38 http://www.sportingshooter.co.ukLight at the end of the tunnel
Tim Bonner is Chief Executive
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Telephone: 020 7840 9300The chaos that has defined the firearms licencing procedure since the introduction
of the medical procedure element three years ago could be about to end, says Tim Bonner
T
here is a well-known saying in politics, often
used when a question is proving hard to
answer, and that is: ‘kick it into the long grass’.
This phrase can be a catch-all for many processes
that can be deemed too tough; take, for example,
the firearms licensing medical procedure.
Now over three years after its implementation in
April 2016, the medical procedure continues to
linger uncomfortably within the Home Office’s
remit. For the shooting community, the issue
continues to cause chaos and frustration. There is
no doubt that the system is broken, and the
potential resolutions are both tough and political.
However, at long last, there is some light at the
end of the tunnel.
The medical procedure is nothing short of a
chaotic mess. Several forces have publicly broken
away from the official Home Office guidance for
firearms licensing, moving towards 100% medicalinvolvement, and more forces have threatened
similar action. This has left applicants at the mercy
of the GPs.
We have written previously about some
exorbitant fees being charged for medical checks,
GP computer systems incapable of handling
encoded markers, and GPs claiming a
conscientious objection causing headaches and
delays for both the applicant and the firearms
licensing team.
The crux of the issue is that it includes three
stakeholders, two of which, the police and the
shooting community, are bound by law. The third
stakeholder, the medical profession, is not.
Admittedly, police forces are doing their best to
ensure public safety while trying not to
disadvantage the applicant, but we are
continuously hearing of applicants being launched
into a renewal and grant nightmare, stuck in limboas communication breaks down between the GPs
and the safety conscious police.
In these three years, the Home Office have
failed in tackling the issue head on. Instead, they
have let the procedure slip into what has become
a postcode lottery and mismatch of policies
across the 44 forces in England, Scotland and
Wales. From meetings with ministers and
correspondence with civil servants, we have been
told repeatedly that the solution would be
forthcoming “shortly” or “imminently”. In the
political realm, these words have the very strong
smell of long grass.
Having been left infuriated by the delays, the
Countryside Alliance were keen to see real
progress. Our chance came in the offensiveweapons bill (now an Act) that was passing
through parliament last year. We promoted and
lobbied for an amendment within the House of
Lords that forced the Home Office into publishing
a consultation to seek a solution in time for
parliament’s summer recess in July.
The amendment was successful, and we now
await the proposals that have been three years in
the waiting. While we are unable to predict the
outcome of this consultation, to have enforced
action upon the Home Office has left them
nowhere further to hide. It is now up to the likes of
the CA, other shooting organisations and the
shooting community to work together to find a
satisfactory solution that we can all agree with.
The solution’s pillar will be a procedure that
improves public safety without disadvantaging the
shooting community.
Politics is tough and with Brexit continuously
looming over parliament it has no doubt got
tougher. But that is not an acceptable reason to
allow the chaos that has been witnessed within
the firearms licensing medical procedure since
April 2016. Improvements are necessary and are
on the horizon.http://www.sportingshooter.co.uk 38‘We are continuously
hearing of applicants
stuck in limbo as
communication breaks
down between GPs and
safety conscious police’
Applying for firearms licences is still
not as simple as it should be