Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle firearm offences crime across (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.

The Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit firearms. The UK has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world. We are continuing to reduce the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK. The Government works closely with law enforcement to protect the public by tackling criminal use of firearms and disrupting illegal supply routes. Our approach is centred around partnership working, securing and enhancing capabilities at the border and reducing diversion from the legal to the illegal market.

For example, the NCA-led Operation Venetic, a sophisticated clampdown on organised criminals which saw international law enforcement agencies working together to infiltrate encrypted messaging platform EncroChat, has seen over 700 arrests for drugs and firearms offences across the UK, including in the West Midlands.