radio 2 next topic! £200 FAC cost

[legs748]

I thought the article was quite well balanced on the whole, good erudite arguments put up by mike yardley and the chap from acpo. But whatever the price there is no doubt that the shooting community gets poor service for whatever money we pay. The police are aware of this and seem to be prepared to work with us to provide efficiency savings - all well and good.

But....

The argument that we are being subsidised doesn't seem fair. Shooting is a lifestyle choice, fair enough. But so is having children, my tax pays for family allowance, playgrounds and school. So is drug misuse, my tax pays for drugs and treatment. Sports wise my tax pays for skate parks, football fields, cycle lanes, community leisure centres etc. I would love to pay my fee and use Nottinghamshire councils subsidised 1000m range, but guess what? There isn't one. What we get for our fee is questions and regulation. Nothing else.

[SevenSixTwo]

A public service should be funded by the public. It really is that simple.

[Chuck]

BBC :roll: - do you really expect anything pro-gun?

[John MH]

NAR Statement on Fees from the BSSC here.

[Gaz]

Well said BSSC/NRA. Would have been nice if they'd mentioned Andy Marsh's Radio 4 admission that licensing costs would be around £100 after e-commerce, but you can't have everything I guess.

[Sandgroper]

After this topic was raised I wrote to Norman Baker/Home Office and this was the reply:

Thank you for your e-mail of 26 April to Norman Baker about the firearms licensing process and associated fees. Your e-mail has been passed to the Firearms Section and I have been asked to reply.

Various points are raised in your e-mail about the firearms licensing process. I will respond to them in the order they are raised.

I can confirm that sections 27 and 28 of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended) provide chief officers of police with delegated authority to administer firearms licensing. The police are responsible for issuing firearm and shotgun certificates; keeping records of registered firearms dealers; and, generally overseeing individuals and firearms dealers within their force area.

The police will not issue a firearm certificate to a person if they are satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for possessing or acquiring the gun. They will also refuse any application they believe poses a risk to public safety.

Section 32 of the Act mandates the fees the police will charge for the different elements of the firearms licensing process. It is this aspect that is currently under review.

The current situation, which is not sustainable, is that the police are subsidising the operation of the firearms licensing system. The most recent assessment of the net cost to police of processing firearms applications was undertaken by the Association of Chief Police Officers in 2009-10. Their report estimated that the gross cost was £23.6 million and that the income received was £6.4 million. Therefore the net cost to the police was approximately £17.2 million. I hope you will agree that it is important for us to achieve a balance between an efficient system and a fair fee level.
In your e-mail you suggest having a single certificate for firearm and shotguns. As a certificate holder you will be interested to know that a single application form for firearm and shotgun certificates was introduced on 1 December 2013 and is available to download via police and shooting organisation websites.

The firearms licensing process will change further with the introduction of the new eCommerce system (an online system which will support the administration of firearms licences) and other efficiencies being made in the licensing process. By streamlining the way licences are administered across police forces, the new eCommerce system will provide both the police and licence holders with a faster and more consistent process. There are however, no plans to move to a single certificate for firearms and shotguns or to change the validity period for certificates.

Please be reassured that we are continuing to work across government and with the police towards a fair fee solution and that this remains a priority for all concerned.

You also suggest in your e-mail that all section 1 firearms be re-categorised to section 2. The UK Government has always made it clear that controls on firearms should be targeted fairly and proportionately whilst striking a balance between securing public safety without bearing down unnecessarily on legitimate users. I can confirm that there are no plans to re-categorise the status of any weapons within the Firearms Act.

Make of it what you may...

[Demonic69]

Blah blah blah ACPO thin air plucked figure blah blah blah nothing changing blah blah blah.
I could have written that response out myself :-)
Good job for trying though groper

I don't read my own signature!

[Gaz]

+1, good job flushing a response out of them.

[Sandgroper]

+1, good job flushing a response out of them.

Thank you, but isn't this something we all should be doing? The same answers might be trotted out but if they have to it 'x' amount of times, it still sends a message that we are not happy with the situation and we're keeping an eye on them.

[zanes]

After this topic was raised I wrote to Norman Baker/Home Office and this was the reply:

<snip>
In your e-mail you suggest having a single certificate for firearm and shotguns. As a certificate holder you will be interested to know that a single application form for firearm and shotgun certificates was introduced on 1 December 2013 and is available to download via police and shooting organisation websites.

<snip>
You also suggest in your e-mail that all section 1 firearms be re-categorised to section 2. The UK Government has always made it clear that controls on firearms should be targeted fairly and proportionately whilst striking a balance between securing public safety without bearing down unnecessarily on legitimate users. I can confirm that there are no plans to re-categorise the status of any weapons within the Firearms Act.

Make of it what you may...

Reading this I wonder if plans are to move S2 to S1?