Memorandum submitted by the Northern Ireland
Office
This memorandum provides responses to a number
of questions raised by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
by letter dated 23 October 2003 in relation to the Draft Firearms
(Northern Ireland) Order.
1. Article 2(8) What is the purpose of (and
source for) this provision?
The provision mirrors section 1(4)(c) of the
Firearms Act 1968 which allows certain blank cartridges to be
held without the need for a firearm certificate.
2. Article 7(3)(c) This now deals with the
technical point which arose on the drafting of 2002 I 7(3)(c)
but, whereas the earlier draft limited use to sporting purposes
for the duration of the certificate, the new draft appears to
limit use in that way only for the period of supervision. Is this
intended?
The Chief Constable may condition the use of
all firearms held on certificate, either of his own decision or
on request of the holder. The limited use condition effectively
prevents the young person from seeking a change of use until after
the period specified on his certificate. The wording of Article
7(3)(c) will be clarified.
3. Article 12(2) In an earlier memorandum
(see volume II of our Fourth Report, HC67-11 Ev 122, point 9)
you wrote that you were considering whether revocation under this
article (then 2002/11(2) should attract the consequences set down
in article 10. What factors led you to conclude this was unnecessary?
The difficulty presented by prohibited weapons
is their inherent danger to public safety which is the reason
why Parliament decided that they should not be permitted to be
held in private hands unless under specific written authority
of the Secretary of State. For that reason the Government does
not believe it is appropriate for the revocation of that authority
to attract all the consequences of Article 10. The Government
does recognise the need to provide for certain post-revocation
undertakings for both the Chief Constable and the holder. Accordingly
the Draft Order will include a consequential provision which reflects
the more serious public safety concern for this category of firearm.
4. Article 15 In an earlier memorandum (seeHC67-II
Ev 123 point 10(iii)) you indicated that a revocation power for
this article (then 2002/13) was "inadvertently omitted"
and would be included. It does not appear to have been included.
Why?
The Draft Firearms Order will provide the Chief
Constable with an appropriate revocation power for visitors firearm
permits.
5. Article 63 In an earlier memorandum to
the Committee (see HC67-II Ev 162) you indicated your intention
to insert a provision similar to section 21(3)(a) of the 1968
Act, in relation to juvenile offenders. This change has not been
made. Why?
Section 21(3)(a) of the firearms Act 1968 does
not have an equivalent in the corresponding provision in Northern
Ireland, Article 22(4) of the firearms (Northern Ireland) Order
1981. In practice a person sentenced under Article 45 of the Criminal
Justice (Children)(Northern Ireland) Order 1998 and released on
licence under Article 46 of that Order or under the Life Sentences
Order is unlikely to have an unrevoked firearm certificate. Nor
is the Chief Constable likely to consider such a person fitted
to get one.
However, on further reflection, the Government
has decided that an express prohibition should be imposed on the
holder of such a licence, Accordingly the Draft Firearms Order
will contain a provision equivalent to section 21(3)(a) of the
1968 Act.
6. Articles 77 and 78 In an earlier memorandum
(see HC67-II Ev 127) you noted that the inclusion of article 7
in the list of articles which applied under 2002/71(1) was an
error which would be corrected; and that 2002/72(1) would be redrafted
to provide a more general exemption for the police along the lines
of the current article 60(4). Neither of these changes appear
to have been made. Why?
On further consideration the Government has
decided that Article 7 should be included in the list of articles
which apply to persons in the service of the Crown in their capacity
as such so far as they relate to the purchase and acquisition
(subject to the modifications in paragraph 2) but not to the possession
of firearms and ammunition. In particular this will provide for
junior soldiers who are not in a cadet corps to possess and handle
firearms.
On further consideration the government has
decided that the saving provision for police officers in Article
78 should be consistent with that for Crown Servants and in that
to more closely reflect the position in Great Britain.
7. Schedule 2 paragraph 1(1) Should "presentation"
be "preservation" (see paragraph 5 of the Schedule to
the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988)?
The reference should be "preservation".
8. Schedule 5 entry for article 3(1) Is the
maximum punishment for an article 3(1)(a) offence (in some cases
the minimum such punishment under article 70) of 5 years appropriate,
where the offence is committed in an aggravated form? A longer
punishment is provided for where an aggravated offence is committed
under article 3(1)(b) and 3(2).
The separate provision for handguns at Article
3 takes account of the Government's decision to provide for a
mandatory minimum sentence for the illegal possession of certain
prohibited weapons, by direct extension of amendments in the Criminal
Justice Bill. Handguns are not prohibited in Northern Ireland,
as they are in the rest of the United Kingdom, and separate provision
is therefore required to ensure their criminal misuse attracts
the 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The amendments to Article 3 have been further
refined to provide an additional 10-year maximum penalty for the
handgun offence in order to bring Northern Ireland into line with
handgun sentencing policy in Great Britain.
9. Schedule 7 In an earlier memorandum (see
HC67-II Ev 124) you indicated that there would be a consequential
amendment to the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997
in consequence of the Order. This has not been included. Why?
A consequential amendment to Article 10 and
to paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the Northern Ireland Decommissioning
Act 1997, will be included in the final draft of the Draft Firearms
Order.
10. With the repeal of the 1981 Order, virtually
all of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (Amendment)
Regulations 1992 falls, but for Regulation 9. In an earlier memorandum
(see HC67-II Ev 121) you indicated that the Draft would re-enact
Regulation 9. This does not appear to have been done. Why?
The Government has considered very carefully
the inclusion in the Draft Firearms Order of a provision corresponding
to Regulation 9 of the 1992 Regulations. However we were concerned
that such a course of action might exceed the scope of the Order.
In this the Government noted that in neither jurisdiction was
the provision made by way of textual amendment to the 1981 Order
or the 1968 Act.
5 November 2003
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