Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how many A.) prosecutions B.) convictions have been made since 2006 under Section 26(2) of the Firearms Act 1968 in relation to individuals purchasing firearms or ammunition with a false certificate.

Section 26(2) does not create an offence relating to the purchase or acquisition of firearms using a false certificate. The offence most closely associated with such conduct is section 3(5) of the Firearms Act (FA) 1968, where it is an offence to produce a false certificate with the view of purchasing or acquiring any firearm or ammunition. Depending on the facts of the case, however, the CPS may charge these cases as a possession offence under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968. There may also be other offences considered depending on what the individual who purchases the firearms does with it.

The CPS holds management information which shows the number of offences charged by way of Section 3(5), Section 1 and Section 5 FA 1968 in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of offences charged by Act and Section in which a prosecution commenced between 2006 and 2025. The CPS is unable to differentiate whether the offences charged under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968 involved the individual using a false certificate; therefore, the information in the table below is for all offences charged under those sections of the FA 1968.

The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants prosecuted. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data is held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

The CPS does not hold management information on convictions by Act and Section and is therefore unable to provide the requested conviction figures.