Home Department written question – answered at on 17 March 2014.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she or Ministers in her Department have had with (a) the Association of Chief Police Officers and (b) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) about HMIC conducting a review of police forces' performance in issuing and monitoring firearms certificates; and if she will make it her policy to request HMIC undertakes such a review.
Firearms licensing is one of the thematic inspections that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is currently considering for its 2014-15 inspection programme.
HMIC is required by law to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend Mrs May, before laying its annual inspection programme before Parliament. The possible need for a thematic inspection on firearms licensing will be one of the issues the Home Secretary will take into consideration when deciding whether to approve the Inspectorate's programme of work for 2014-15.
This decision will be partly based on advice from the National Policing Lead for Firearms and Explosives on the benefits of an inspection as a means of assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the licensing process.
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