asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any limit is placed on the numbers of registered firearms dealers in any of the police areas.
No, but a chief officer of police may refuse to register an applicant as a firearms dealer if he is satisfied that the applicant cannot be permitted to carry on business without danger to the public safety or to the peace.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What professional qualifications applicants are required to hold before being registered as firearms dealers.
None.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the statutory £5 registration fee and £1 re-registration fee for firearms dealers are still charged, and whether any plans exist for raising them.
The level of fees introduced in the Firearms Act for the registration of firearms dealers has increased since 1968. The current fee for the registration of a firearms dealer is £68. This came into force on 1st October 1986.
The fee for re-registration, which has remained unchanged since 1980, is £36. In keeping with government policy that the cost of administering the registration system should be recovered through the fees, the current level of fees payable on registration is being kept under review.
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the currently registered firearms dealerships are known to be foreign owned or controlled.
The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many firearms dealers were registered under the Firearms Act 1968 on 1st June 1986 and 1987 in each police area of the United Kingdom and how many are currently registered.
The available information for Great Britain relates to the end of 1986. That for England and Wales is published in Table 6 of Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 2/88, Statistics on the Operation of the Firearms Act 1968, a copy of which is in the Library. Figures for 1987 will be published in a similar bulletin later this year. I understand that the figures for Scotland are as follows:
| Firearms dealers in Scotland registered at 31st December 1986, by police force area | |
| Police force area | Number of dealers registered |
| Central Scotland | 14 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 34 |
| Fife | 8 |
| Grampian | 43 |
| Lothian & Borders | 32 |
| Northern | 54 |
| Strathclyde | 74 |
| Tayside | 36 |
| Total | 295 |