BASC says don’t pay medical fee

I will do as you suggest but expect the Police Scotland 'illness' to move southward, it logically will, as the agenda is a disarmed population .
Thanks

It wont, with the Crime and Policing bill awaiting royal ascent, Home office Guidance on firearms licensing will become legally binding in England and Wales once passed.

Ian.
 
Then why talk to your GP if you dont have a notifiable condition? let your renewal application run its normal course and wait and see if you get a request for a payment for the Initial police letter, then its up to you if you pay it or not, its Police Scotland that are making up there own criteria and refusing to issue certificates over non payment not England/Wales.
Why invite possible unnecessary attention when there is no need to?

Ian

I will do as you suggest but expect the Police Scotland 'illness' to move southward, it logically will, as the agenda is a disarmed population .
Thanks
 
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It wont, with the Crime and Policing bill awaiting royal ascent, Home office Guidance on firearms licensing will become legally binding in England and Wales once passed.

Ian.

This, if true, would be alarming.

My understanding is that the draft legislation states that the FLDs must 'have regard' to any HO Guidance. This is clearly what they should do anyway, so I'm not sure how the statute will help.

Clearly, however, this vague requirement is better that Whitebeard's interpretation - which would have the Home Office and the Police writing what were hitherto 'Guidelines'; but which suddenly, without any Parliamentary involvement, have the authority of statute law.
 
If i remember correctly it came out earlier this year in the Shooting News UK because of the clause that chief constables need only consult the Home secretary about implementing changes to firearms licensing procedure and because the home office guidelines will become legally binding this effectively allows chief constables to change the law on Firearms licensing.

Ian.
 
A common approach would be a start ... perhaps if an electronic system could be adopted (like an identity card) and we didn't need to carry about peices of ever decaying paper. A friend of mine writes the software for the back-office and the chips in the cards and says it should be simple enough to come up with a card that we present into a reader at the RFD's and all of our details (photo, what we can and can't purchase/own) can be viewed and updated there and then. A lot les complex than an Oyster or bank card (as there is no money involved).
 
I hope you don't mean an a universal identity card!!!! In no uncertain terms that form of identity card will forever fundamentally shift the relationship between the state and it's citizens. At the moment IT answers to YOU. An ID card will turn the tables.

Nonetheless a tech solution to just a firearms license isn't always the best solution. Easily lost, you'd still have to send it away for it to be 'edited', can be copied far more easily than paper unless you use proprietary technology which raises price, might be casually interrogated, could be erased................................like a chip and pin card if sat on it's knackered unlike a paper license which as long as it's not seriously damaged is still useable.
 
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I popped into the Derby Countryman store on Sat and during the conversations with the owner (I presumed) was saying that he'd hreard that doctors are starting to charge £60 to sign the "doctors tick form".
 
Got my letter from police Scotland this morning,nice and early as my renewal isn't due till April.Will hand in form to doc's tomorrow and wait and see.
 
I popped into the Derby Countryman store on Sat and during the conversations with the owner (I presumed) was saying that he'd hreard that doctors are starting to charge £60 to sign the "doctors tick form".

They can charge as much as they want but here in England if we decide not to pay we are not held to ransom by the police refusing to issue a FAC.

Ian.
 
I'm not sure of the process in Scotland. Have you asked for advice from your shooting organisation? It would be interesting to hear their take on it.

The process in Scotland is clearly identified in this thread as is the advice from the shooting organisation (the clue is in the title). Essentially (in short) BASC said "don't pay the doctors fee" and Police Scotland through the head of the FELD (ChInsp Fraser [Sturgeon] Lamb) have said "if you dont pay the doctor and he doesn't return the form, them we won't progress your application (without further investigation)".

BASC took a bit of a huff (as some members expressed their opinions about a lack of action) and I understand that the BASC are in the throws of "putting together a survey - [FONT=&amp]to look at the situation since April and assess how those renewing their certificates got on and whether or not they were asked to pay a GP fee", which I personally would describe as a 'bit limp wristed' (without predjudice).
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Yes the letter that accompanied the stuff I had to give to the docs basically says until they hear from your GP your renewal/application will not proceed any further.
 
I can't believe our shooting organisations are not making a far bigger deal about this .
Police Scotland ignoring HO guidelines and just making it up as they go and WE suffer if for example you have a doctor who is Dick Turpin in disguise & wants £200 & the next one wants £20 ......no continuity .
Or worse you have a doctor who is anti shooting and then allows personal agenda or feelings into a professional situation .....he's not being asked if he agrees or disagrees he's being asked someone's suitability .

Paul
 
I can't believe our shooting organisations are not making a far bigger deal about this .
Police Scotland ignoring HO guidelines and just making it up as they go and WE suffer if for example you have a doctor who is Dick Turpin in disguise & wants £200 & the next one wants £20 ......no continuity .
Or worse you have a doctor who is anti shooting and then allows personal agenda or feelings into a professional situation .....he's not being asked if he agrees or disagrees he's being asked someone's suitability .

Paul

Police scotland are not ignoring the HO guidelines because HO guidelines only apply to england and wales, those very same guidelines effectively state that police scotland is free to interpret the guidelines and administer them as they wish.
Unless the shooting organisations can persuade the scottish parliament to make sure the police to follow the HO guidelines there is not a lot that BASC, SACS, CA etc can do

Ian.
 
Police scotland are not ignoring the HO guidelines because HO guidelines only apply to england and wales, those very same guidelines effectively state that police scotland is free to interpret the guidelines and administer them as they wish.
Unless the shooting organisations can persuade the scottish parliament to make sure the police to follow the HO guidelines there is not a lot that BASC, SACS, CA etc can do

Ian.

Ok I wasn't aware that we didn't have to follow the HO guidelines like England & Wales ....
& I can see how that would thwart the shooting organisations .....to a degree .....
But to be honest ...I still think they should be making a lot more noise over this.
Just seems to be carte Blanche to do as please

Paul
 
Where does it state that the HO Guidance as a whole only applies to England & Wales?

I am aware that the 'Firearms Licensing and Medical Evidence: Factsheet' issued by the Home Office and reproduced at Appendix 11; Annex C of the current HOG states that:

"The new system will be introduced in England and Wales on 1 April. Because processes in Scotland may differ, separate guidance is being issued regarding medical information in Scotland."

Has any separate medical evidence guidance for Scotland been issued by the HO to date?
 
Police Scotland's argument:


Act requires CC to be 'satisfied' person presents no risk
Without medical report CC cannot be 'satisfied'
Act trumps guidance.

So yar boo sucks to you.
 
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