§ Mr. Fordasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of firearm and shotgun certificates in existence on 31 December 1980, or the latest 275W date for which such statistics have been completed (a) in England and Wales, and (b) in the Metropolitan Police district.
§ Mr. MayhewThe latest available information is the number of firearm and shotgun certificates in force on 31 December 1979, and is as follows:
Firearm certificates Shotgun certificates England and Wales 160,086 752,810 Metropolitan Police district 9,504 30,259 Total 169,590 783,069
§ Mr. Fordasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has given guidance to chief officers of police concerning the requirement to restrict the use of sporting rifles to specified areas of land and for such restrictions to be stated on firearm certificates.
§ Mr. MayhewIt is for the chief officer of police to specify the conditions, other than those prescribed in the Firearms Rules 1969, subject to which each firearm certificate is held.
§ Mr. Fordasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide information, in a similar form to that provided in table 3.12 of "Criminal Statistics for England and Wales 1979", showing the numbers and types of firearms which have been recovered by the police in each of the years 1969 to 1979.
§ Mr. MayhewThe information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.