From today, stricter regulations mean that anyone with a history of domestic abuse or violent offences will be barred from owning firearms.
The new rules follow a tragic case in Woodmancote, where in 2020 a man with previous convictions and mental health issues shot and killed his partner and their two young daughters.
To strengthen the licensing process, police are now required to interview close family members or partners of anyone applying for a firearms licence.
Data from the National Firearms Licensing Management System between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.
Data taken from the NFLMS as of 31 March 2025 showed that there were:
- 145,306 firearm certificates on issue, a 1% decrease compared with 31 March 2024 (147,364)
- 482,612 shotgun certificates on issue, a 3% decrease compared with 31 March 2024 (495,798)
- 496,904 people who held either a firearm certificate, a shotgun certificate or both; a 3% decrease compared with 31 March 2024 (510,717)
- 626,276 firearms covered by a firearm certificate and 1,332,209 shotguns covered by a shotgun certificate
- 459 temporary firearm permits, a 10% decrease compared with 31 March 2024 (510)
- 1,361 temporary shotgun permits, a 31% increase compared with 31 March 2024 (1,042); this increase was mainly accounted for by 3 police forces who had a large backlog of cases; excluding these police forces, there was a 75% decrease in temporary shotgun permits.
In the year ending 31 March 2025, there were:
- 6,991 new applications completed for firearm certificates, a 3% increase compared with the previous year (6,809) and the highest number since the year ending 31 March 2020 (7,962)
- 16,392 new applications completed for shotgun certificates, a 1% decrease compared with the previous year (16,529)
- 4,134 new coterminous applications completed, a 9% increase compared with the previous year (3,778; coterminous certificates allow a holders’ firearm and shotgun certificate to expire on the same day)
- 334 new applications for firearm certificates refused (5%), a 19% decrease compared with the previous year (414) but the second highest number since comparable records began
- 1,073 new applications for shotgun certificates refused (7%), a similar number to the previous year (1,072) and the highest since comparable records began
- 542 firearm certificates revoked, a 7% increase compared with the year ending 31 March 2024 (507) and the highest number since comparable records began
- 1,476 shotgun certificates revoked; the second highest number since comparable records began, but a 5% decrease compared with the previous year (1,559)
- 455 firearms and shotguns reported as lost or stolen (0.02% of around 2 million firearms and shotguns covered by certificates on issue over the same period), a 10% increase compared with the year ending 31 March 2024
UPDATED 05/08/2025 @17:45 - A vehicle fire in Chichester closed A27
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