§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of firearms offences in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available. [109341]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe following table gives the information requested for England and Wales:
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used, England and Wales 1994–98 Number 1994 13,167 1995 13,434 1996 13,876 1997 12,410 1998 113,671 1 Changes in the counting rules and coverage of recorded crime took place from 1 April 1998, and there may be some discontinuity in this figure Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Secretaries of State.