A number of amendments to Firearms law have been made by the
Policing and Crime Bill. Three of the key changes are explained below.
Authorised Lending and Possession of Firearms (section 132)
What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment removes the uncertainty in the existing law as
to who is an ‘occupier’ of premises for the purpose of lending a shotgun or
rifle on that land.
What was the previous legislation?
The law previously allowed a person who was not a
certificate holder to borrow a shotgun or rifle from the occupier of private
premises (including land) and use it on those premises in the occupier’s
presence. In the case of a rifle the law also authorised use of the rifle in
the presence of the occupier’s “servant” who must hold a certificate for that
rifle. Only a person aged 17 or over may have borrowed a rifle.
What has the amendment changed?
The amendment clarifies the law and provides legal
certainty. The law will now allow a person, without holding a certificate, to
borrow a shotgun or rifle on private premises and use that firearm in the
presence of the lender or other person authorised in writing. Only a person
aged 17 or over may borrow a rifle.
The new clause makes clear that the person lending the
firearm must be a certificate holder aged 18 or over and can be either a person
who has the right to allow others to enter the premises for the purpose of
hunting animals or shooting game or vermin, or is a person authorised by them
in writing.
Where a rifle is borrowed it must be used in the presence of
the lender or if not the person lending then a person aged 18 or over who holds
a firearm certificate in respect of the rifle borrowed. The person in whose
presence the rifle is used must also, if not the lender, be a person who has
the right to allow others to enter the premises for the purposes of hunting
animals or shooting game or vermin, ie. he must have similar qualifications to
a person who is given the ability to lend.
Where a shotgun is borrowed it must be used in the presence
of the lender or if not the person lending then a person over 18 who holds a
shotgun certificate and who is authorised by a person who has the right to
allow others to enter the premises for the purpose of hunting animals or shooting
game or vermin.
The amendment will not restrict the use to which a shotgun
or rifle may be put when it is borrowed on private premises. Thus a shotgun may
be used to shoot live quarry such as game or wildfowl, or for pest control or
clay shooting. A rifle may be used for hunting animals or for pest control or
it may be fired at artificial targets. The use of a rifle must, as at present,
comply with any conditions on the certificate held in respect of that rifle.
It should be noted that a person who is authorised to lend a
gun or to be present when it is being used, must be authorised ‘in writing’. It
is expected that this term will be clarified in Home Office guidance. The
Firearms (Electronic Communications) Order 2011 currently allows notification by
email for certain purposes in connection with the Firearms Act.
Who will this help?
Previously the law did not define occupier, and the Courts
had never defined the term. As such there was uncertainty as to who could lend
a shotgun in many situations and many legitimate shooters were prevented from
lending a gun to a friend or family member on private land because, while they
might have been a member of a shooting syndicate or club, or otherwise have
lawful authority to shoot over land, they were not considered the ‘occupier’.
Young people who were being taught to shoot were,
previously, often obliged to hold a shotgun certificate because they were
unable, lawfully, to borrow a shotgun on land where they were being coached by
a parent or other adult.
The shooting world has changed considerably since the
Firearms Act 1968 was enacted and nowadays more shooting is done on a syndicate
(sometimes even a roaming syndicate) basis, where there is an increasing
distance between the landowner or the holder of the shooting rights and those
shooting on the day. This law helps the whole shooting community whether they
are shooting game or targets, and marks a significant clarification of firearms
legislation.
The change in the law will also assist the police as one of
the unintended consequences of the previous law is the need to apply for
shotgun certificates for children and young people so they could shoot under
supervision when borrowing a gun from someone who was not the ‘occupier’. This
is no longer necessary.
Extension of Firearms Certificates (section 133)
What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment allows a person to continue to possess
firearms lawfully, for a limited period of 8 weeks following the expiry of a
firearm and/or shot gun certificate, so long as the application to renew had
been submitted to the police 8 weeks before the expiry date.
What was the previous
legislation?
Previously, if the applicant’s certificate ran out before
the firearms licensing team had had time to renew it then the applicant was in
unlawful possession. In order to remedy this, he must have either transferred
his guns to another lawful holder or to a Registered Firearms Dealer.
Alternatively, where the delay in renewal was down to the police firearms
licensing team, the police must have issued a Section 7 Temporary Permit to
ensure that his possession of firearms remained lawful. However, the applicant
would still have to have transferred all Section 5 items to a Section 5 Dealer
or hand them over to the police for storage, as Section 5 items cannot be held
on a Temporary Permit.
What has the amendment changed?
This legislation gives the police an eight week window to
complete the renewal and avoid the administrative burden of issuing a Section 7
Temporary Permit.
Who will this help?
Many people depend on their firearms for their livelihood,
and the inability to use their shotguns and firearms lawfully would undermine
their ability to carry out the functions of their job. Although in theory the
firearms licensing team should be completing all renewals before the
applicant’s existing certificate has expired, that is unfortunately not the
case in practice. It is not uncommon for a renewal to take several months in
some police force areas. This amendment would assist the police and firearms
users and reduce the reliance of the police on Section 7 Temporary Permits
Temporary Permits were originally intended to deal with
cases in which the executor of an estate needed to dispose of firearms that
belonged to a deceased person. They were not meant for coping with a backlog in
renewals of either shotgun or firearm certificates, but this is how they are
now being used by many police forces.
It should also be noted that some of the police forces
inspected by HMIC failed to issue Section 7 Temporary Permits to individuals
whose certificates had expired, placing these individuals in an illegal
situation through no fault of their own.
Controls on Ammunition which Expands on Impact (section 131)
What is the aim of the amendment?
The amendment removes the prohibition on expanding
ammunition introduced by the 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Act. Expanding
ammunition would therefore revert to Section 1 of the 1968 Act. Until 1992
no-one perceived expanding ammunition as a problem, but its status was changed
in the Firearms (Amendment) Regulations 1992, which appears to have arisen from
a misunderstanding of the EU Weapons Directive 91/477/EEC of the 18 June 1991,
which prohibited expanding pistol ammunition for certain purposes.
What was the previous legislation?
With expanding ammunition being classified as Section 5,
special authority had to be given on a firearm certificate for the possession
of expanding ammunition, requiring additional administration by the police.
Furthermore, expanding ammunition could not be held on a Section 7 Temporary
Permit. As such, where police forces used a Permit in cases where there was a
delay in the renewal of a certificate those individuals who needed to use
expanding ammunition in the course of their employment or for sporting
purposes, could not do so.
What has the amendment changed?
The amendment has moved expanding ammunition back to Section
1 allowing firearm certificate holders to buy/hold/use the ammunition without
specific derogation. Expanding ammunition for pistols remains prohibited under
EU law.
Who will this help?
This will be of benefit to the over 100,000 people that
participate in deer stalking every year and the many others who control pests,
who will now be able to obtain their ammunition with greater ease. The
amendment simplifies the licensing process, saves resources for the police and
also facilitates the movement of such ammunition through the trade. Expanding
ammunition is required under the Deer Act 1991 and the Deer (Firearms etc.)
(Scotland) Order 1985 in order to shoot deer and is the humane option for pest
control and humane dispatch. It is therefore widely possessed, and certificates
were rendered more complex by the inclusion of the additional authorities to
acquire and possess it. It was illogical to have a type of ammunition banned by
one Act and yet required to be used by another.
Furthermore, because the reason for which authority may be
granted (“the management of any estate”) refers only to estates in Britain,
owners of rifles for use overseas, such as large calibre rifles designed for
hunting dangerous game, are currently prohibited from possessing expanding
ammunition for their rifles in this country and they may not therefore zero and
practice in Britain with their rifles using the ammunition which they will be
using overseas. The return of expanding ammunition to section 1 has removed
this restriction.
Author and Credit to Jack Knott at Countryside Alliance