Part 6: Firearms and pyrotechnic articles Section 133: Guidance to police officers in respect of firearms
Under the 1968 Act, chief officers of police have a number of functions, including in respect of:
	The grant or renewal of a firearms certificate (section 27);
	The grant or renewal of a shot gun certificate (section 28);
	The revocation of a firearms certificate (section 30A) or a shot gun certificate (section 30C); and
	The maintenance of a register of firearms dealers (section 33).
	Currently the Home Office issues guidance to chief officers of police on some of their functions under the 1968 Act on a non-statutory basis.
	Subsection (2) inserts new section 55A into the 1968 Act which confers a power on the Secretary of State (in practice, the Home Secretary) to issue statutory guidance to chief officers on the exercise of their functions under, or in connection with, the 1968 Act. Functions "in connection with" the 1968 Act will include the role of the police in supporting the Home Secretary and the Scottish Ministers in discharging their functions under the 1968 Act, for example, in carrying out background checks on applicants for an authorisation under section 5 of the 1968 Act in respect of prohibited weapons. The reference to chief officers’ functions under the 1968 Act will include their functions under the 1988 Act. Section 25(6) of that Act provides for sections 53 to 56 of the 1968 Act (which would include the new section 55A) to apply as if the 1988 Act were contained in the 1968 Act.
	Chief officers are under a duty to have regard to any statutory guidance (new section 55A(4)). Such a duty requires a chief officer, in deciding any case, to bear in mind the approach as set out in the guidance. Any departure from the guidance should not be on the basis of a general disagreement with the guidance but only on the basis of considerations relevant to the particular case in hand that seems to require a different approach.
	Subsection (3) inserts a new subsection (3A) into section 44 of the 1968 Act which provides for a right of appeal to the Crown Court (in England and Wales) or to the sheriff (in Scotland) against a decision of a chief officer. New section 44(3A) requires the court to have regard to relevant aspects of the guidance in deciding an appeal. This will ensure chief officers and appeal courts apply the same broad criteria to licensing decisions, which will improve consistency across the system.