§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to deal with those firearms recovered by the police during the amnesty in June; what disposal procedure was adopted during the 1988 amnesty; and if he will make a statement. [28255]
§ Mr. MacleanWhere a surrendered firearm is selected as being of significant scientific or historical value it will be allocated to suitably authorised, publicly funded museums or other public bodies. The remainder, probably the vast majority, will be destroyed in line with the usual practice of local police forces. Similar procedures were operated in 1988.
§ Mr. CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures, other than the national firearms amnesty, exist for members of the public to dispose legally of firearms that have been owned, or discovered, without a licence; how long these procedures have been in place; in what ways these have been publicised by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [28256]
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 13 May 1996]: Whether to prosecute offences of unlawful possession of firearms is a matter for the prosecuting authorities on a case-by-case basis, but Home Office guidance to the police is that no obstacle should be placed in the way of individuals who wish to hand in unlicensed or unwanted 456W guns, even when an amnesty is not running. Our current guidance, publicly available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office since 1989 in "Firearms Law: Guidance to the Police", underlines this advice.