§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegally-held firearms were(a) recovered other than by seizure and (b) seized by police forces, in each year since 1990. [20540]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 4 December 2001]: Information about illegal firearms seized by police forces is not collected centrally. During the firearms amnesty in 1996, nearly 23,000 firearms were surrendered to the police, but not all of these would have been illegally held.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the scope of section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 to include airguns. [20447]
§ Mr. DenhamHigh powered air rifles (those with a muzzle energy greater than twelve foot pounds) are already subject to the control of section 1 of the Act. High powered air pistols (those with a muzzle energy greater than six foot pounds) are prohibited under the terms of section 5(1)(aba).
The Government do not believe that a certification regime for low powered air weapons would be justified. It would be costly to introduce, would be cumbersome to operate and would impose a considerable administrative burden on already stretched police firearms licensing departments.