Firearms: Licensing
(asked on 13th January 2020) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of police firearms licensing departments.
The Home Office does not hold data on the proportion of firearms licensing applications and renewals that are completed within eight weeks of being received. Under the Firearms Act 1968, firearm and shotgun certificate administration is a matter for the chief officer of police for the area in which the applicant lives. The time taken to process a firearm or shotgun application can vary between forces as the respective chief officer must take into account the need to manage risk and ensure public protection in their respective force area.
In respect of applications for renewal of firearm certificates, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 added provisions to the Firearms Act 1968 which
automatically extend the validity of firearm and shotgun certificates for a
limited period of up to eight weeks where the application for renewal has been made at least eight weeks prior to the expiry of the certificate. This allows the police extra time to complete all the necessary checks without it impacting on a certificate holder’s activities through the expiry of the certificate. The Home Office does not collect data on the number of applications which have
benefitted from these provisions since they were introduced on 17 April 2018 but the table below provides statistics on the number of new and renewal
applications processed by Dyfed-Powys police firearms licensing department since 2008/09.
Firearm certificates by police force area: applications, revocations, certificates on issue and firearms covered by certificates, 2009/10 to 2018/19 | |||||||||
New applications | Renewal applications | ||||||||
Year | Region | Police force area | Granted | Refused | Total | Granted | Refused | Total | |
2008/09 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 222 | 10 | 232 | 190 | 0 | 190 | |
2009/10 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 223 | 8 | 231 | 285 | 0 | 285 | |
2010/11 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 315 | 3 | 318 | 777 | 7 | 784 | |
2011/12 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 391 | 3 | 394 | 901 | 4 | 905 | |
2012/13 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 317 | 9 | 326 | 871 | 0 | 871 | |
2013/14 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 284 | 7 | 291 | 394 | 0 | 394 | |
2014/15 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 230 | 0 | 230 | 443 | 0 | 443 | |
2015/16 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 269 | 4 | 273 | 796 | 0 | 796 | |
2016/17 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 309 | 4 | 313 | 1,008 | 3 | 1,011 | |
2017/18 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 249 | 10 | 259 | 884 | 1 | 885 | |
2018/19 | Wales | Dyfed-Powys | 190 | 7 | 197 | 451 | 1 | 452 | |
Note: The police force area recorded on the NFLMS for a certificate holder relates to the holders primary address, therefore this may not necessarily be where their weapon(s) is held. | |||||||||
The resourcing of police firearms licensing departments is a matter for chief constables. Monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of police firearms licensing departments is carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. In 2015 HMICFRS carried out a thematic inspection of police firearms licensing departments and recommended that chief constables should assess the demand placed on their firearms licensing department and ensure it has the capacity to meet this demand and provide an efficient and effective service at all times.