Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish data on how many doctors have adopted the software for markers on the medical notes of firearm certificate holders.

A digital version of the firearms marker has been rolled out to all general practices in England, and this was completed in May 2023.

When the police inform the general practitioner (GP) that the patient has been granted a firearms licence, the GP adds the appropriate clinical code to a patient’s medical record. The marker is used throughout the five-year validity of the firearm certificate and automatically highlights to the GP when patients recorded as firearms certificate holders or applicants are diagnosed with relevant medical conditions, such as depression or dementia.

The British Medical Association has produced guidance for GPs about firearm digital marker use and signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019 with the National Police Chiefs Council and the Home Office which encouraged GPs to place a firearms flag on patient records when requested.