Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of aligning shotgun and firearm licensing systems on (a) public safety and (b) police licensing resource capacity.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.

We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, before deciding whether and what changes are necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an impact assessment in relation to any changes that we intend to bring forward after the consultation including, as appropriate, impact on the police, the rural economy, sports, wildlife management and crop protection, in the normal way.