§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many offences pistols were used and how many involved long-barrelled shotguns in each of the last three years; and how many persons were licensed to keep shotguns and pistols.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe number of indictable offences recorded as known to the police in England and Wales in which pistols and long-barrelled shotguns were reported to have been used is as follows:
PISTOLS 1973 … … … … 247 1974 … … … … 350 1975 … … … … 476
LONG-BARRELLED SHOTGUNS 1973 … … … … 326 1974 … … … … 339 1975 … … … … 437 Statistics of persons authorised to possess firearms are not prepared annually, and we have no means of distinguishing between firearm certificates granted in respect of pistols and those relating to other weapons. In 1974, 185,865 firearm certificates and 766,952 shotgun certificates were held by persons in England and Wales, but I regret that comparable figures for 1973 and 1975 are not available.