§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the development phase of the design and development of the central register of persons who have applied for or been granted a shotgun or firearm certificate on the police national computer, as required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 which came into force on 1 October 1997, has been completed; and whether the pilot operation is still expected to start in September; and [HL5459]
Why on 1 October this year the requirement for the establishment of a central register of persons who have applied for a shotgun or firearm certificate under Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 188WA 1997, which came into force on 1 October 1997, will not have been complied with for a period of five years; and whether they will list other statutory obligations which the Home Office has failed to comply with for a period of five years or more. [HL5460]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonNo time limit for establishing a register is specified in the Act. The Police Information Technology Organisation is taking the project forward as one part of the development of the Police/Home Office Extended Names Index (PHOENIX).
I understand that the project board is currently considering their approach to PHOENIX to ensure value for money. We will write to the noble Lord once a decision has been made on the next steps to be taken.