Lowe: Restore Britain would take gun licensing away from the police and give it to a national body
Rupert Lowe proposes a single licensing authority, modelled on the Passport Office, to end delays for farmers, gamekeepers and responsible gun owners
Restore Britain would take firearms and shotgun licensing away from local police forces and hand it to a dedicated national body, Rupert Lowe has said.
In a post on X at 13:31 GMT on Monday 26th October, the Restore Britain leader said farmers, gamekeepers and responsible firearms owners "should not be left waiting months and months for licensing decisions". He proposed a centralised licensing authority, modelled on the Passport Office.
The main points
- Firearms and shotgun licensing would no longer be done by local police forces.
- A single, dedicated national body would take it over instead.
- Lowe says it would be modelled on the Passport Office.
- He says it would have consistent standards, properly trained staff and a straightforward process for applying and renewing.
- He says police time now spent on certificates could go to frontline policing instead.
- The aim, in Lowe's words: "No more postcode lottery, no more endless delays."
What Lowe said
Lowe's post in full:
"Restore Britain will take firearms and shotgun licensing away from local police forces and put it under a dedicated and accountable national body.
"Why?
"Because farmers, gamekeepers and responsible firearms owners should not be left waiting months and months for licensing decisions. I know that better than most…
"Police forces simply do not have the capacity, and often the knowledge.
"Processing firearms and shotgun certificates takes up valuable time and resources that could be directed towards frontline policing. A total waste.
"We propose a centralised licensing authority, modelled on the Passport Office, with consistent standards, properly trained staff and a straightforward application and renewal process.
"No more postcode lottery, no more endless delays.
"Restore Britain will back responsible gun owners."
The post came a day after Lowe described Restore Britain as "unashamedly pro-shooting" and called for more British game to be served in schools and hospitals (restorenews.grok.me/story/e7094f1b048f).
How licensing works now
In England and Wales, chief officers of police decide firearm and shotgun certificate applications. According to His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the work is done by 38 firearms and explosives licensing units serving the 43 police forces.
HMICFRS says Home Office statistics show that 496,904 people in England and Wales held a firearm certificate, a shotgun certificate, or both on 31st March 2025.
What the figures show on delays
In a report published on Friday 28th August, HMICFRS found the licensing system was "not fit for purpose". According to a summary of the report by ImJustBrighton:
- the national median processing time was 57 days in the year to 31st March 2025
- the quickest unit had a median of 14 days
- the slowest unit had a median of 163 days
- 16 per cent of certificate holders surveyed said they waited between six and twelve months
- 10 per cent said they waited more than a year
The shooting organisation BASC said on Friday 1st May that figures from the National Police Chiefs' Council showed:
- fewer than half of the 43 police forces were meeting the requirement to deal with 80 per cent of applications within 120 days
- among the 23 lowest-performing forces, 11 were completing fewer than 40 per cent of applications in that time
BASC head of firearms Martin Parker said some forces were "taking one to two years, sometimes more, to grant new certificates".
A national body has backing
Restore's proposal is similar to the first of the inspectorate's 23 recommendations. HMICFRS said the Home Office should set up "a single firearms licensing authority for England and Wales" and make it fully operational by 1st September 2029. It said it found "strong support" for this from senior police leaders, most licensing staff, shooting groups and many people who answered its survey.
BASC welcomed that recommendation, saying it had long called for licensing to be "delivered through a dedicated national authority with common standards, clear accountability and appropriate resources".
The inspectorate also recommended bringing shotgun licensing into line with the stricter rules for other firearms. BASC has firmly rejected that proposal.
According to the BBC, the government said it would consider the report's recommendations as part of wider police reforms.
Sources
Image: Ragnhild Kjeldsen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons