Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of Derbyshire Constabulary to introduce a new process for all firearm and shotgun applications, including renewals, which requires applicants to provide, and pay for, medical information verified by a GP; what discussions they have had with that Constabulary about the compliance of that process with Home Office Guidance; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that process on the workload of frontline medical practitioners and the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The police are responsible for assessing the suitability of those who apply for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability based on information provided normally by the applicant’s GP.
The Government has consulted on the introduction of new statutory firearms guidance to police, which includes proposals for revised medical arrangements to ensure that police have the medical information they require before the grant of a certificate. The consultation closed on 17 September and the Government will publish its response and the statutory guidance in due course.
The Government recognises that firearms licensing arrangements, including the medical aspects, will be affected by the measures that have been put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Police forces may need to adopt a flexible approach to meet local need and risk in the current exceptional circumstances and there may be some impact on firearms licensing arrangements. The Government will continue to have discussions with the police to keep firearms licensing under review over the coming weeks and months, but the Government’s priority is to continue to encourage people to stay at home and to protect the NHS.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 4 March (HL Deb, col 490) that they would launch a consultation on the licensing of firearms and issues relating to medical records by the summer recess, whether they are on track to meet that commitment; and if not, when they intend to begin that consultation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government intends to launch a consultation on statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, including the arrangements for the provision of medical information, very shortly.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Chief Constables in England and Wales must be in receipt of a medical report for a firearms licence applicant prior to granting or renewing a firearms licence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) number of GPs who have refused to provide medical information to support a firearms licence application, and (2) reasons for such refusals.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of encoded reminders that have been placed on the patient records of firearms licence applicants following the grant or renewal of a firearms licence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fees charged by GPs to provide medical information to support a firearms licence application.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.
The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the itemised costs to (1) the Home Office, and (2) the police, of the grant and renewal of authorities under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 for each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Department published the estimated average annual costs associated with issuing licences for museums, Home Office approved shooting clubs, and Section 5 licences in the impact assessment that accompanied the recent consultation on firearms. Average annual costs to the Home Office were estimated to be £596,000. Average annual costs to the police in England and Wales were estimated to be £69,000. Average annual costs to the police in Scotland were estimated to be £5,000. The impact assessment is available on www.gov.uk website and has been attached to this answer.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the groups which make up the total of section 5 authority holders under the Firearms Act 1968; and how many persons fall into each group.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government carried out a consultation on the implementation of new fees for applications for section 5 licences from 12 January to 9 March. The impact assessment accompanying the consultation, available on www.gov.uk, sets out the estimated number of holders for the most common types of section 5 licence, based on the number of applications made between January 2013 and December 2015. In the case of an exhibitors at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition (which are issued on a temporary basis), the figure provided is the number of holders in 2015. The figures in the impact assessment are set out in the following table:
Type of section 5 licence | Estimated number of holders |
Firearms dealer | 587 |
DSEI Exhibitor | 36 |
Firearms carrier | 321 |
Private Maritime Security Company | 12 (with 322 vetted guards) |
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long each firearms licensing department takes to (1) grant, and (2) renew, (a) firearm, (b) shotgun, and (c) coterminous, certificates.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Under the Firearms Act 1968, firearm and shotgun certificate administration is a matter for the chief officer of police for the area in which the applicant lives. The time taken to process a firearm or shotgun application can vary between forces as the respective chief officer must take into account the need to manage risk and ensure public protection in their respective force area.
Whilst Section 7 of the Firearms Act 1968, allows the police to issue a temporary permit for the continued possession of firearms and ammunition, the use of this power was not used consistently by police forces. The Government has therefore taken steps to assist forces with the administration of the firearms licensing system through changes made under the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Section 131 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 automatically extends the validity of firearm and shotgun certificates past their expiry date for a limited period of up to eight weeks where a timely application for renewal has been made prior to the expiry of the certificate. This will give police the extra time needed to complete outstanding checks without this impacting on a licence holder’s activities through the expiry of the certificate prior to renewal. This provision will be implemented later this year.
Any requests for compensation by licence holders whilst their renewal applications are being considered is a matter for them to raise with the police.
We do not collect data centrally on the performance of individual forces in respect of firearms licensing.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures are in place financially to compensate certificate holders who are obliged to lodge their firearms with a registered firearms dealer due to a late renewal of their certificate.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Under the Firearms Act 1968, firearm and shotgun certificate administration is a matter for the chief officer of police for the area in which the applicant lives. The time taken to process a firearm or shotgun application can vary between forces as the respective chief officer must take into account the need to manage risk and ensure public protection in their respective force area.
Whilst Section 7 of the Firearms Act 1968, allows the police to issue a temporary permit for the continued possession of firearms and ammunition, the use of this power was not used consistently by police forces. The Government has therefore taken steps to assist forces with the administration of the firearms licensing system through changes made under the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Section 131 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 automatically extends the validity of firearm and shotgun certificates past their expiry date for a limited period of up to eight weeks where a timely application for renewal has been made prior to the expiry of the certificate. This will give police the extra time needed to complete outstanding checks without this impacting on a licence holder’s activities through the expiry of the certificate prior to renewal. This provision will be implemented later this year.
Any requests for compensation by licence holders whilst their renewal applications are being considered is a matter for them to raise with the police.
We do not collect data centrally on the performance of individual forces in respect of firearms licensing.