§ Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's GovernmentFurther to the Written Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 4 April (WA 157), why the undertaking to place in the Library of the House the proposed actions on the implementation of Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 for the establishment of a central register of those who have applied for or been granted a shotgun or firearms licence and details of the high level award criteria, has still not been met; and when they expect to do so. [HL2679]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThis information was placed in the Library of the House on 1 May. I regret the delay in doing this.
§ Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's GovernmentWhether they will indicate in respect of each of the police forces in the United Kingdom, the method currently used to record details of individuals holding a shotgun or firearms certificate; and what, if any, action has been taken by the police forces concerned to implement the requirement of Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 for the establishment of a central register of individuals who have applied for, or been granted, a shotgun or firearms certificate. [HL2680] Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Police forces in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) currently record details of individuals holding a shotgun or firearms certificate by means of their own10WA "local" firearms licensing management systems. These are mainly commercial off-the-shelf systems which most forces have procured on an individual basis for the purposes of managing firearms licensing locally. These systems also manage information on guns, ammunition, security and not just on certificate holders.
We have now agreed to work to produce a national firearms licensing management system which will not only incorporate a register of certificate holders but will also provide additional business benefits for the police and Home Office, principally through a more uniform national approach to firearms licensing and the ability to produce national statistics from a single source.
§ Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's GovernmentWhether they will list the companies which have been invited to tender for the national firearms management system required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997; the date on which the tender was issued; and the date by which the response is required. [HL2681]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonI understand from the Police Information Technology Organisation that six suppliers were invited to respond to the invitation to tender (ITT) for the supply of a national firearms licensing management system. The invitation was issued on 8 March 2003 and the date for responses was 16 April, later extended to 25 April 2003. The ITT and the responses received are currently being treated as commercial-in-confidence and it would not therefore be appropriate to release the names of the potential suppliers at present.