Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee — hearing of 3 November 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

3 November 2026

Contents updated on 3 Nov 2026

First witness panel on consumer protection issues related to fireworks regulation and usage.

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Panel 1 — Fireworks regulation and consumer protection

11:53

Impacts of fireworks on animals and enforcement of fireworks laws

11:53

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP — introduction and opening question on fireworks concerns

11:53

David Bowles — evidence of fireworks’ impact on pets and farm animals

12:20

Question on whether concerns about fireworks are increasing

13:59

Liam Byrne and David Bowles — year‑round fireworks and enforcement challenges

14:38

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP — limits of local policing to enforce fireworks rules

15:37

David Bowles — international examples of restricting or banning fireworks

15:57

Impact of fireworks on veterans and PTSD

16:53

Question to Alan Friggieri on veterans’ experience of fireworks

16:53

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP to Alan Friggieri on unpredictable fireworks and PTSD triggers

19:42

Impacts of fireworks on animals and enforcement of fireworks laws (cont.)

21:41

Question of Antonia Bance MP on gaps in fireworks regulation and Steve Raper's response on enforcement and black market risks

21:41

Exchange between Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP and Steve Raper on feasibility of policing fireworks and impact of a black market

25:35

David Bowles — international evidence on fireworks bans, licensing and injury reduction

27:00

Impact of fireworks on veterans and PTSD (cont.)

28:22

Alan Friggieri — distinction between safety and predictability and need for community notification

28:22

Impacts of fireworks on animals and enforcement of fireworks laws (cont.)

30:12

Questions to Steve Raper on size and growth of the UK fireworks market and its safety record

30:12

Impact of fireworks on veterans and PTSD (cont.)

33:10

Question of Dan Aldridge MP to Alan Friggieri on government firework proposals and predictability

33:10

Impacts of fireworks on animals and enforcement of fireworks laws (cont.)

35:40

Exchange between Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP and Steve Raper on enforcement, deterrence and anti-social use of fireworks

35:40

David Bowles on RSPCA support for lower noise limits and firework control zones

39:00

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP to David Bowles and Alan Friggieri on noise limits and firework categories

39:56

Question of Sarah Edwards MP to Steve Raper on noise concerns, testing and certification of fireworks

41:26

Further questioning by Sarah Edwards MP to Steve Raper on firework design, government noise proposals and black market risks

45:13

Question of Sarah Edwards MP to David Bowles on advice for animal owners during fireworks

50:33

Question of Mr Joshua Reynolds MP on enforcement powers and noise limits for fireworks

53:05

Conclusion of first panel on fireworks and transition

58:23

Panel 2 — Black Friday sales and misleading pricing

59:53

Misleading Black Friday pricing practices and enforcement

59:53

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP — opening of second panel and criticism of absent companies

59:53

Question of Mr Joshua Reynolds MP on Black Friday "fake deals" and prevalence of misleading discounts

01:01:26

Question of Mr Joshua Reynolds MP on RRPs, misleading Black Friday pricing and enforcement capacity

01:05:03

Question of Sarah Edwards MP on whether Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a "scam" and consumer advice

01:09:32

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP on the worst Black Friday offenders among retailers

01:12:41

Question of Antonia Bance MP on online scams, platforms and enforcement limitations

01:14:24

Question of Sarah Edwards MP on consumer advice beyond Black Friday and platform practices

01:21:42

Question of Dan Aldridge MP on DMCC enforcement, CMA performance and targeting major offenders

01:23:22

Online payment methods and consumer protection

01:26:57

Question of Mr Joshua Reynolds MP on pay-by-bank, loss of protection and reform of Section 75

01:26:57

Panel 1 — Fireworks regulation and consumer protection (cont.)

01:30:20

Impacts of fireworks on animals and enforcement of fireworks laws (cont.)

01:30:20

Question of Antonia Bance MP on fireworks restrictions, black market risks and antisocial use

01:30:20

Panel 2 — Black Friday sales and misleading pricing (cont.)

01:32:46

Conclusion of second panel on Black Friday and consumer protection

01:32:46

Panel 3 — Government and regulators on consumer and worker protection (Poundland)

01:34:19

Poundland insolvency, bids and protection of workers and suppliers

01:34:19

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP on government engagement with Poundland and Gordon Brothers and the administration timetable

01:34:19

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP on Poundland bids, profitability, debt burden and directors’ duties

01:38:11

Question of Dan Aldridge MP on holding Poundland’s owners to account and supporting staff

01:45:13

Question of Antonia Bance MP on protections against asset-stripping and impacts on town centres

01:46:51

Intervention of Sarah Edwards MP on governance, audit reform and director accountability

01:49:34

Government approach to fireworks regulation and consultation

01:51:24

Question of Antonia Bance MP on fireworks harms, consultation expectations, timing and legal changes

01:51:24

Question of Sarah Edwards MP on fireworks enforcement, deterrence and use of video evidence

01:58:25

Black Friday pricing scams and CMA enforcement

02:03:53

Question of Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP on CMA enforcement of Black Friday mis-selling and adequacy of fines

02:03:53

Question of Mr Joshua Reynolds MP on consultation on fake prices and misleading discounts

02:11:28

Questions on online marketplaces, online fraud, pay-by-bank protections and consumer strategy

02:15:39

E-bike and battery safety and illegal conversions

02:23:48

Question of Antonia Bance MP on illegal e-bikes, conversion kits and product safety powers

02:23:48

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Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

3 November 2026

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Tue, 3 Nov 2026 Actual start 14:15 House of Commons

Follow its sittings

11:53 - 12:20

Speaker 1

Welcome to today's hearings of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, as we explore some consumer protection issues that are of the moment, one around fireworks regulation, and the second around Black Friday. David Bowles, I'm going to come to you first if I may. So, we've got bonfire night coming up. It's a time of actually some distress for animal lovers and their pets. Just what are the things that you're worried about?

12:20 - 13:31

Speaker 2

Yes, so this year is quite unusual because we've got bonfire night obviously next week followed the next day by Diwali. And then we go into essentially a four-month period, because you then get New Year's Eve and then Chinese New Year, where you get most of the complaints about fireworks on pets.

So, we've got three sorts of evidence. We've got evidence from pet owners, and there's been a large number of surveys done by organizations like the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Redwings. And that finds that probably for horses, about 60% of horse owners are concerned about firework use on their animals. With dogs, it goes down a little bit from 40 to 60%. With cats Protection say it's around 40 to 60% as well.

So we know that there's a body of evidence showing that owners themselves are very worried about the impacts of that. We now have some pretty good scientific studies. University of Utrecht has done some good scientific studies on the impact of fireworks on dogs and horses. We know the impact on farm animals.

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