Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) economic contribution of the shooting and conservation industry to the UK each year, and (b) potential effect on that contribution of proposals to increase the cost of firearm renewal.

The Government is committed to ensuring an efficient and effective firearms licensing system and to achieving full cost recovery for the police.

We have commenced a review of firearms licensing fees for police issued certificates, which were last revised in 2015. The review will be informed by the work of a Firearms Fees Working Group, chaired by the Home Office, which will carry out a detailed review of the current cost to the police of administering firearms licensing and develop proposals for revised fees, in accordance with HM Treasury guidance. Proposals for new fees will be subject to public consultation in due course. We will prepare an impact assessment that will include consideration of the effect of new fee levels on rural communities, including on farmers and other occupations that require the use of a firearm or shotgun.

In line with HM Treasury guidance, new fees will be set at a level to recover the full cost to police forces of administering firearms licensing. Fees are collected by each police force and will offset the costs of their firearms licensing team and the work needed to support an effective licensing system.