British Empire Medal for UK Air Rifle Benchrest Champion
Matthew Gleaves from Darlington has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours List. The Northern Echo reports that Matthew, who became champion in the space of three years, has been recognised for his services to people with disability in sport. He is a wheelchair user himself, and started shooting during lockdown, on a range he had built in his back garden for his daughter.
To become champion in just three years is a remarkable achievement, and proves that the shooting sports are some of the most inclusive where able bodied and disabled mostly compete as equals.
Matth
ew is a strong advocate for more disabled people participating in shooting, and has run trial events across the country. He also has a YouTube channel called Air Ability and a Facebook group to encourage more people to join in.
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REACH UK Proposal for Restrictions on Lead in Ammunition
This was published on 13/12/24 and is the final opinion of REACH UK, with their recommendations to the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, currently Steve Reed OBE MP. Contact information for Steve Reed – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament
REACH UK have concluded that:
- For the environment there are risks that are not adequately controlled for lead shot (primary and secondary exposure), lead bullets (secondary exposure) and airgun ammunition (primary and secondary exposure)
- Amongst consumers of high volumes of game meat that has been shot with lead ammunition (shot or bullets), there is a risk to health of vulnerable people (young children and women of child-bearing age) that is not adequately controlled.
REACH UK’s proposals are:
For Live Quarry Shooting
| 1 | Live Quarry Shooting with shot | Restriction on the placing on the market and use |
| 2a | Live Quarry Shooting with large calibre bullets (≥6.17mm) | Restriction on the placing on the market and use |
| 2b | Live Quarry Shooting with small calibre bullets (<6.17mm) | No Action |
| 3 | Live Quarry Shooting with airgun ammunition | No Action |
For Outdoor Target Shooting
| 4 | Outdoor Target Shooting with shot | Restriction on the placing on the market and use, with a derogation for competitive athletes |
| 5 | Outdoor Target Shooting with bullets | Restriction on the placing on the market and use, with a derogation for use at certain sites |
| 6 | Outdoor Target Shooting with airgun ammunition | No Action |
Transition Periods
Lead Shot – 5-year transition period
Large Calibre Bullets – 3-year transition period
All calibres of lead bullets on Outdoor ranges which do not have appropriate de-leading procedures – 2 years
Exemptions & Derogations
No restriction to placing on the market lead ammunition that is not to be fired, as supplied to museums and private collectors, for display only.
No derogation for Humane Dispatch of animals as this is considered to be part of live quarry shooting.
Derogation for athletes that are competing at, or training to compete at, the Olympic or Paralympic Games.
Derogation for use of lead bullets on outdoor shooting ranges with appropriate risk management measures.
All indoor target shooting ranges are exempt from these restrictions as they are covered under Control of Lead at Work regulations.
Also exempt from these restrictions are the police, government security services, military, technical testing and/or proofing of firearms and ammunition services, technical testing and development of other materials and products, forensic analysis, historical and other technical research or investigations.
Lead Concentrations in Restricted Ammunition
For Non-Lead Shot – concentration limit of <1% w/w lead as per existing non lead shot for use over wetlands.
For Non-Lead Bullets – concentration limit of 3% lead
These recommendations are now with Defra, the Scottish, and the Welsh government. They have twelve weeks to review the proposals and either accept them as written or request more information from the HSE. Legislation will then be drafted and presented to parliament; this is when we can really lobby individual members of parliament. How long before this makes it to the parliamentary calendar is completely unknown.
For the full proposals and background document please use the following links:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/restrictions/rr-aavi-0821.pdf
Background document to the Agency Opinion on the Proposal for a restriction – Lead
Clarity on Lead Shot Ban Over Wetlands
The Firearms United Network challenged the legal basis of the REACH EU restriction on lead shot in/ over wetlands. This challenge was lost and an appeal at the Court of Justice of the EU was also lost, but not before clarifying some aspects of the restrictions. The CJEU judgement was issued on 17/10/24.
In practice:
- A wetland must be a habitat for waterfowl. So, not just a pond or reservoir for whatever purpose, but also a normal habitat for waterfowl.
- The ‘within 100m of a wet area’ is only applicable if it can be proven that the wet area is a normal habitat for waterfowl, and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
- Discharging lead shot when within 100m of a wetland waterfowl habitat is prohibited, as is carrying lead shot when wetland shooting, or going wetland shooting.
- However, if just walking through a wetland habitat with lead shot, but not discharging the shot or participating in wetland habitat shooting, is not prohibited.
This will apply to Northern Ireland as they are still under the law of the EU, and will probably be interpreted similarly in England, Wales and Scotland.
Firearms Licensing Fees
On 20/12/24 the Home Office wrote to BSSC with the following, stating they will write again when the Statutory Instrument is laid before parliament.
“Firearms licensing fees have not increased since 2015 and are now significantly less than the cost of the service provided by police forces. This funding deficit is impacting the effectiveness of police firearms licensing controls and the crucial role they play in safeguarding the public. We therefore intend to lay a statutory instrument when parliamentary time allows to increase firearms licensing fees to provide full-cost recovery for police forces, in line with our manifesto commitment. The additional revenue raised will be retained by police forces to support the important improvements needed in firearms licensing.”
The commitment to full cost recovery must follow treasury guidelines. Continuous assessment is now considered to be part of the processing of a licence; therefore, it is not simply the granting of a licence they are charging for, but the continuous assessment for the duration of the licence.
This is not the end of the discussion. Before the change in government there were discussions about having 10-year certificates once the medical markers were in place. The police were on board with this proposal, and if we can get this agreed with the current government, will go some way to mitigate the increasing costs. Unfortunately, medical markers are not yet consistently applied throughout Wales and Scotland, they are waiting to see how it works in England first. Where it is used the police are very happy with the process. A pricing structure with regular increases in cost is also in discussion.
Fake Firearms Licences
Forged firearms certificates have been in circulation as the criminal world tries everything at their disposal to get their hands on live firearms. Both Registered firearms Dealers and Private Sellers have been caught out in this way. The National Crime Agency have launched a campaign, Project Rutic, to increase awareness. A scannable QR code on the poster links to NCA resources, offering further guidance on identifying fake firearm certificates.
“Fraudulent certificates pose a significant risk by enabling unlicensed individuals to obtain firearms,” said the NCA in their campaign release. The initiative highlights the importance of safeguarding firearm ownership against criminal exploitation.
The NCA has proposed a system similar to DVLA, MOT etc. for online verification of firearms certificates, by the licensed firearms community, to reduce the risk of lawful-unlawful firearms transfer. It is hoped this can be incorporated into whatever system replaces NFLMS.