Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that the cost of firearms licensing does not reduce resources available for other operational policing.

Firearms licensing fees have not been increased since 2015 and are now significantly less than the cost of the service provided by the police.

The Government’s Manifesto includes a commitment to move to full cost recovery for firearms licensing fees, and moving to full cost recovery will help protect the public by providing police forces with the funding they need to properly resource and train their firearms licensing teams, and to carry out thorough checks and continuous assessment of the suitability of someone to possess a lethal firearm.