asked Her Majesty's Government:How many handguns have been handed in to each police force under the provisions of the Firearms Acts; how many of these have been destroyed; and what records police forces are required to keep of the identification numbers, or other particulars, of firearms handed in and destroyed. [HL3231]

Under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997, a total of 162,198 handguns were surrendered to the police in England, Wales and Scotland. A breakdown of these figures by police force area is contained in the table. A proportion of the 3,607 firearms surrendered or otherwise disposed of under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 will also have been handguns but details of these were not recorded centrally.Figures for the number of handguns destroyed are not collected centrally. The vast majority of handguns surrendered to the police have been destroyed, or will be when the relevant compensation claims have been settled and disposal instructions issued by the Firearms Compensation Section. A small number of handguns will be retained by the police for official purposes or will be given to suitably authorised museums.The way in which the details of firearms surrendered to the police were recorded is a matter for individual chief officers. Serial numbers for such firearms should have been given on the compensation claim forms submitted to the police at the time of surrender, and should have been checked by the police against the serial numbers appearing on the firearms themselves and in the relevant firearm certificates or dealers' registers of transactions.