Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearms licence renewals took more than three months in the last financial year.

The issuing of firearms certificates is a matter for individual Chief Constables who are in turn held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. The performance of forces is also being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing, who is in the process of developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams.

With regard to charging different fees for firearms used for work and recreation, HM Treasury guidance specifically rules out any two-tier system of fees. It states that “different groups of customers should not be charged different amounts for a service costing the same, eg charging firms more than individuals”.