Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the involvement of registered firearms dealers in all (a) sales and (b) purchases of private firearms.

The Home Office publishes data on the number of firearms held, including shotguns, by the type of firearms certificate held. This data does not provide a specific breakdown on the type of shotgun. The latest data can be found in the table 13 via the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/684aa6f1a3c112ee2996ff1e/firearm-shotgun-certificates-2024-2025-tables.ods

The Firearms Act 1968 enables a Registered Firearms Dealer (RFD) to purchase and sell firearms provided that accurate records are maintained, and all firearms are properly accounted for, including those which have been transferred to the dealer by certificate holders. Private sales can also be arranged through an RFD by the owner if he or she wishes. However, the issue of private sales is an important one. The Government keeps all controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard the public against the misuse of licensed firearms.

The non-statutory Guide on Firearms Licensing Law, last issued in November 2022, is currently in the process of being updated and a revised version will be issued in due course. However, a new version of the Statutory Guidance on firearms licensing to Chief Officers of Police was issued on 5 August 2025, and this sets out the criteria that must be applied when police forces are considering firearms applications and is intended to strengthen the assessment of those who hold, or who apply for, both shotgun and firearms licences. The Statutory Guidance is helping to ensure consistency in decision making across all police forces.

The Home Office has regular discussions with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland on firearms licensing matters through the Firearms Licensing Enforcement Board (FLEB) which is chaired by the Home Office. Sharing of firearms licensing data for operational reasons, and where there is a lawful basis for doing so, can already take place between forces in England and Wales and Police Scotland.