Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the gun licensing regime to air weapons that have a muzzle energy of more than one joule.

We are reviewing the regulation of air weapons in England and Wales. We have asked for the views of interested parties by 6 February 2018 on a range of issues, including manufacturing standards, secure storage and whether current arrangements are sufficient to prevent children gaining access to air weapons. As part of the review, we are looking at the arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland where air weapons with a muzzle energy of more than one joule are subject to licensing regimes. We will publish the outcome of the review in due course.