The Gun Trade Association (GTA) has welcomed a series of changes to firearms licensing performance reporting following discussions with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
The changes follow correspondence between GTA chief executive Stephen Jolly and the NPCC regarding the presentation and interpretation of quarterly firearms licensing performance data.
According to the GTA, one of the most significant developments is the NPCC’s commitment to publish separate grant and renewal performance figures from July 2026 onwards. The change is expected to provide a clearer picture of how individual police forces are performing across different types of firearms licensing applications.
Prior to the introduction of quarterly reporting, there was no national collation of firearms licensing performance data across police forces.
The NPCC described the reporting process as an evolving system that currently relies on the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), a platform developed more than 20 years ago that was not originally designed for detailed performance analysis.
A replacement system is currently being developed by Police Digital Services, which is expected to improve both data quality and reporting accuracy.
The GTA had raised concerns that earlier reports could give the impression that firearms licensing performance was more efficient than it was in reality. The NPCC acknowledged that reporting methods used during the first two quarters of the 2025/26 reporting period may have led to that perception and confirmed that changes were introduced from the third quarter onwards.
The NPCC also acknowledged that differing methodologies used in earlier reports made direct comparisons difficult. Going forward, the methodology introduced during Q3 2025/26 will remain in place, allowing more meaningful comparisons between reporting periods.
Further improvements will include standardised data extraction dates for future quarterly reports, helping to improve consistency and transparency.
Stephen Jolly, chief executive of the Gun Trade Association, said the correspondence represented a positive step towards greater transparency within the firearms licensing system.
“The publication of national firearms licensing performance data remains an important development for the shooting community and the trade. We welcome the NPCC’s willingness to engage with our concerns and the commitment to provide separate grant and renewal data in future reports, which should allow a more accurate assessment of force performance.”
The NPCC has confirmed that Scottish licensing data will not be included in future reports due to the use of a different licensing system north of the border.