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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in each of the past six months, and for what reason, North Wales Police has issued written permission for a named person to possess firearms and ammunition in the name of the authority of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation dealer's certificate No. 116 for the purposes of section 8 of the Firearms Act 1968. [143856] Mr. Charles Clarke: Section 8 of the Firearms Act provides that a person carrying on the business of a registered firearms dealer or a servant of any such person may, without holding a certificate, have in his possession, or purchase or acquire, a firearm or ammunition in the ordinary course of that business. The police have no authority to issue `written permission' for a person to act as a dealer's servant: this is a matter of fact. We understand that last month North Wales police issued a firearm certificate permitting a new employee of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) to possess firearms and ammunition held by the dealership as a temporary measure while BASC's approval as a target shooting club was being renewed. This is a purely administrative matter, and BASC, North Wales police and the Home Office are not aware of any problems arising from this.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

360 c322-3W; 143856

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Ammunition Applications Licensing Firearms Police North Wales Police

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk