Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle delays in issuing licences by police firearms departments.

It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.

In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.

I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.