§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences committed by young people between the ages of 11 and 18 to 25 years have involved firearms in each of the last five years. [23732]
§ Mr. MacleanData held centrally on notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used does not identify those responsible for the offences.
Information for the years 1990 to 1994 on the number of persons cautioned and convicted of offences involving the use of firearms, including air weapons, in England and Wales by age group and type of offence, is given in the table.
Data for 1995 will not be available until autumn 1996.
Number of persons cautioned and found guilty (known offenders) of offences involving the use of firearms by age and type of offence 1990–1994 England and Wales Year/age group Indictable Summary 11-17 years of age 1990 424 1,491 1991 434 1,146 1992 326 1,103 1993 340 854 1994 443 1,005 18-25 years of age 1990 1,514 1,453 1991 1,509 1,201 1992 1,418 973 1993 1,268 635 1994 1,344 548
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated number of hand-guns in Wales. [23754]
§ Mr. MacleanThe number of hand guns legally held on firearms certificates in Wales is estimated by the police forces concerned to be about 13,500.
§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many existing gun licences by police authority have been revoked during the past five years. [23986]
§ Mr. MacleanInformation on the number of revocations of both firearm and shotgun licences, by police force, is published in the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Firearm Certificate Statistics, England and Wales", copies of which can be found in the Library.
§ Mrs. JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many gun licences have been renewed during the last five years in South Yorkshire; [23988]
(2) how many new gun licences have been (a) considered, (b) approved and (c) refused in each of the last five years in South Yorkshire. [23987]
§ Mr. MacleanThe readily available information is shown in the following table:
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Firearm and shotgun certificates—South Yorkshire New certificates Renewals Firearms Shotguns Granted Refused Granted Refused Firearms Shotguns 1990 137 2 439 14 440 2,713 1991 125 3 556 15 486 2,576 1992 128 — 457 17 507 1,870 1993 184 — 527 7 385 2,603 1994 197 — 470 15 374 2,184
§ Mrs. JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of residents with a licence to keep a firearm on their premises in South Yorkshire(a) at present, (b) last year, (c) in 1991 and (d) in 1986. [23989]
§ Mr. MacleanThe readily available information relates to the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue in South Yorkshire at 31 December each year. This is as follows:
Firearm and shotgun certificates on issue in South Yorkshire at 31 December Firearm certificates Shotgun certificates 1986 1,718 11,460 1991 1,507 8,806 1993 1,597 9,174 1994 1,766 9,137
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the discussion paper on possible changes to the control of firearms which was put before the Firearms Consultative Committee by its two police members referred to in chapter 3 of the fourth annual report of the Firearms Consultative Committee. [24082]
§ Mr. MacleanCopies of the Firearms Consultative Committee's annual reports are in the Library. Chapter 3 and annex E of the committee's fourth annual report contained a summary of the proposals made in the discussion paper referred to. The release of individual papers submitted to the Firearms Consultative Committee is a matter for the committee and the authors of the paper.