Why jumping the gun on fees is wrong

In 2022, under the previous government, the Home Office initiated a discussion on fee rises associated with firearms and shotgun licensing. BASC sought an overhaul of the system to make it efficient, including an agreement on financial penalties for failure to provide an acceptable level of service. 

However, the process stalled because the Home Office firearms fees working group met only twice, came to no conclusions and produced no report. Civil servants, who did not provide transparent details on their proposals, chose not to reconvene the working group after May 2023. 

The last rise in fees was in 2015 and the current cost for the grant of a shotgun licence is £79.50, with a firearm certificate costing £88. There has been speculation that the fees may rise to £400 (News, 2 January) but there is no substance for this rumour, which, if true, would be ridiculous and ruinous to shooting. So what are the facts? 

On 17 December 2024, a written ministerial statement was published in Parliament on the Provisional Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2025-26 by the Home Secretary, which included the following section: “Firearms licensing fees have not increased since 2015 and are now significantly less than the cost of the service provided by police forces. This funding deficit is impacting the effectiveness of police firearms licensing controls and the crucial role they play in safeguarding the public. 

“We therefore intend to lay a statutory instrument when parliamentary time allows to increase firearms licensing fees to provide full-cost recovery for police forces, in line with our manifesto commitment. The additional revenue raised will be retained by police forces to support the important improvements needed in firearms licensing.” 

On 20 December, in a letter to BASC, the Home Office outlined the Government’s intention to introduce a statutory instrument to raise fees to achieve full-cost recovery for police forces, referencing the above written ministerial statement. No figures were mentioned and there has been no stakeholder consultation, public consultation nor transparency on what any rise in fees might be. 

The Government justifies a fee increase on the basis that it will fund improvements to the system. This is false. Firearms licensing fees are paid into general police funds and are not ring-fenced for licensing. Successive governments have been unable to guarantee that increased fees will go to fund firearms licensing improvements. 

BASC has proposed the following formula, agreed with the police in early 2024, to the Home Office: 

• An immediate inflationary increase over the 2015 fee of around 35%. 

• The police to be given two years for all firearms licensing departments to achieve a turnaround time of 17 weeks for uncontroversial grants and renewals. If this is achieved, then full-cost recovery can be implemented based If this is achieved, then full cost recovery can be implemented based on a transparent calculation of the amount. 

• The money secured for administering the system should be ring-fenced and there should be an annual increase in line with inflation, to prevent future large increases and underfunding of the system. 

The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention met with BASC on Monday, 13 January.

We have also been briefing senior members of the Labour Party and Labour MPs who represent rural seats, who are speaking to the Government on our behalf. 

Transparent 

In 2015, firearms licensing fees rose proportionately with the support of BASC and the British Shooting Sports Council. Those fees were determined through a robust and transparent costings process examined in accordance with the principles of better regulation and Treasury guidelines. Furthermore, fees were set at full-cost recovery for an online application to encourage take up of online applications by police forces. 

The last fees increase arose from a considered approach and one that more than 650,000 certificate holders expect the current Government to follow.