Firearms (Hansard, 21 January 2003)

§ Mr. Evans
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of illegal firearms in circulation in(a) Lancashire. (b) the North West of England, (c) Wales and (d) the UK, in the last period for which figures are available. [90976]

§ Mr. Bob Ainsworth
The requested information is not collected centrally.

§ Mr. Steinberg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been killed in each of the last six years by firearms during the commissioning of a crime. [91550]

§ Mr. Bob Ainsworth
[holding answer 20 January 2003.]: The numbers of persons killed by firearms during the act of a crime are not collected centrally. Available published data on the number of recorded homicide offences by shooting in England and Wales are given in the table.

Number of homicide offences by shooting¹

1997 58

1997–98 52

1998–99 46

1999–2000 61

2000–01 73

2001–02 96

¹Homicide figures include shooting by crossbows, and take into account the results of police and court decisions. Therefore, they may not necessarily match the number of firearm homicides initially recorded. Data are as at 8 October 2002; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.

These homicide offences were recorded on a calendar year basis up to 1997, and on a financial year basis thereafter.

	Number of homicide offences by shooting¹
1997	58
1997–98	52
1998–99	46
1999–2000	61
2000–01	73
2001–02	96
¹Homicide figures include shooting by crossbows, and take into account the results of police and court decisions. Therefore, they may not necessarily match the number of firearm homicides initially recorded. Data are as at 8 October 2002; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.