Only in Britain, the land of idiots.
From the statutory guidance to the police firearms licencing.
Limited automatic extension of certificates
6.4 The chief officer should normally make a decision on an application for renewal before the expiry of the certificate or registration, provided that the application has been made at least 8 weeks before the date of the expiry of the certificate. In the case of firearms and shotguns, where an application for renewal has been made at least 8 weeks before the date of the expiry of the certificate, and the police have not been able to make a decision on the application by the date of expiry, a limited extension of the certificate automatically comes into effect. The extension begins from the original expiry date of the certificate for a period of 8 weeks or until the police decide the application, whichever occurs first. This extension period allows the police a further period in which to decide the application. This is a statutory extension provided by section 28B of the Firearms Act 1968 and is intended to provide a safety net for applicants in exceptional circumstances where the police are unable to process and decide a case before the original expiry date of the applicant’s certificate. During this period of extension the applicant will remain entitled to possess, purchase and acquire firearms and ammunition as per the conditions of the original certificate. Chief officers should facilitate this extended entitlement by ensuring that the applicant is provided with a letter or other clear evidence that the certificate benefits from the automatic statutory extension (a suitable letter is provided on the National Firearms Licensing Management System).
6.5 The chief officer must always endeavour to make a timely decision on an application that benefits from the extended 8 week period before expiry of the extension period. A failure to do so will leave the applicant without a lawful basis for the possession of their firearms or shotguns and associated ammunition. Should such circumstances arise, the police should work with the applicant to make necessary arrangements for the safe, legal storage of their property until such time as the application is decided, or the police may consider the issue of a temporary permit, issued in accordance with section 7 of the Firearms Act 1968 (see below).
Section 7 police permit
6.6 Section 7 of the Firearms Act 1968 allows chief officers to issue a permit to allow for the lawful possession of a firearm and ammunition in accordance with the terms that are set out in the permit. The police may use this provision to allow for the continued possession of firearms and ammunition where a certificate is about to expire and an application for renewal has been made. This could apply where the application was made less than 8 weeks in advance of expiry, and the applicant therefore fails to benefit from the automatic 8 week extension referred to above. Or it could apply where that 8 week extension is about to expire and the police are still unable to decide the application.
6.7 The police must be satisfied that the issue of a section 7 police permit does not give rise to any public safety risk, which can normally only be determined after full consideration has been given to the application and relevant enquiries made. For this reason, section 7 permits issued to provide more time to consider an application for renewal should only be issued on an exceptional basis and where this course of action is considered to be unavoidable. These permits should not be used routinely to benefit applicants who do not apply for the timely renewal of their certificates, or who are otherwise uncooperative with the police while consideration is being given to their application. Chief officers should also avoid routinely using temporary permits as a means of managing licensing caseloads within their force.
6.8 Account should be taken of any reasons given by the applicant to explain a late application that would justify the issue of a temporary section 7 permit, and the police should consider each case on its individual merits. Where required, temporary permits should be supplied with an end date no longer than is reasonable to cover the expected period of processing and should not be issued if no renewal application has been received.
6.9 Chief Officers should ensure that their firearms licensing departments are sufficiently resourced to enable effective processing of applications, to avoid the need to rely routinely on the use of section 7 permits. Where police forces have made significant use of section 7 permits to help manage certificate renewal backlogs and have large numbers of people subject to these permits, effort should be made to reduce the number of firearms holders to whom this relates. There will be a six month period starting from the day of this version of the Statutory Guidance coming into force in which police forces that have significant numbers of firearms holders on section 7 permits will be expected to adapt their internal processes so by the end of that period they will have significantly reduced the numbers on section 7 permits and will minimise the future use of temporary permits.
6.10 Certificate holders must not be asked to rely on an expired certificate or registration. It is unlawful for them to do so.
