Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to include a single firearms licensing authority for England and Wales within the proposed National Police Service.

The Firearms Act 1968 places statutory responsibility for firearms licensing decisions on the chief officer of police for each force area. This framework is supported by statutory guidance issued by the Home Secretary and by Authorised Professional Practice issued by the College of Policing.

The Government is considering firearms licensing arrangements as part of the Government’s wider police reform agenda to consider the potential benefits of greater centralisation of firearms licensing through the new National Police Service in the future. The Government will bring forward legislation to establish the National Police Service as soon as Parliamentary time allows.