asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which police forces have now migrated to the National Firearms Licensing Management System, indicating the date on which each force went live and the dates on which the remaining forces are expected to join the system. [HL1791]
The information requested is given in the attached list.
Force GoLive Date Lancashire 16/06/2006 Metropolitan Police 16/06/2006 South Yorkshire 14/07/2006 Lincolnshire 04/08/2006 North Wales 11/08/2006 Suffolk 08/09/2006 Norfolk 08/09/2006 Merseyside 15/09/2006 South Wales 22/09/2006 Cheshire 22/09/2006 Cleveland 29/09/2006 Humberside 29/09/2006 Thames Valley 06/10/2006 Derbyshire 06/10/2006 Northumbria 13/10/2006. Cumbria 20/10/2006 London, City of 17/11/2006 West Yorkshire 17/11/2006 Durham 24/11/2006 Greater Manchester 01/12/2006 Bedfordshire 01/12/2006 Cambridgeshire 08/12/2006 Surrey 08/12/2006 Avon and Somerset 15/12/2006 Warwickshire 12/01/2007 Northamptonshire 12/01/2007 Kent 19/01/2007 Gwent 19/01/2007 Hampshire 26/01/2007 Nottinghamshire 26/01/2007 Sussex 02/02/2007 Dyfed-Powys 09/02/2007 Wiltshire 09/02/2007 West Midlands 16/02/2007 Dorset 16/02/2007 Hertfordshire 23/02/2007 Devon and Cornwall 23/02/2007 North Yorkshire 02/03/2007 Essex 02/03/2007 Gloucestershire 09/03/2007 Leicestershire 09/03/2007 Staffordshire 16/03/2007 West Mercia 16/03/2007
asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to link the National Firearms Licensing Management System to the police national computer. [HL1792]
A data-cleansing exercise is needed before an interface with PNC can be successfully made. This is being carried out on a force by force basis after each has been migrated to NFLMS. Technical and financial assistance is being given. All forces expect to have completed this work by June 2007.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements are in place to link police forces in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to the National Firearms Licensing Management System. [HL1794]
The current NFLMS implementation programme covers all forces in England and Wales. So far, Scotland has not opted to join NFLMS but has augmented the existing firearms field on its criminal history system to include all the categories of information required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. They are considering how best to facilitate the exchange of information. Northern Ireland has its own separate firearms legislation and is not covered by these provisions.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the main operational-use problems which have emerged with the roll-out of the National Firearms Licensing Management System. [HL1795]
Of the 31 forces so far implementing NFLMS, six have reported intermittent slow running of the system. Each of these forces is being assisted in investigating the problem and identifying a permanent solution. At the local level, work is going on in each force after migration to NFLMS to ensure that locally held data are cleansed. Technical and financial assistance is being given for this.