Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the system for gun licences that comes into force on 1 August 2020 has the minimum level of bureaucracy for people seeking to (a) renew and (b) obtain a licence; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State has today announced that six general licences for the control of wild birds will be reissued on a temporary basis from 1 August to 31 December. New general licences will come into force on 1 January 2021.

Defra is committed to achieving a general licensing regime for wild birds which is both robust and workable for users, ensuring that longer-term licensing arrangements are informed by the best available evidence. The review of general licences launched in June 2019 by the then Secretary of State has made significant progress. However, additional time is needed to thoroughly analyse scientific and practitioner evidence for which species can be controlled under the licences for which purposes, and to fully develop a general licensing solution for protected sites.

No action is required by general licence users, beyond the ongoing requirement to act in accordance with the licence conditions. There is no application or renewal process involved.

Defra intends to publish new licences in November to allow user groups to become acquainted with the changes before they officially come into force on 1 January.