deputy Andrew's 3rd bullet point (above) as it assumes prior knowledge of all the negative impacts of fireworks before the consultation is complete.  The  consultation  may  bring  forward  additional  negative  and  positive consequences of fireworks that were not previously known. The risk of consulting on measures before all the impacts are known is that is that the measures may change, requiring additional consultation with the public.

Despite this, it would be useful to gain the public's opinion on a range of options that could be deployed in response to any negative consequences of fireworks, these will include those highlighted by Deputy Andrews

In addition to the points raised by Deputy Andrews , the consultation will also seek to capture any other relevant views to inform future firework and pyrotechnic policy development.  Consultation  documents  would  be  designed  to  ensure  islanders  are provided with the necessary information to give an informed response. For example, the way fireworks are categorised does not typically distinguish them for sale by noise, making it more challenging to set rules for the use of noisy' fireworks.

Previous legislative work on regulation of fireworks

Fireworks in Jersey are currently regulated under the Explosives (Jersey) Law 1970. The 1970 law only controls the retail of fireworks and does not control their use. To address this gap and update the 1970 Law more broadly, the Explosives (Jersey) Law 2014 was approved by the States Assembly in 2014 and registered by the Royal Court.

In relation to fireworks, the Explosives (Jersey) Law 2014 provided regulation making powers to address all aspects of their supply, possession and use and therefore could create better protections for persons, animals and property. However, this law has not yet been brought into force as the intention was to wait for the fireworks regulations to be ready so the two could be launched together.

Work on the detailed fireworks regulations began in 2017 and continued until the Covid- 19 pandemic when it was delayed as staff resources were diverted to support the pandemic response. The work was recommenced for a time in 2023 by my predecessor, Deputy Helen Miles and since then has not been able to be progressed any further due to other extensive legislative commitments.

In any case, a set of fireworks regulations was fairly well developed and the consultation also seems like an ideal opportunity to gain the public's view on some of these measures in line with Deputy Andrews ' request. Should the consultation findings reinforce the need to bring forward fireworks Regulations, the Explosives (Jersey) Law 2014 would first need to be brought into force through an appointed day act. This law was approved by the States Assembly nearly 12 years ago and will require a review and potentially some changes to ensure it meets current best practice.

If changes are required, they can be proposed through amendments to the Explosives (Jersey) Law 2014 and brought to the States Assembly for debate. Once the 2014 Law is finalised, the appointed day act can be brought to the States Assembly, followed by Regulations. I outline these points to highlight that bringing forward the Regulations has some additional complexity which will take time and effort to resolve.

The proposed timeline for undertaking work is as follows:

• April 2026 to November 2026 – plan and design consultation

• December 2026 (or earlier) – open consultation

• March 2027 – close consultation

• April 2027 to May 2028 – collate consultation responses, design recommendations for future policy or legislation

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P.110/2026 Com.

• June 2028 – present consultation findings and recommendations for any future policy or legislation to the States Assembly. To be lodged au Greffe by June 30th, 2028.

Conclusion

The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, accepts this Proposition. It is acknowledged there is significant and varied public opinion in relation to this topic and updated public consultation will be valuable in considering how best to address this issue for the benefit of all islanders.