Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fees charged by GPs to provide medical information to support a firearms licence application.

In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, relevant medical information is requested from the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence before the licence is issued. Police forces must be satisfied that a person does not pose a danger to public safety before granting or renewing a firearm licence and they may require sight of medical information before proceeding to issue the licence.

The Government does not collect statistics on the participation of GPs in the firearms licensing process, placing of the encoded reminder, or the level of any fee that GPs may charge their patients for providing medical information to the police. However, we do understand from information from informal reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants that participation rates amongst GPs and the fees that they charge are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about improving the arrangements for providing medical evidence and how greater consistency can be achieved.

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a power to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions, which include the medical arrangements. Before issuing the statutory guidance, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chief’s Council and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland, and we will also consult publicly on the guidance before it is published. Once issued, the police will be required to have regard to this guidance, and this will therefore help to ensure greater consistency in practice across the country. The Government intends to launch the consultation on the statutory guidance before the summer recess.