Gun licence fees could rise four-fold

Home Office plans to raise the cost of firearms licences could see gun owners facing charges of up to £400, more than quadrupling the current fees, campaigners warn.

Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, recently announced that the Home Office would allow police forces to pass on the full cost of managing the firearms licensing system to gun owners.

This move is part of the government’s police funding settlement, aimed at raising £20m.

See also: Gun licence holders told not to avoid mental health support

Currently shotgun licences cost £79 when granted, while firearms licences are charged at £88.

Shooting industry estimates suggest that, under the proposed changes, those charges could rise to anything between £200 and £400.

As of last year, there were more than 500,000 active shotgun licences in England and Wales, which are renewed every five years.

The Home Office’s proposal to increase these fees is seen as a move towards covering the full costs of the firearms licensing system, which has not seen an increase since 2015.

Dame Diana defended the planned rise, explaining that firearms licensing fees had not been updated for nearly a decade, and now fell far short of covering the actual cost of the service provided by police forces.

She said: “This funding deficit is impacting the effectiveness of police firearms licensing controls and the crucial role they play in safeguarding the public.”

Concerns 

However, the Countryside Alliance raised concerns that gun owners in areas with inefficient police forces could face even higher charges.

Chief executive Tim Bonner said: “Licence fees have not risen since 2015 and if this was the government’s approach, then an increase in fees would not seem unreasonable.

“On the other hand, ministers could just dump the cost of the current patently inefficient system on gun owners while doing nothing to address the completely outdated model of 43 separate licensing authorities based on police force areas – some of which are not even delivering a basic service.

“It would be entirely unacceptable to increase fees by hundreds of pounds, whilst not addressing the obvious need for reform.”

A spokesperson from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation said: “BASC has an urgent request in to the Home Office to meet the policing minister to discuss fees.

“It would be quite outrageous for fees to be increased while firearms licensing remains a postcode lottery across large parts of the country and there has been no stakeholder consultation or transparency on the figures.  

“Inefficient licensing departments do not protect public safety. The minister would be well advised to deal with inefficiency before increasing fees or risk this government alienating yet another constituency.”