HL Deb 19 June 2000 vol 614 cc3-4WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they can now give a date by which the central register, required under Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997, which came into force on 1 October 1997, of persons who have applied for a firearms or shotgun certificate or to whom a firearm or shotgun certificate has been granted, will be in place; and on what date the detailed impact assessment on the project, which was due to be completed in April 2000, was placed in the Library of the House. [HL2768]

Lord Bassam of Brighton

The results of the detailed impact assessment which was undertaken to scope the work and resources required to provide a database of firearms certificate holders as required under Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 were considered by the Police National Computer Steering Committee on 8 June. The assessment, which was endorsed by the committee and authority given to proceed, confirmed that the database would take some 12–15 months to establish. Copies of the assessment have now been placed in the Library.