Government’s justification for firearms fees increase ‘bogus’, says BASC
The UK’s largest shooting organisation has labelled the government’s justification for an increase in firearms licensing fees as bogus and warned that inefficient licensing puts guns in the hands of the wrong people.
The comments from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) come after the association wrote to all PCCs and Chief Constables in England and Wales, who are responsible for setting police budgets, to ask for assurances that funds raised will be used to resource their firearms licensing departments.
On the day the new fees came into effect (05/02/2025), only seven out of 42 constabularies had committed to guaranteeing the funds would go towards improving firearms licensing.
Christopher Graffius, BASC’s executive director of communications and public affairs, said: “The government’s justification for the increase is that the extra funds raised will go to support the work of firearms licensing departments, although it has no powers to ensure this happens.
“If they cannot guarantee that the money from fee increases will improve the system, then the government’s reasoning for a 133 per cent hike in firearms fees is bogus. People will be paying more for a service that continues to be inefficient.
“Inefficient licensing puts guns in the hands of the wrong people, it puts public safety at risk.”
BASC previously condemned the government’s decision to increase firearms licensing fees by an average of 133 per cent without fixing the inefficiencies undermining the current system.
The association expressed its concerns to the Home Office in a meeting last month with the Policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson MP, and is engaging with senior Labour Party representatives and rural MPs.
