Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to ensure police forces conduct due diligence in preventing crimes involving legally held firearms.

The Firearms Act 1968 gives responsibility for issuing firearms licences to Chief Officers of Police. Since November 2021, however, Statutory Guidance issued by the Secretary of State requires police forces to make robust checks on the suitability of applicants to hold a license and ensure their subsequent continuous assessment. The application process is supported by the police Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and a national training programme.

We keep firearms licensing controls under constant review to safeguard the public against the misuse of licensed firearms. Firearms licensing fees were increased on 5 February 2025, giving effect to a commitment in the Government’s manifesto. The extra income from fees will help police forces to better resource and train their firearms licensing teams.

There were four firearms-related homicides by licence holders in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. While other statistics are published which indicate the types of firearms involved in criminal offences, they do not always show whether the firearm used was legally held.