Recommendation 69

Rt Hon. Chris Philp MP, Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire for the Home Office, stated that “the test is set differently … [because] there are many people particularly in rural communities, and including across Scotland as much as anywhere else, where the possession and use of shotguns are part of rural life”.176 However, Superintendent Duncan stated that the requirements for shotgun licences ought to be the same as for firearms and air weapons, as this would make the process “consistent and clear for everyone”.177 He said that “I struggle to see why there would need to be that difference”178 between requirements for different types of weapon. Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Minister for Justice for the Scottish Government, stated that “It is not immediately obvious to me why we should have different criteria for issuing those licences”.179