Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has any plans to introduce gun licensing for air guns similar to that in force in Northern Ireland and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office has commenced a review of the regulation of air weapons in England and Wales, and we have asked for the views of a number of interested parties on this. We have also asked that anybody who wishes to share their views on this issue with us do so by 6 February 2018.

This review will take account of the arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland where air weapons are subject to a licensing regime, and we will also be looking at issues such as manufacturing standards, secure storage and whether current arrangements are sufficient to prevent children gaining access to air weapons. We will publish the outcome of the review in due course.