Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to update the Crossbows Act 198, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislation; and what plans she has to regulate the sale of crossbows and related equipment, including broadhead bolts.

Measures being brought in through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which amend the Crossbows Act 1987, introduce stricter age verification procedures around the online sale, delivery and hire of crossbows. These measures will ensure that a crossbow, or part of a crossbow, can only be purchased by someone who is aged 18 or over and will also prevent a crossbow, or part of a crossbow, from being delivered to a locker, left on a doorstep or delivered to a neighbour or another person in the household.

The Government response to the call for evidence on crossbow controls, conducted by the Home Office from 14 February to 9 April 2024, was published on 19 March this year. This set out the Government’s intention to introduce a new licensing scheme for existing crossbow owners and also a prohibition on sales of crossbows and broadhead arrows. We will be consulting in due course on the details of the licensing scheme and prohibition on sales.