Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with police forces on potential changes to the firearms licensing policy to require a medical declaration; and if he will make a statement.

Following the introduction of new medical arrangements for firearms licensing in 2016 we have been in discussions with the police, the relevant medical bodies and representatives of shooting organisations about improving the arrangements, and how greater consistency can be achieved across England and Wales.

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, and this guidance will include the relevant medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chiefs Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is finalised. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.