§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun licences, and for which type of weapon, are held(a) in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency, (b) in the Teesside area, (c) in each police force area and (d) in the UK. [38249]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe Home Office collects numbers of firearm and shotgun certificates for each police force area in England and Wales. The numbers of certificates, and weapons held on those certificates, are given in the table.
Firearm certificates cover a range of weapons. From incomplete returns, about 73 per cent. of the weapons held under 'firearms' certificates are rifles, with the remainder including section one shotguns and those handguns that remain legal, such as muzzle loading handguns and humane killers.
Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
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Certificates on issue at 31 December 2000, and weapons covered Police force area Firearm certificates Firearms covered by certificates Shotgun certificates Shotguns covered by certificates Avon and Somerset 4,812 12,064 21,230 47,570 Bedfordshire 1,323 3,305 6,908 14,920 Cambridgeshire 2,531 5,598 14,238 32,060 Cheshire 2,412 5,525 12,688 27,797 Cleveland 774 1,760 2,503 5,159 Cumbria 3,059 6,478 10,427 21,360 Derbyshire 2,441 5,777 12,237 28,855 Devon and Cornwall 8,171 15,181 34,291 72,516 Dorset 2,682 5,507 10,919 24,241 Durham 2,095 4,795 6,348 12,845 Essex 3,957 10,565 21,291 46,638 Gloucestershire 2,337 5,436 11,591 25,243 Greater Manchester 2,013 4,992 9,067 20,039 Hampshire 4,419 11,440 21,196 48,485 Hertfordshire 1,859 4,866 10,754 24,552 Humberside 2,607 4,938 10,352 25,079 Kent 3,730 19,213 21,731 145,417 Lancashire 2,493 6,233 212,054 27,223 Leicestershire 1,704 3,614 11,109 27,244 Lincolnshire 3,426 7,619 16,100 39,263 London, City of 32 228 38 74 Merseyside 1,091 2,735 4,027 7,778 Metropolitan police 5,399 14,265 28,139 55,099 Norfolk 3,414 9,076 21,144 53,405 Northamptonshire 2,156 5,411 9,547 21,619 Northumbria 3,396 7,550 9,285 20,662 North Yorkshire 5,434 11,310 18,760 38,114 Nottinghamshire 1,633 4,863 9,299 22,567 South Yorkshire 1,566 3,705 8,198 16,602 Staffordshire 2,291 5,885 14,256 31,627 Suffolk 3,505 6,493 17,591 40,946 Surrey 2,710 8,245 13,083 28,297 Sussex 5,443 15,052 22,008 47,962 Thames Valley 6,229 16,794 28,902 65,095 Warwickshire 1,710 4,183 9,069 19,473 West Mercia 5,497 13,369 30,311 65,654 West Midlands 1,703 4,651 9,998 21,043
Certificates on issue at 31 December 2000, and weapons covered Police force area Firearm certificate s Firearms covered by certificates Shotgun certificates Shotguns covered by certificates West Yorkshire 2,583 6,182 10,993 23,009 Wiltshire 2,633 6,341 12,096 27,762 Dyfed-Powys 3,047 4,855 18,689 35,606 Gwent 940 2,481 6,884 14,510 North Wales 2,326 14,018 13,834 128,083 South Wales 1,780 4,251 9,348 19,390 All forces 125,363 296,849 2602,533 1,320,883 1 Estimate 2 Revised since earlier publication