§ Ms AbbottTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of priority given to gun trafficking by HM Customs. [175542]
§ John HealeyIn the Government's response to the All Party Parliamentary Group's report, "Combating the Threat of Gun Violence", published in March, we said that HM Customs and Excise's prioritisation would be addressed as part of a joint action plan. Customs deploy their resources on the basis of risk assessment driven by intelligence, which maximises their impact in enforcing a range of prohibitions and restrictions, including those relating to firearms. They respond to all specific intelligence on firearms. Strategic threat assessments produced by NCIS and Customs will inform future action. Meanwhile Customs are working with NCIS and other partners in the ACPO Strategic Criminal Use of Firearms Group to improve intelligence gathering and assessment and to contribute to activity under the joint action plan.