In July 2018, new guidance on firearms licensing applications required all applications to be supported by medical information, provided by GPs. Prior to this, when a firearms request was made by the Police Force, it was assumed that there were no concerning medical issues to prevent a licence from being issued. Despite issues of timings.
Due to cutbacks within the NHS, there is a huge strain on GPs as it is, which meant some applications were simply not processed in the required time.
There are concerns surrounding the increased workload for GPs, but there are greater consequences if checks aren’t carried out quickly.
Under new requirements, GPs would not need to provide annual updates on the medical status of applicants, as that information would remain valid for the period of the licence (five years). These changes will also apply to renewals of licences with those expiring from December 2018
Newly released figures, from the Home Office, have shown that there has been an increase in the number of legally held firearms in Kent.
Numbers have increased from 15,000 in 2009 to just over 23,000 in March 2018. This means that there are roughly 1,200 firearms to every 100,000 members of the public in Kent. There are an additional 52,000 licensed shotguns.
It's assumed that the changes in legislation have contributed to the increase in the number of firearms. However, the police force is more concerned with the number of firearms which go missing each year (0.25%). This indicates that there needs to be a greater focus on educating firearms licence holders in safe storage.
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