Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to permit local authorities to allow reimbursement of fees for the annual premises licence; and what guidance the Government has issued to local authorities on the reimbursement or reduction of those fees during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Kit Malthouse, the Minister for Crime and Policing, wrote to the chairs of the licensing committees on 8 April about issues arising from the coronavirus outbreak. He set out an expectation that where a business was unable to pay the charge for reasons related to coronavirus then the licensing authority should exercise its discretion to delay suspending the licence. This would allow the business to continue selling alcohol until it was able to pay.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) subsequently test police officers who are involved in policing demonstrations where demonstrators are failing to abide by the Government’s social distancing measures; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Our emergency services are doing a fantastic job keeping us safe, using their professional judgement to protect our NHS and save lives. We are committed to ensuring the police have the powers, resources and equipment they need to do their crucial work.
The Government recognises the importance of Personal Protective Equipment for all of those on the frontline. As of 29 May, the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) have distributed 345,733 masks to police forces across the country over the last two weeks. In total, 20,098,314 pieces of PPE have been procured and will be delivered over the following weeks. Over the course of this week, NPoCC is also set to supply over 200,000 masks and continue to receive additional stock to support forces.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have confirmed that police currently have a good supply of PPE and they are working to oversee its distribution to forces. The NPCC have issued guidance to all forces on the use of PPE tailored to their unique role to ensure officers and staff are protected sufficiently.
Testing continues to be available to all symptomatic police officers. This enables staff to be able to determine if they should remain isolated or can come back to the workplace in the immediate term. This is vital for our frontline resilience in areas such as policing, fire and Border Force.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has received representations on Derbyshire constabulary advising firearms licence holders not to contact hon Members in relation to the firearms licensing system operated by Derbyshire Police.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office has not received representations from the public about Derbyshire constabulary advising firearms licence holders to refrain from contacting their Member of Parliament about licensing matters. We are aware that the ‘Derbyshire Alert’ community messaging system recently carried a post inviting firearms applicants to contact the force licensing department directly for advice on current processes for firearms licensing, and in particular in relation to background medical checks. This does not, of course, prevent any member of the public from contacting their MP about any matter of concern
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on firearms licensing compiled by constabularies on the advice given by the Chairman of the National Police Chief Council's firearms and explosives committee.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Firearms licensing is an operational matter for the police who are not required to provide information on their decisions in individual cases to the Home Office. Similarly, it is open to the National Police Chiefs’ Council to provide advice or information to police forces relating to firearms licensing. We do, however, have regular discussions with the police, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, about matters relating to firearms licensing.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of medical verification of firearms licencing on trends in the number of people applying for a grant or renewal of a (a) shotgun certificate and (b) firearms certificate.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The police are responsible for assessing the suitability of those who apply for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, and this includes checks relating to the medical suitability, based on information from the applicant’s GP. This is an important part of the process, as it helps to ensure that those who have lawful access to firearms do not pose a risk to themselves or to others.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from coroners on the involvement of medical practitioners in firearms licensing in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Representations received from coroners have helped to inform the discussions we have had with interested parties on strengthening the medical arrangements for firearms licensing. These representations have, in particular, highlighted the importance of the police having sight of medical information from a firearm applicant’s GP prior to granting of a licence, and for the need for a firearms marker to be placed on patient records so that GPs can advise the police if a person begins to suffer from a relevant medical condition while their licence is valid.
Following discussions with police, medical and shooting representatives, new medical arrangements were introduced in 2016 so that medical information would be requested from GPs prior to issuing of a firearms licence and GPs asked to place the firearms marker on patient records.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department held discussions on the role of GPs in firearms licensing with the British Medical Association and not the General Medical Council.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council and the British Medical Association, and we will continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (a) Ministers in her Department and (b) officials in her Department with representatives from the General Medical Council on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (i) Ministers in her Department and (ii) officials in her Department with representatives from police forces on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she publish the (a) dates and (b) outcomes of the meetings held by (a) Ministers in her Department and (b) officials in her Department with representatives from the British Shooting Sports Council on the medical involvement in firearms licensing since May 2016.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with a range of interested parties including the police, representatives of the medical profession, including the General Medical Council, and shooting organisations including the British Shooting Sports Council and the Countryside Alliance, and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.