§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give the number of persons currently holding a firearm or shot gun certificate in respect of each police licensing authority in the United Kingdom. [HL238]
§ Lord Williams of MostynFigures for the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue in the United Kingdom are contained in the annual bulletins published by the Home Department, copies of which are placed in the Library. The most recent figures available relate to the number of certificates on issue at 31 December 1996. The information requested is set out below by police force area:
45WA
Police Force Area Number of Firearm Certificates Number of Shotgun Certificates Avonand Somerset 5,293 22,354 Bedfordshire 1,441 6,992 Cambridgeshire 2,774 15,133 Cheshire 2,745 13,384 Cleveland 879 2,685 Cumbria 3,325 10,999 Derbyshire 2,543 12,723 Devon and Cornwall 8,529 37,240 Dorset 2,866 12,551 Durham 2,243 6,783 Essex 4,241 20,935 Gloucestershire 2,498 12,064 Greater Manchester 2,675 9,518 Hampshire 5,334 22,148 Hertfordshire 1,939 10,025 Kent 4,387 22,053 Lancashire 2,977 12,918 Leicestershire 1,905 11,512 Lincolnshire 3,586 16,316 London, City of 40 33 Merseyside 1,683 4,686 Metropolitan Police 9,123 33,867 Norfolk 3,709 21,967 Northamptonshire 2,337 9,725 Northumbria 3,679 9,661 North Yorkshire 5,679 19,213 Nottinghamshire 1,987 12,946 South Yorkshire 1,777 8,419 Staffordshire 2,671 15,161 Suffolk 3,744 18,487 Surrey 2,594 11,600 Sussex 5,826 22,900 Thames Valley 6,854 30,975 Warwickshire 1,884 10,161 West Mercia 5,514 30,706 West Midlands 2,593 11,033 West Yorkshire 3,209 11,855 Wiltshire 2,800 12,189 Dyfed-Powys 3,396 20,756 Gwent 1,052 7,575
Police Force Area Number of Firearm Certificates Number of Shotgun Certificates North Wales 2,421 14,088 South Wales 2,259 10,866 Central Scotland 1,183 3,283 Dumfries and Galloway 2,304 5,094 Fife 1,536 4,147 Grampian 5,974 11,989 Lothian & Borders 4,123 9,592 Northern 8,238 10,943 Strathclyde 4,932 13,275 Tayside 3,763 7,862 RUC 87,017 1n/a 1(In Northern Ireland. both shotguns and other firearms are held on a Firearm Certificate).