asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to provide the agreed monthly update on progress in the establishment of the national firearms licensing management system, required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. [HL708]

Further to the update sent to the noble Lord on 23 October, good progress with the roll-out programme is being maintained. A total of 24 forces have been migrated to the system which now contains records relating to 500,000 people.

It is still the aim to complete the roll-out process by March 2007. We will send a further update on the position at the end of January.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many police firearms licensing staff are involved in processing applications to vary or add conditions to firearm certificates; and [HL709]

How many prosecutions there have been in the past 10 years for breaches of extra conditions placed on firearms certificates by chief officers of police, under the Firearms Act 1968. [HL710]

The offence under Section 1(2) of the Firearms Act 1968 relates to a failure to comply with any condition on the certificate; prosecution statistics do not differentiate between prescribed conditions and those imposed by the chief officer of police. No information is kept centrally regarding the amount of time spent by police licensing staff in processing applications to vary or add conditions to firearms certificates.