HC Deb 09 January 1996 vol 269 c106W
Mr. Mallon

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of legally held(a) shotguns; (b) air rifles; (c) automatic weapons, (d) semi-automatic weapons and (e) other weapons, breaking down the figures for each police sub-divisional region. [7395]

Sir John Wheeler

Although the information to answer the question is not readily available in the format requested, the chief constable advises that at 31 October 1995 there were 133,769 legally held firearms in Northern Ireland. Of these, there were

  1. (a) 85,186 shotguns;
  2. (b) 20,982 air weapons (includes air rifles);
  3. (c) other firearms—27,601.

Separate figures for air rifles, semi-automatic or automatic firearms and sub-divisional areas can not be provided, except at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Mallon

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of legally held weapons in Northern Ireland as a proportion of the resident population, or such figures as are readily available. [7394]

Sir John Wheeler

Firearms licensing is the responsibility of the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. He advises me that, at 31 October 1995, there were 133,769 firearms held on certificate under the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. This equates to approximately one firearm per nine head of the population1. 1Based on 1991 census statistics.