From Sarah Jones MP, Minister for policing and crime.
Sarah Jones MP Minister of State for Policing and Crime
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office
[TO]
Samantha Dixon MBE MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
DECS Reference: MIN/1495925/26
Your Reference: SD13922
29 April 2026
Dear Samantha,
Thank you for your email of 17 April on behalf of Mr Eveleigh, about the potential changes to the licensing controls on shotguns.
The Government announced in February 2025 that there would be a consultation on
whether there should be greater alignment in controls on shotguns and other firearms.
This is based on recommendations in respect of shotgun controls that were made by the
Coroner in his preventing future deaths report to the Home Secretary issued in May 2023
and followed the inquest into the deaths of those who were shot and killed in Plymouth in
August 2021. Similar recommendations on shotgun controls were also made in the report
by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following its investigation into the Plymouth
shootings, and by the Scottish Affairs Committee in its report following a fatal shooting with a shotgun in Skye in August 2022.
No decisions have yet been made on whether and what changes to shotgun controls might be necessary and we will consult in due course. We will also provide an impact
ssessment in relation to any changes that the Government intends to bring forward after
the consultation, in the normal way. It will of course be open to Mr Eveleigh to respond to
the consultation once it is published.
Mr Eveleigh also suggests that it should be mandatory for GPs to participate in the
firearms licensing process. The role of GPs in providing medical information to support
applications for the grant and renewal of firearms licensing applications is an important
part of firearms licensing. To support this, a digital firearms medical marker was rolled
out across GP IT systems in England in May 2023, to replace the previous practice of
GPs placing a marker on patients’ medical records manually. It is encouraging that
headline data from NHS England shows that the digital marker is being applied by GPs
and is working as intended.
Thank you again for writing in on this important matter on behalf of your constituent.
Very best wishes,
Sarah Jones MP
Minister of State for Policing and Crime.
I note that the minister has slipped around the question of making GP’s involvement in the firearms licensing process mandatory by answering a question which wasn’t asked.
I hope you’ve all signed the petition?
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/750236#main-content
This might interest you: a map of the petition’s results. It certainly shows a City V Counrty divide.
