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 her Department's policies on the legal ownership of firearms on people living in rural areas.

On 5 February 2025, increased fees came into effect for firearms licensing applications processed by police forces. This gave effect to a commitment in the Government’s manifesto. It is essential for both public safety and police efficiency that full cost recovery fees were introduced. The need to increase firearms licensing fees to help address shortcomings in firearms licensing was highlighted by the Senior Coroner in his Preventing Future Deaths reports into the fatal shootings in Plymouth in August 2021.

As well as supporting public safety, the increased fees will support police forces to provide an improved service to firearms applicants through better resourced and trained licensing teams. The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on Firearms Licensing is developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams, which will be published in order to provide greater transparency on application turnaround times. This will include for the first time a performance target for forces to complete applications for the grant or renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates within four months, unless there are concerns about the suitability of the applicant.

I have written to all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to make clear that the income from increased fees must be invested into their firearms licensing operations, in the interests of both public safety and to support improvements in the service provided by their firearms licensing teams.

A full impact assessment was published alongside the Firearms (Variation of Fees) Order 2025, the Statutory Instrument that brought the new fees into effect.

The impact assessment covers the impact of increased fees on farmers and rural communities. Any future changes to firearms licensing will be subject to further impact assessments in the normal way.