Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Deferred
By requiring applicants to provide proof that they are considered “fit to be entrusted with...
Conclusion
By requiring applicants to provide proof that they are considered “fit to be entrusted with a firearm”84, the referee system currently in place was installed with the aim of protecting public safety and the peace. This is the principal consideration in firearms licensing regulations.85 We heard that police forces will investigate when licence holders change referees between their original application and renewal. Dr Colin Shedden, Director Scotland for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, stated that police “ask existing referees is there any reason why they have not acted as a referee this time” as this could indicate “serious issues”.86 Superintendent Steven Duncan, Head of National Firearms and Explosives Licensing for Police Scotland, told us that it is important to check the reason for which applicants have changed referees - police “are mindful that when a referee change is made, that does prompt questioning about why that might be the case … . we may still go back to speak to one of the original referees to see whether there has been some sort of change in the dynamic or relationship, and to try to understand why that may be the case”.87
Government Response Summary
The government is consulting on possible changes to the role and participation of referees in the firearms licensing process, as similar issues were raised by the IOPC and in Prevention of Future Deaths reports.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
With regard to the Committee’s recommendations around the review of referees in the firearms licensing process, it is worth noting that similar issues were raised by both the IOPC and in the Prevention of Future Deaths reports issued by the Senior Coroner for Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon. You will see that we are now consulting on possible changes to the role and participation of referees in the firearms licensing process.