Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the licensing system for Section 2 shotguns on rural economies.

We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns.

We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.