Rifle licenses issued in Scotland queries: FOI release

Information requested

The number of rifle licenses issued in Scotland for the past five years with available data; the calibres of the rifles that were licensed in the same period; and the purpose for which each license was issued for.

Response

Scottish Government Approved Target Shooting Rifle Clubs

Under section 15 of The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, target shooting clubs may be granted approval by the Scottish Ministers (or, out with Scotland, by the Secretary of State, normally the Home Secretary). If granted and unless withdrawn, a target shooting club approval is valid for a duration of 6 years and will expire at the end of this period unless the club applies for their approval to be renewed. Approvals are not country-specific, so an approval granted by Scottish Ministers would allow members of a Scottish club to make use of ranges in England or Wales, and vice-versa.

The majority of approved clubs in Scotland are long-established and renew their approvals on a sixyearly cycle. Further information on the approval process and the criteria which clubs must meet is available at: www.mygov.scot/firearms. Within the remit assigned to them by reserved firearms law Scottish Ministers do not grant any firearms approvals without having received a recommendation from Police Scotland based on thorough assessment.

Application forms for establishing a target shooting club do not include alternative purpose beyond those stated in the Home Office guidance: i.e. target shooting -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approval-of-rifle-and-muzzle-loading-pistol-clubs/approvalof-rifle-and-muzzle-loading-pistol-clubs-accessible#criteria-for-approval. Therefore, applications do not include this information and are not relevant for FOI release.

An FOI was released in 2022 containing the names and number of Scottish Ministers approved target shooting clubs: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200328272/. In addition to this, Scottish Ministers currently have 119 active target shooting club authorities, many of which were issued in 2022.

Other related information

Some of the information you have requested, the number of rifle licenses issued in Scotland for the past five years, is available from Police Scotland's website under Statistical Publications: https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/what-we-do/firearms-and-explosives-licensing/.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested; the calibres of the rifles that were licensed in the last 5 years and the purpose for which each license was issued for. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for; the calibres of the rifles that were licensed in the same period; and the purpose for which each license was issued. These are operational decisions made by the Chief Constable in his responsibilities for firearms licensing.

Under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. However, you may wish to contact Police Scotland's FoI Team at foi@scotland.police.uk.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.