asked Her Majesty's Government:

In light of the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 prescribing a mandatory custodial sentence of five years for unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon other than in exceptional circumstances, whether they have made any assessment of a recent case where a person who was found in possession of a self-contained gas cartridge revolver in a public place was offered a caution. [HL1075]

The decision to discontinue proceedings and to offer a caution was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service having full regard to the circumstances of the case.