Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on firearms licensing compiled by constabularies on the advice given by the Chairman of the National Police Chief Council's firearms and explosives committee.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Firearms licensing is an operational matter for the police who are not required to provide information on their decisions in individual cases to the Home Office. Similarly, it is open to the National Police Chiefs’ Council to provide advice or information to police forces relating to firearms licensing. We do, however, have regular discussions with the police, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, about matters relating to firearms licensing.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of medical verification of firearms licencing on trends in the number of people applying for a grant or renewal of a (a) shotgun certificate and (b) firearms certificate.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
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, and this includes checks relating to the medical suitability, based on information from the applicant’s GP. This is an important part of the process, as it helps to ensure that those who have lawful access to firearms do not pose a risk to themselves or to others.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from coroners on the involvement of medical practitioners in firearms licensing in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Representations received from coroners have helped to inform the discussions we have had with interested parties on strengthening the medical arrangements for firearms licensing. These representations have, in particular, highlighted the importance of the police having sight of medical information from a firearm applicant’s GP prior to granting of a licence, and for the need for a firearms marker to be placed on patient records so that GPs can advise the police if a person begins to suffer from a relevant medical condition while their licence is valid.
Following discussions with police, medical and shooting representatives, new medical arrangements were introduced in 2016 so that medical information would be requested from GPs prior to issuing of a firearms licence and GPs asked to place the firearms marker on patient records.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department held discussions on the role of GPs in firearms licensing with the British Medical Association and not the General Medical Council.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council and the British Medical Association, and we will continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (a) Ministers in her Department and (b) officials in her Department with representatives from the General Medical Council on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (i) Ministers in her Department and (ii) officials in her Department with representatives from police forces on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (a) Ministers in her Department and (b) officials in her Department with representatives from the British Shooting Sports Council on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (a) Ministers in her Department and (b) officials in her Department with representatives from the Countryside Alliance on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on the placing of markers on the medical notes of those granted shotgun and firearms certificates; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
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 from the applicant’s GP.
Use of the firearms marker on GP patient records enables the GP to advise the police if a person begins to suffer from a relevant medical condition while their firearms certificate is valid, enabling the police to review their suitability. The Government is supportive of the use of the medical marker as a means of helping to ensure firearms licences are held safely.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she place in the library the results of the pilot trials on placing markers on firearms certificate holders' medical notes that were conducted in Essex and Wiltshire.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The firearms marker on a GP’s patient’s record enables the GP to advise the police if a licensed firearm or shotgun holder begins to suffer from a relevant medical condition while their firearm certificate is valid. Trials testing the medical arrangements took place in Essex and Wiltshire prior to the introduction of a new system in 2016. The results of the trials were not placed in the House Library but were made available to, and were considered by, the members of the working group developing the medical arrangements, including police, medical and shooting representatives. The Government is supportive of the use of the medical marker as a means of helping to ensure that firearm certificates are held safely.