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Written question asked by Joe Morris (Labour) on Friday, 21 March 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 March 2025. It was answered by Diana Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 31 March 2025 on behalf of the Home Office.


Firearms: Licensing

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total number of firearms certificate holders is, what the percentage of licensing applications completed within four months is; and how many temporary permits were issued by the firearms licensing department of Northumbria Constabulary, last notified to her department.

Answer

As at 31 March 2024, there were a total of 643,162 firearms certificates on issue in England and Wales. This was made up of 147,364 firearms certificates and 495,798 shotgun certificates on issue respectively.

The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and they are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners. However, the performance of forces is actively being monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and he is developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams, which it is intended will be published soon, to provide greater transparency on application turnaround times.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
40356
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Licensing Firearms
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk