Recommendation 85

Interim medical checks at regular intervals would enable GPs, and thus potentially police, to become aware of changes in individuals’ mental health during the life of firearms licences. Noticing changes soon after they emerge may mean that individuals could be given help before they experience significant deterioration in their mental health which, in firearms owners, could impact both the individuals themselves and public safety. One witness told us that “continuous monitoring of the licence holder has to be the way to go as it should allow faster response to issues”.211 This position was supported by the British Shooting Sports Council, who told us that GPs and police “should ensure continuous monitoring of the medical fitness of an individual to possess firearms throughout a certificate’s 5 year life”.212 We heard that this could be done as frequently as annually, stating that “maybe yearly mental health assessments are a better way, rather than every 5 years”.213