Plan to tighten rules on gun ownership revealed
People applying for a gun or shotgun certificate will have to declare their second homes under new rules.
Applicants will also have to tell police about any relevant medical condition, or if an existing condition gets worse.
The Home Office said gun owners will also need to inform police if they get treatment or advice from an online or private doctor rather than their GP.
As part of the tougher rules, they will also need to tell police about all the people in their household – so they can identify any wider safety concerns, the Home Office said.
The Countryside Alliance has said many police licensing departments already have a huge backlog.
The changes come after inspectors warned that problems with the gun licensing system are putting public safety at risk.
The firearms licensing system in England and Wales is not fit for purpose with a “postcode lottery” in the level of scrutiny faced by applicants and certificate holders, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said last month.
The inspectorate blamed “unclear guidance and legislation” combined with “poor supervision and oversight” for the shortfalls, and called for a new national authority to be established.
There are nearly 500,000 certificate holders for firearms and shotguns in England and Wales.
During the 10 years to March 2025, shootings involving legally held firearms led to the murder of at least 39 people, according to HMICFRS.
Campaigners have suggested the 50-year-old Firearms Act is not fit for purpose after shooting incidents.
In one such case in Plymouth in 2021, Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine, 51, and then shot dead three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66.
He then turned the weapon on himself as he was confronted by an unarmed police officer.
Davison legally held a shotgun certificate and weapon, having been obsessed with firearms from a young age due to a trait in autism of developing a “special interest”.
His weapon and certificate were seized in September 2020 after Davison was captured on CCTV punching a 16-year-old boy up to nine times in a skate park, but were handed back to him just five weeks before the killings.