§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of the Government towards the opening of further shops to sell guns and other weapons.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Firearms Act 1968 requires chief officers of police to keep a register of firearms dealers and to issue a certificate of registration to each dealer which is renewable annually. Under section 34(2) of the Act, a chief officer may refuse to register an applicant if he is satisfied that the applicant cannot be permitted to carry on business as a firearms dealer without danger to the public safety or to the peace. Other sections of the Act empower a chief officer to impose conditions, for example relating to security, subject to which registration is to have effect, and to remove a person's name from the register and require him to surrender his certificate of registration. There are no plans to amend the legislation.