§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the length of (a) the initial training and (b) the annual training of officers in the Metropolitan police who are authorised in the use of firearms; and what is the average number of rounds of ammunition expended by officers in each category.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe initial training of authorised firearms officers lasts for two weeks, during which time the officer can expect to fire about 440 rounds of ammunition. Once the officer has received basic training, he will attend further refresher courses four times a year, each time for one day. On these occasions the officer would be expected to fire between 50 and 80 rounds of ammunition.