§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ 3.56 p.m.
§ Mr. Marcus Kimball (Gainsborough)I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
This is a very simple Bill. It gives the Government the power which they do not have under the Firearms Act 1968 to extend the period for which shotgun and firearm certificates are issued.
The House will remember that the Govment were defeated in the Statutory Instruments Committee on an order increasing the fees for shotgun and firearm certificates. No one in the sporting world wants to be subsidised. These people realise that the fees must be for the cost of the scheme, but some of us doubt the costs which were published in Hansard by the various police forces because they vary so widely. If the Government insist on a 150 per cent. range and variation of fees, they should agree to reduce the burden on the sporting community by extending the period for which firearm or shotgun certificate is issued.
This Bill is presented also by my right hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Whitelaw), who gives it his full support.
The Government should bear in mind that a driving licence is far more lethal than a shotgun licence, and a driving licence is issued for life, or until a person is senile or reaches the age of 65.
I hope that the House will accept this small amending piece of legislation. I do not ask the present Government to put it into operation. I simply ask that it be put on the statute book so that, when we have a Government who are more sympathetic to the sporting community, they will be able to implement it.
§ 3.58 p.m.
The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Dr. Shirley Summer-skill)I have listened to the case put by the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Kimball) and appreciate the strong feelings he and his hon. Friends have about the Bill. I shall explain the Government's view.
1951 The object of the Bill, as the hon. Member explained, is very simple. Section 26(3) of the Firearms Act 1968 provides that firearm and shotgun certificates shall be valid for three years or such shorter period as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State. There is at present no power to prolong the validity of these certificates although the police may, of course, renew a certificate on its expiry for a further three years. There is no legal limit to the number of such renewals that the police can make at three-yearly intervals. The Bill seeks to amend the Act so as to make firearm and shotgun certificates valid for six years.
The underlying purpose of the Bill is equally simple. When a firearm or shotgun certificate is granted or renewed, a fee is payable. The fees have been increased by the Secretary of State from time to time since 1968. There was a substantial increase last year. With effect from 1st October 1976, the fee for a firearm certificate was increased from £7 to £12 and the fee for a shotgun certificate was increased from £2 to £5. The Bill therefore seeks to offset the increased cost of all certificates issued on or after 1st October 1976 by doubling the length of the period of validity of the certificate.
The sole purpose of the present scale of firearms fees is to recover, so far as is possible, the reasonable costs incurred by the police in administering the certification and registration procedures under the Act. This has been the policy of successive Governments since 1968, and it commands widespread support on both sides of the House. The hon. Member for Gainsborough himself accepts it. He has said on more than one occasion that he accepts the argument that the scheme should be self-financing and that he is in no way asking for any form of subsidy from the taxpayers and the ratepayers for his fellow shooters. That responsible attitude is highly commendable. The hon. Member's view is that the fees should be set at a level to recover the costs.
If the hon. Gentleman stopped there, we should not part company. However, he goes on to say that the costs of administering the Act or that part of the Act which falls upon the police to consider applications for and to grant and to renew certificates—
§ It being Four o'clock, the debate stood adjourned.
§ Debate to be resumed upon Friday next.