Firearms licensing not fit for purpose, says police watchdog

The report, published today (28 August), finds unclear guidance, outdated legislation and poor supervision have created a postcode lottery in the scrutiny, service and waiting times certificate holders receive. It makes 23 recommendations, and the shooting organisations are already divided over how many of them should survive contact with ministers.

What did the inspection find?

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) concluded that the licensing system is not fit for purpose, more than a decade after it first highlighted weaknesses in the national system.

The legal framework is outdated and overly complex, spread across more than 30 pieces of legislation. Guidance is fragmented and open to interpretation, so forces apply the rules inconsistently. Training for licensing decision makers, administrative staff and senior leaders remains inconsistent and is often absent, and suitability checks vary significantly between and within licensing units.

In the ten years to March 2025, shootings involving legally held firearms led to the murder of at least 39 people, the inspectorate noted.

One national authority instead of 38 police units

The headline recommendation is that a new national firearms licensing authority should replace the 38 firearms and explosive licensing units currently run by police forces in England and Wales. It would take over applications, renewals and ongoing monitoring, combining locally based staff for suitability visits with central control over decision-making, risk management, training, governance and performance.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman said: “Most of the nearly 500,000 certificate holders use their firearms and shotguns responsibly for lawful recreation or as essential tools for work. But they are faced with a postcode lottery in the service they receive from firearms and explosive licensing units.

“They, and the wider public, deserve a system that is clear, consistent and robust. We found the current system is none of these things. A new national firearms licensing authority should be created to better protect public safety. Further tragedies shouldn’t be required before action is taken.”

Which recommendations worry the shooting organisations?

The other 22 recommendations include modernising firearms legislation with legally enforceable rules, an in-person medical assessment for every applicant rather than reliance on written records, aligning the rules for rifles and shotguns, a standardised assessment of competence for applicants, and a digital verification system, similar to the QR codes on driving licences, to defeat forged certificates.

The British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC) said it strongly supports a single professional licensing authority, consistent national standards, proper training and modern digital systems including real-time certificate verification. But it warned that failures in administration “should not be confused with evidence that firearms law itself is fundamentally flawed”, and said proposed legal changes such as shotgun and ammunition licensing, medical requirements and competence assessments must be considered separately and supported by clear evidence. 

The Home Office response

In a statement reported by the Mirror, a Home Office spokesman said the UK has some of the toughest firearms laws in the world and that a number of the recommendations “reflect work already underway”, including a review of licensing arrangements within the Government’s wider police reform agenda.

What happens next?

The recommendations now sit with the Home Office, and any change to the law would need a bill in Parliament, so nothing alters for current certificate holders today. The Countryside Alliance will publish its full response once it has examined the 81-page report, and Shooting Times will report the sector’s detailed responses, including BASC’s, as they appear. The full report can be read on the HMICFRS website.