Clause 26 - Age limits for purchase etc. of air weapons
Violent Crime Reduction Bill
3:45 pm
Jonathan Djanogly (Shadow Solicitor General (Also Assists Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs), (Assist the Home Affairs Team); Huntingdon, Conservative)
Partly because we have seen none of the consultation, we have seen no evidence that the clause would reduce crime. The age limit for air guns was increased as recently as 2003, but the impact of that change has yet to be assessed. Also, many existing laws could be used to counter the problem if only they were better enforced. The solution is not more laws that serve only to penalise the law-abiding shooting community, but better enforcement of existing laws. Unless the Minister can alleviate our concerns and provide compelling evidence as to why the clause is necessary and how it will serve significantly to reduce violent crime, we shall consider our position at a later stage.
The clause raises from 17 to 18 the age at which a person may purchase or hire an airgun or ammunition for an airgun. It also raises from 17 to 18 the minimum age at which a person may have an airgun or ammunition without being supervised by a person aged 21 or over, and raises from 17 to 18 the minimum age at which a person may borrow an airgun or receive one as a gift.
It is worth reflecting on some of the uses of airguns. They are widely used in Britain by young people for pest and predator control, target shooting and informal target practice. On Second Reading, the shadow Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), said that we would consult on airsoft proposals in the Bill. Well, we have done so, and we still fail to see any justification for the new clause, let alone how it will have a material impact on violent crime. Changes to firearms legislation should be soundly based on consultation and evidence, not just on a perceived need to do something. The regulatory impact assessment stated that the vast majority of the 4,371 responses to the consultation paper received by the Government that commented on air weapons were in favour of tackling misuse, but not through further restrictions on possession or sale.
There are an estimated 4 to 7 million air weapons in this country, the vast majority of which are used responsibly for target shooting and vermin control. The status of target airgun events has been raised consistently in recent years. The estimated sale of blank firers and soft airguns is about 350,000 weapons per annum.
In answer to a written question in 11 July 2005, in column 767 of Hansard, the Minister said that the first statistics for court proceedings on airguns following the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 would be available this autumn. The proposed changes in the Bill come soon after that Act, but before there has been sufficient time to see whether the Act has had a discernable impact on airgun misuse, and with no evidential basis for the proposal.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act attempted to deal with airgun abuse by, for example, raising the age of purchase to 17. However, it is less that two years old. Its effects have not yet had time to be properly monitored and evaluated and we maintain, having consulted widely on the issue, that it is wrong to impose further restrictions in the absence of further evidence.