§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in 1982–83 weapons were carried by criminals in the course of committing a crime; on how many occasions weapons were used; and on how many of each of the above categories of occasion the weapons were being carried legally under firearms licence by those holding them.
§ Mr. HurdThe information available on notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms 'were reported to have been used is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—chapter 3 of the issue for 1982 (Cmnd. 9048). In addition, the police recorded 221 offences in 1982 in which firearms were carried, but not used. Figures for 1983 are not yet available. Information is not available on whether the weapons were being carried legally under firearms licence by those holding them.