The Home Office has published a consultation on draft guidelines for police issuing firearms licences. This will ensure officers are consistently checking applicants' medical fitness to hold a licence and have signed an agreement with the BMA and will provide greater protection for GPs who choose to place a firearms flag on the medical record.

The draft guidelines clarify that GPs will be allowed to refuse to provide informationf for patients applying for licences, and that GPs will be allowed to charge a fee for providing medical information if they so wish.  Police offices - and not GPs -  wil be legally liable for judging whether someone is able to possess a firearm, and for checking medical records of applicants.  

In response to this, Mark Sanford-Wood, GPC England deputy chair, said: "First and foremost, the firearms licensing process must have public safety at its heart, and there can be no half measures when it comes to regulating the ownership of weapons that can be used with lethal outcomes. GPs can have an important - but not compulsory - role to pay in this and the MOU agreed by the BMA, the Home Office and the police is welcome clarification over where responsibility for licensing and safety lies."