Dear Members

The following link will take you to the recently launched Home Office consultation.

https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/firearms-licensing/

We will be responding officially as HBSA.  Members should also respond as private individuals.

At a recent British Shooting Sports Council Meeting (BSSC) we reviewed the questions with other member associations. Subsequent discussions also took place. A general broad agreement was achieved on suitable answers and these are below.

BASC, a member of BSSC, had already published their suggested answers to their members, and their rationale, which does sum up the situation well, and was also agreed broadly by BSSC members at the recent meeting as suitable. The link to BASC answers and detail is at the foot of this message.

For clarity the suggested answers for HBSA members to enter are as follows, including the free text box:-

Q  & Answer

1. No
2. No
3. Yes and More than 5 years
4. No
5. No
6. Yes
7. Leave blank
   and in the Free Text box under Q 21 state:
   Re Q 7 Yes to a checklist which may be helpful but No to a declaration
8. No
9. No
10. No
11. No
12. Yes
13. No
14. Yes
15. No
16. Yes
17. Yes
18. No
19. ]
20. ] Leave blank
    and in the Free Text box at Q21 explain that existing channels of communication for the public are fully adequate

Also add answer re Q 7.

Answers to go in Q21 free text box: –

‘Re Q 7 My answer is : Yes to a checklist which may be helpful; but No to a declaration’

‘Re Q19 and Q20 My answers are: existing channels of communication for the public are fully adequate.’

Plus the following if you wish and was included in our Association answer although they are not directly part of the survey as such and be assured that they have already been made separately :-

‘Financial penalties imposed on those chief officers who fail to run efficient firearms licensing units.’

‘His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary advice on changes to firearms licensing to be mandatory rather than recommendations.’

‘Creation of a centralised office to control police standards and performance in firearms licensing.’

‘Sound moderators to be removed from the licensing regime.’

‘Firearms law to be codified and consolidated.’

FYI

The link to the BASC detail is here.

https://basc.org.uk/changing-rules-on-gun-ownership/

You will see that BASC also make the following comment re Q 21. These points have already been raised by the various associations including HBSA and BSSC. You may enter them as suggested above if you wish, but as mentioned they have already been made separately and are not part of the survey as such.