§ Mr. Fordasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the date upon which a review of police costs of providing the issue, renewal, variation and replacement of firearms and shotgun certificates carried out by certain police forces in July 1979 was requested by his Department; if he will publish the guidelines issued by his Department in requesting such costing and indicate to what extent the evidence supplied to his Department in March 1979 in the British Shooting Sports Council research paper 1/79 was taken into account; and if he will place a copy of the results of that survey in the Library.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe information about costs was requested from police forces in England and Wales on 21 June 1979. The 107W guidelines for providing replies were as set out in a Home Office letter to chief officers of police of 10 June 1977, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. A parallel exercise was undertaken in Scotland. The British Shooting Sports Council Research Paper 1/79 was at that time still under consideration.
A copy of the results of the survey has been placed in the Library.