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Surrey Police now include a separate form that they send out with renewal reminders requesting information on how many times in the last year you've used each of your firearms. This has to be countersigned by the Club Sec and submitted with your application. They explain that it will speed the process.

Quite honestly that seems reasonable enough to me, particularly as the Club is no longer used as a referee. It seems to tick several boxes with very little effort.

Triffid

I couldn't tell you how many times I've used each of my guns in the last month, let alone 1 or 5 years! Even if you put a gun to my head

I sent my application in 4 weeks early after I had a reply to my email asking what the current lead time was.............I was told that as long as I applied 8 weeks before expiry date, I'd automatically get a sec.7 if they couldn't process it in time, and that I would not have to lodge my guns.
I printed this email off and filed it...............
They may well include the useage form when/if they send a reminder.

Pete

Pete wrote:I sent my application in 4 weeks early after I had a reply to my email asking what the current lead time was.............I was told that as long as I applied 8 weeks before expiry date, I'd automatically get a sec.7 if they couldn't process it in time, and that I would not have to lodge my guns.
I printed this email off and filed it...............
They may well include the useage form when/if they send a reminder.

Pete

By "4 weeks early" do you mean 12 weeks before expiry?

The Policing and Crime bill might get Royal Assent in the mean time which gives you 8 weeks extra on your expiry date so should virtually eliminate the need for Section 7's in all but the worst performing FLD's. What I'd like to know though is whether this information is going to be passed to the plod on the street? As if you're pulled and you produce a certificate that for all intent and purposes is shown to have recently expired, will the copper you're dealing with know about the new procedure i.e. the extra 8 weeks it is still valid for after the 'expiry' date, or will you be in the doo-doo/having your guns confiscated unless its normal office hours Mon-Fri where they could phone the FLD to verify your claim that its still valid??

I find the proposed "8 weeks extra" rather comical, it effectively says

" we know we have a problem, and really when it comes down to it know its lack of resources, but we have only just agreed on fees for full cost recovery, so saying we got it wrong is a bit embarrassing, tell you what , lets fudge the issue by giving everybody extra time and so reduce the number of temporary permits issued, that should make things look better on paper. I think we can be proud of our days work,Tea and choccy biccy's everyone."

Mindless drivel perpetuating a myth of good governance.

I've just got my s7 permits...... they're valid for a year!

Sim G wrote:I've just got my s7 permits...... they're valid for a year!

Wow I thought TVP held the record at six months!

Triffid wrote:Surrey Police now include a separate form that they send out with renewal reminders requesting information on how many times in the last year you've used each of your firearms. This has to be countersigned by the Club Sec and submitted with your application. They explain that it will speed the process.

Quite honestly that seems reasonable enough to me, particularly as the Club is no longer used as a referee. It seems to tick several boxes with very little effort.

Triffid

What about those of us who belong to several clubs? My shooting record is kept by the club specified on my FAC but it includes times when I shoot with other clubs, which my "home" club isn't going to certify.

Racalman wrote:

Triffid wrote:Surrey Police now include a separate form that they send out with renewal reminders requesting information on how many times in the last year you've used each of your firearms. This has to be countersigned by the Club Sec and submitted with your application. They explain that it will speed the process.

Quite honestly that seems reasonable enough to me, particularly as the Club is no longer used as a referee. It seems to tick several boxes with very little effort.

Triffid

What about those of us who belong to several clubs? My shooting record is kept by the club specified on my FAC but it includes times when I shoot with other clubs, which my "home" club isn't going to certify.

Also, what about those of us who shoot via affiliation, and at pay as you play shooting ranges, but not becoming a club member?

Quite simple surely, if your firearms dept. cannot satisfy themselves a to appropriate usage of firearms you hold. Then they ask for additional information. And if you are aware that checks with clubs listed on your application are likely to not provide sufficient information, would it not be sensible to include further detail/explanation with your application. Whilst I'm no fan of trivial bureaucracy, but its pointless complaining about a system and yet not helping the system work more efficiently when you can.

Whilst I've no doubt we all agree that FAC's are overly complicated and inefficient and could easily be amended to make things easier all round. Anything that we see as being obvious (moderators, 1 4 1 done by RFD's, allowed to hold licensable items to a set limited number thus allowing much simpler sales /purchases etc) any such move would be seized by the anti's as a softening of regulation and as such probably never even be put forward. We could have much faster turnaround of variations/grants/renewals etc simply by paying far more, but we don't want that.
Some forces give excellent service in return for the fees paid, others do not. Much will depend on the staff employed (even the difference of having full or part time staff and variations on a theme make huge differences to efficiency, add in flexible working, maternity/paternity leave, sickness, amount of time lost to training, experience. etc etc. And you'll have huge variances in the abilities of each department) and the attitudes of the hierarchy within each force. I've set out my views on the fee structure earlier, you can could look at the figures from all angles and get a different answer each time.