Firearms licensing newsletter - November 2025
We are delighted to bring you the latest firearms licensing updates. Stay informed and connected with everything happening this month.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service
The team will be visited during November by staff from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services as part of a Thematic inspection to “examine how efficiently and effectively the police administered firearms licensing system in England and Wales keeps the public safe, while facilitating lawful firearms possession”. The team will look at how well forces “fulfil their responsibilities in the system, (and) will examine the effectiveness of:
- national guidance and legislation
- local policies and processes
- national, regional and local governance arrangements
- the training provided to police firearms licensing personnel
- funding and resourcing
The inspection team will visit six forces across England and Wales between November 2025 and January 2026 and the fieldwork will include interviews, focus groups, document reviews and reality testing as well as case file reviews.
We are very grateful for those members of the IAG who have agreed to assist with this national inspection process by taking part in a focus group with the inspectors.
HMICFRS are aiming to produce a single thematic report by July 2026 which will be a public document, and something we can discuss at a future Independent Advisory Group.
Operation Longacre
Operation Longacre – the investigation into the murders of Juliana Falcon, Kyle and Giselle Prosper in Luton. Many people will have been aware of the horrific crimes committed by an individual who was able to acquire a shotgun using a forged certificate to fool a legitimate vendor. Members of the BCH FEL team supported the investigation with specialist knowledge on firearms licensing legislation and processes, and it may be of interest to stakeholders that work continues with the national FEL network, engaging with the Home Office to ensure that any opportunities to prevent the fraudulent use of documentation are explored. This is a national issue, and changes would require changes in current legislation but we will keep you posted as this work continues.
Independent Advisory Group
Thank you to all of you who were able to join us on Friday 31 October for our autumn group meeting. It was great to meet so many people face to face and have the opportunity to explain a bit about where we are with workload, performance, staffing and the other plans we have to help deliver sustainable improvements through the use of Microsoft SharePoint, Risk Based Renewals and a more proportionate use of suitability reviews and revocations. The discussions about the two case studies was particularly interesting in terms of enabling us to hear your thoughts, prompting us to think for example about some of the terms used in Statutory Guidance and their interpretation in your eyes. We’ve taken away a number of questions and suggestions which we are now working through with the team. Your collective message about previous false starts and a need for us to deliver sustained improvement in the service we deliver was received loud and clear. If you have any feedback or requests for content at future meetings then please do let us know ahead of the next session in Spring 2026.