Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Official Report 934KB pdf

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Topical Question Time

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Fireworks and Pyrotechnics (Misuse)

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of misuse of fireworks and pyrotechnics on bonfire night. (S6T-00942)

The disorder and thuggery that occurred on and around bonfire night, which involved not just fireworks and pyrotechnics but bricks and even petrol bombs, was sickening. I express my heartfelt thanks to our emergency services for their dedication and bravery in working in appalling situations to keep our communities as safe as possible.

I welcome the fact that Police Scotland has made it clear that investigations are on-going and that it aims to bring the culprits to justice. I urge any member of the public who has relevant information to get in touch with the police, either directly or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

Thank you. I warmly welcome the minister to her new role and associate myself with her comments about the emergency services.

Between 2016 and 2020, there were only four solemn and 16 summary firework convictions, and there were no firework convictions whatever in 2020-21. The way in which the Scottish Government has constructed its proposed licensing scheme makes it even more important that there are convictions. How will the minister ensure that there are convictions arising from this year’s events?

I thank Katy Clark for her question and her welcome.

There is no equivocation on the part of the Scottish Government. Where there is offending of the type that has been seen over recent days, we will fully support Police Scotland in pursuing investigations, and, where sufficient evidence is obtained, using its powers appropriately to make arrests and bring charges.

It is difficult to get an entirely comprehensive picture of convictions because of the range of common-law and statutory offences that may be relevant.

This is also a matter for the courts, and it would be wrong of ministers to criticise or second-guess the sentences that the courts impose, as only the courts have all the weighted evidence in front of them. I am clear, however, that the courts have extensive sentencing powers in this area, under a range of common-law as well as statutory provisions, and I will be keeping a close eye on how things develop.

When the Criminal Justice Committee considered the recent fireworks legislation, there was considerable discussion about how people might bypass the licensing system by buying online or on the black market. Will the minister take steps to find out where the fireworks that were misused came from and whether they were bought in a shop or online or obtained elsewhere?

Once there has been a full investigation into the circumstances of this year’s events, will the minister ensure that there is a full report to Parliament?

Although, at this point, we are not aware of any clear evidence to suggest that there are a lot of black market sales and that it is widespread issue, we know that there have been isolated incidents involving the supply of illicit firework products. Enforcement agencies have well-established processes in place to tackle black market sales. Every year, there is a big multi-agency planning operation to identify and tackle emerging issues, involving Police Scotland, Trading Standards Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

I plan to work closely with enforcement bodies to monitor illicit firework sales in Scotland. As part of that, the Scottish Government has funded Trading Standards Scotland to undertake a fireworks enforcement engagement project with retailers, building on the success of similar projects last year. I will keep a close eye on that and come back to Parliament on it.

It is important that we acknowledge the appalling behaviour by some over the bonfire weekend, including during the incident in the Sighthill park area of my constituency. However, we should also note that the number of calls that the police received relating to such behaviour was down from 581 last year to 483 this year—a 17 per cent reduction. With that in mind, I ask the minister what work was carried out by the Scottish Government and partners in preparation for the bonfire night period.

Although I welcome the year-on-year reduction in the numbers—the 17 per cent reduction is very welcome—it is absolutely imperative that we ensure that bonfire night does not happen again as it did, because it was intolerable. We support the vast amount of multi-agency partnership work that is undertaken by our emergency services, local authorities and wider community safety partners in preparation for the bonfire night period.

On bonfire night itself, I attended the operation moonbeam gold command room in Bilston Glen to witness the effectiveness of the partnership working and see the scale of the challenge faced as events unfolded in real time, and I cannot praise the police and partners enough. Planning and preparation for bonfire night includes prevention and diversionary work in local communities by a range of partners, particularly in the areas most affected by fireworks, where there is serious and multiple deprivation.

With partners, the Scottish Government has also launched our three long-standing national public awareness-raising campaigns to enhance the messaging on the new proxy supply offence. Again, we have funded Trading Standards Scotland colleagues so that they are better able to promote and enforce the new legislation around sales.

A constituent of mine wrote to me yesterday to express their concern about the disgraceful scenes across Edinburgh at the weekend, after violence erupted and police were injured in petrol bomb attacks. A substantial number of youths terrorised residents by throwing fireworks at innocent car drivers and incendiary devices at emergency response vehicles. Police vehicles were attacked and officers suffered facial and eye injuries. That utterly disgraceful behaviour cannot be repeated.

The Scottish National Party rushed through the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill in June but has done nothing to address community safety concerns. Will the minister commit to reversing the SNP budget cuts to the police to ensure that our officers have the resources to tackle that type of disorder and keep our communities safe?

Although I associate myself with Sue Webber’s comments on the intolerable behaviour that we saw, at this point in time we have only a resource spending review in front of us; we do not have a budget set. I will keep a close eye on the situation, because our communities cannot endure what we saw last weekend. We need to have in place enough resources to do the early intervention and preventative work that we need to do in communities where there is multiple deprivation and we see a rise in such cases.

I will get back to the member on the issue.

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Avian Influenza

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to mitigate the threat of avian influenza outbreaks among domestic poultry populations, in light of its impact on wild bird populations in Scotland. (S6T-00951)

The Scottish Government has already taken steps to mitigate the threat of avian influenza in the wider domestic populations through the introduction of the national avian influenza prevention zone on 17 October, which made it a legal requirement that all bird keepers follow strict biosecurity measures to protect their flocks. That was in response to a risk assessment and follows the worst outbreak of the disease on record.

Birds do not stop at borders between Scotland and England. As long as that is the case, nor will avian flu. The same threat that exists south of the border, which the United Kingdom Government has acted decisively to mitigate, exists here, in Scotland. This is the largest outbreak of avian influenza that the UK has ever seen: since October 2021, there have been more than 200 cases and many culls, according to a freedom of information request from The Ferret. Why is the cabinet secretary just monitoring when England is acting decisively?

I do not think that that is a fair assessment of the situation at all. I hope that the member appreciates that we take decisions on the basis of the best available scientific advice and expertise that we have in the Scottish Government, including through our chief veterinary officer.

The member is referring to the mandatory housing order that was implemented in England this week, but any decision to require mandatory housing has to be based on risk and animal health and welfare concerns, including the positive and negative impacts that housing otherwise free-range birds might have. That is not a simple or light undertaking.

As the member and the chamber will be aware, the situation is being kept under constant review. The decision on whether a housing order will be introduced is a matter for Scotland’s chief veterinary officer, and it will follow the analysis of a wide range of available evidence.

NFU Scotland has labelled the Scottish Government’s response “wholly inadequate”. As we speak, more outbreaks are being confirmed across the country, in Aberdeenshire and Orkney. There has also been reported striking of wild birds in distress in my constituency in the Scottish Borders.

Evidence shows that housing flocks would reduce the risk of birds being infected. Birds are no respecters of borders, so the Scottish Government must explain the basis for its decision, given the importance to businesses approaching the hugely significant Christmas market and the on-going devastating loss of wild birds on the coast and in our countryside.

I emphasise that I completely appreciate the member’s concerns. I have heard those calls from the NFUS and I have had those discussions. I completely understand how concerning the situation must be for poultry keepers in Scotland, given the number of challenges that the industry faces as a whole.

As I said in my previous response, this is not a simple or light undertaking and it needs to be based on scientific analysis and the evidence that we have. The member talked about the number of outbreaks that we are seeing across the UK. There have been a number of outbreaks in England—I believe that the latest figure is 107—and we have seen six in Scotland. The CVOs in Wales and Northern Ireland have not taken the decision to introduce a mandatory housing order.

The types of issues that we have to consider when that decision is taken include the geographical distribution of poultry cases, epidemiological reports on risk pathways and risk assessments of disease risk level, alongside case numbers and the geographical distribution of wild bird findings. Those are just some of the considerations that the CVO and her team have to look at when making such decisions.

I hope that the member will appreciate that we depend on the advice of the chief veterinary officer, the expertise of those involved and the scientific analysis that is undertaken when we are looking to make these decisions.

This is clearly a worrying time for poultry farmers. My understanding, though, is that keeping birds indoors is not a silver bullet for combating avian influenza. The recent comments of the chief veterinary officer give us assurance that Scotland’s approach to the situation is being led by the evidence.

Will the cabinet secretary set out some detail of how other methods to prevent direct and indirect contact between flocks and wild birds could help to protect poultry from the disease?

The Scottish Government has published some guidance, which was developed jointly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Government, on our gov.scot web pages. It includes guidance on biosecurity and preventing impacts on the welfare of poultry and captive birds. The advice is for all keepers of captive birds and poultry, including game birds, waterfowl and pet birds. The Government has also published an avian influenza prevention zone self-assessment checklist.

It is important to emphasise some of the key requirements that we would be looking for keepers to follow. Those include checking the integrity of buildings where birds are kept for any defects that could potentially allow water ingress or other contamination; fencing off or netting any ponds, standing water or waterlogged land within range to prevent access by poultry or other captive birds; and using a Government-approved disinfectant at the correct concentration.

All of that advice, which has been developed jointly, is available on our web pages. I encourage keepers to look at it.

The impact on the poultry sector of the worst-ever avian flu outbreak has been devastating, with more than 90,000 hens alone culled. With new cases still emerging, that number will rise, as will deaths among wild birds. However, the cabinet secretary has ruled out introducing a housing order at this time. We need to see robust implementation and monitoring of biosecurity standards.

There have also been worrying reports in England that avian flu has been found in game birds such as pheasants, which are reared in captivity and then released into the wild for hunting. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the likely number of pheasants that have died of avian flu and of whether their release has had any impact on spreading this deadly disease?

I would be happy to get back to the member with further information on that. I would, though, come back to the initial point that he made about the difference that excellent biosecurity measures make in this type of situation. Again, we have not ruled out a mandatory housing order; we are continuing to monitor the situation every day. That position could well change, and we would look to implement such an order, but we need to base what we do on analysis of the evidence that we have.