Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on ensuring that the costs to the public purse of gun licensing and certification are covered by the fees charged to the public for those licenses and certificates.

The Government is committed to ensuring an efficient and effective firearms licensing system and to achieving full cost recovery for the police and Home Office.

Fees for firearm and shotgun licences issued by the police were last increased in 2015 and were calculated with a view to enabling police forces to achieve full cost recovery. These fees are currently being reviewed to assess any changes in police costs.

The Home Office administers applications for firearms licences made by museums with gun collections, approved shooting clubs, and dealers wishing to possess prohibited firearms. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 created a power to charge new fees for these licences. We sought views on proposals for new fees in a public consultation in 2017. Alongside the consultation, we published an impact assessment, which set out the estimated net costs of the system. We received around 5,000 responses to the consultation, which we have considered carefully. We undertook to review the proposed level of fees before they were finalised and officials are currently in discussion with groups representing licensed firearms holders. A Government response will be published shortly.