Richard has joined Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp MP, and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation (APPG), Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP, in writing to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to oppose the proposed 245 per cent increase to shotgun certifications.
In a letter open to signatories from all parties, they have described the increases as ‘exorbitant’. This follows news that the Government plans to increase the fees for owning a licensed firearm by 4.5 times inflation since 2015 (when the fees were last set).
Richard Fuller MP said:
I was very happy to add my signature to a letter regarding firearms licensing sent to the Home Secretary.
Firearms licensing has been an area of concern for many of my rural constituents for some time now, particularly the length of time taken to issue renewals which, as the letter states, in some cases can take as long as 2 years, which is clearly unacceptable.
To add insult to injury, the inflation busting increases in fees cannot be justified so the letter calls on the government to rethink these costs as well as address the delays in the licensing process. These are hugely exorbitant increases and will put pressure on hundreds of thousands of people in rural communities. Following on from the family farm tax, this is yet another attack on rural communities.
