Licensing fees increase abandoned

The proposed hike in licensing fees from £50 to £94 has been scrapped following discussions between the Home Office and BASC.

The Home Office confirmed plans to establish a working party next year that will include representatives of the shooting community. The working party will be responsible for testing “the benefits of e-commerce and all other elements of the cost of a license in order to determine what full-cost recovery figures might be”.

The news suggests that a further fee increase, which would take the cost up to £109 by the time of the next general election, is unlikely.

As part of the discussions, BASC also called for the introduction of service-level agreements with for the UK police forces to outline the minimum standard of service that shooters should receive from their local police force’s licensing team.

The Home Office also announced it will investigate further the issue surrounding GPs charging certificate holders to supply information to police.

You can read this story in more detail in the 11 September issue of Shooting Times, on sale now.