Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timescale and expected completion date are for his Department’s work to introduce statutory guidance under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
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. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. We plan to begin the consultation shortly.
We have been in discussions with the police, the relevant medical bodies, and representatives of shooting organisations about improving the arrangements for providing medical information as part of the firearms licensing process and how greater consistency can be achieved across England and Wales. The new statutory guidance, when it is published, will apply to firearms licensing functions including the medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans for its guidance relating to firearms licensing medical procedures to be made statutory under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
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. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. We plan to begin the consultation shortly.
We have been in discussions with the police, the relevant medical bodies, and representatives of shooting organisations about improving the arrangements for providing medical information as part of the firearms licensing process and how greater consistency can be achieved across England and Wales. The new statutory guidance, when it is published, will apply to firearms licensing functions including the medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a review of firearms licensing medical procedures is being undertaken as part of her Department's work to introduce statutory guidance under section 55A of the Firearms Act 1968.
Answered by Nick Hurd
We have been in discussions with the police, medical representatives and shooting organisations about the medical arrangements for firearms licensing and how to achieve greater consistency across England and Wales. The process, which was introduced in 2016, is voluntary and we know that there is currently variation in how GPs respond to the police request for information.
The statutory guidance to the police will apply to firearms licensing functions, including medical arrangements, and the police will be required to have regard to this guidance. We intend to consult on the statutory guidance before it is finalised.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Home Office guidance on firearms licensing law is complied with.
Answered by Nick Hurd
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. The police will be required to have regard to this guidance. We intend to consult on this guidance publically before it is finalised.
Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)
Question to the Home Office:
What progress the Government has made on placing vulnerable Syrian refugee families in the UK.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
It is important that we focus our support on the most vulnerable refugees in the region fleeing the atrocities in Syria, whatever their nationality. Latest statistics published on 24 August confirm that a total of 8,535 people have been resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme since it began, 4,369 of which arrived in 2016. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and devolved administrations to ensure we meet our commitment.