PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Airguns (2 February 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2021 to Questions 143826 on Airguns: Scotland and 143828 on Airguns, whether the arrangements considered by her Department that apply to the controls on air weapons in Scotland and Northern Ireland included a review of the data on the number of air weapons incidents there between 2015-16 and 2017-19.

Asked by:
Karin Smyth (Labour)

The Government looked at the controls on air weapons in Scotland and Northern Ireland when considering the review of air weapons regulation in England and Wales. Responsibility for air weapons regulation and publication of data related to this is devolved in Scotland, and Northern Ireland has separate firearms controls, which can make it difficult to draw firm conclusions to inform the case for potential changes in England and Wales.

We published the outcome of the review, and proposals for new controls, in the firearms safety consultation on 24 November 2020. The consultation will close on 16 February, after which the Government will publish its response, including in relation to air weapons controls. It is of course open to those responding to the consultation to set out their views on the case for, or against, the introduction of licensing arrangements for air weapons.

Answered by:
Kit Malthouse (Conservative)
8 February 2021