HL Deb 03 September 1998 vol 593 cc16-8WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many handguns have been handed in to each police force under the provisions of the Firearms Acts; how many of these have been destroyed; and what records police forces are required to keep of the identification numbers, or other particulars, of firearms handed in and destroyed. [HL3231]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

Under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997, a total of 162,198 handguns were surrendered to the police in England, Wales and Scotland. A breakdown of these figures by police force area is contained in the table. A proportion of the 3,607 firearms surrendered or otherwise disposed of under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 will also have been handguns but details of these were not recorded centrally.

Figures for the number of handguns destroyed are not collected centrally. The vast majority of handguns surrendered to the police have been destroyed, or will be when the relevant compensation claims have been settled and disposal instructions issued by the Firearms Compensation Section. A small number of handguns will be retained by the police for official purposes or will be given to suitably authorised museums.

The way in which the details of firearms surrendered to the police were recorded is a matter for individual chief officers. Serial numbers for such firearms should have been given on the compensation claim forms submitted to the police at the time of surrender, and should have been checked by the police against the serial numbers appearing on the firearms themselves and in the relevant firearm certificates or dealers' registers of transactions.

Handguns Surrendered under the Firearms Acts 1997
Constabulary/Police 1997 Act 1997 (No. 2) Act
England & Wales Large Calibre Small Calibre (ex gratia) Total Small Calibre Combined Total
Avon & Somerset 3,227 566 3,793 702 4,495
Bedfordshire 992 232 1,224 150 1,374
City of London 73 30 103 30 133
Cambridgeshire 1,176 365 1,541 253 1,794
Cheshire 2,250 361 2,611 367 2,978
Cleveland 700 242 942 123 1,065
Cumbria 863 150 1,013 274 1,287
Derbyshire 1,791 476 2,267 287 2,554
Devon & Cornwall 3,625 573 4,198 892 5,090
Dorset 2,207 545 2,752 348 3,100
Durham 1,020 313 1,333 108 1,441
Dyfed Powys 1,320 234 1,554 239 1,793
Essex 4,840 1,268 6,108 658 6,766
Gloucestershire 1,102 280 1,382 318 1,700
Greater Manchester 3,834 1,093 4,927 595 5,522
Gwent 1,112 289 1,401 163 1,564
Hampshire 3,757 766 4,523 649 5,172
Hertfordshire 1,998 435 2,433 241 2,674
Humberside 1,169 352 1,521 216 1,737
Kent 3,745 822 4,567 603 5,170
Lancashire 2,280 671 2,951 340 3,291
Leicestershire 2,515 377 2,892 202 3,094
Lincolnshire 1,308 338 1,646 162 1,808
Merseyside 2,907 650 3,557 408 3,965
Met Area 1 699 177 876 89 965
Met Area 2 2,852 629 3,481 499 3,980
Met Area 3 3,264 749 4,013 473 4,486
Met Area 4 4,176 868 5,044 820 5,864
Met Area 5 3,324 573 3,897 631 4,528
Norfolk 2,224 554 2,778 350 3,128
Northamptonshire 1,048 333 1,381 226 1,607
Northumbria 1,823 459 2,282 279 2,561
North Wales 1,267 287 1,554 263 1,817
North Yorkshire 3,105 794 3,899 126 4,025
Nottinghamshire 3,571 555 4,126 628 4,754
South Wales 2,862 784 3,646 337 3,983
South Yorkshire 2,125 663 2,788 219 3,007
Staffordshire 2,942 641 3,583 364 3,947
Suffolk 1,598 527 2,125 216 2,341
Surrey 3,114 668 3,782 680 4,462
Sussex Thames 3,286 502 3,788 530 4,318

Handgun Surrendered under the Firearms Acts 1997
Constabulary/Police 1997 Act 1997 (No. 2) Act
England & Wales Large Calibre Small Calibre (ex gratia) Total Small Calibre Combined Total
Valley 3,806 807 4,613 1,013 5,626
Warwickshire 832 215 1,047 176 1,223
West Mercia 2,588 608 3,196 491 3,687
West Midlands 5,011 825 5,836 640 6,476
West Yorkshire 3,702 654 4,356 588 4,944
Wiltshire 1,352 320 1,672 204 1,876
Sub Total for E and W 110,382 24,620 135,002 18,170 153,172
Scotland
Central Scotland 289 103 392 17 409
Dumfries and Galloway 236 83 319 33 352
Fife 293 76 369 61 430
Grampian 657 149 806 85 891
Lothian and Borders 1,253 245 1,498 194 1,692
Northern 958 307 1,265 173 1,438
Strathclyde 1,922 633 2,555 378 2,933
Tayside 654 155 809 72 881
Sub total for Scotland 6,262 1,751 8,013 1,013 9,026
Overall total for E, W and S 116,644 26,371 143,015 19,183 162,198