Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make it an offence to purchase component parts of ammunition with the intent to manufacture.

Firearms law already controls the purchase and sale of the key components of ammunition. It is an offence to sell or buy primers unless the purchaser is suitably authorised, for example by being a registered firearms dealer or holding a firearm certificate permitting the acquisition of relevant ammunition. The acquisition of gunpowder is controlled under explosives law. Legislation also controls the manufacture, supply, purchase and possession of complete ammunition.

We have no plans at present to introduce further controls on ammunition or the component parts of ammunition, but we keep legislation under review and will not hesitate to act should the need arise.