Avon and Somerset - SGC

Lord V

Well-Known Member
Evening all,

Recently (last week) put in my SGC application with A&S.

First question is what's their current turn around time like for grants? The FO I emailed to discuss a few other things regarding the application said it was currently taking up to 16 weeks, but I'm not sure whether this is a real 'up to' or a 'we try and average 16 weeks, best of luck'. Any light people can shed with their current experiences would be greatly appreciated. (I'm an impatient bugger!)

The second one was something that only came up when reading the ShootingUK forum. People had apparently had issues with grants when their wife/partner who was not a SGC holder had depression or some other mental disorder. My wife has been diagnosed with post-natal depression, seen the Dr and takes prescribed medication for it; which from what I understand is pretty mild stuff. Now this never occurred to me as potentially being an issue as obviously she won't have access to the guns, in fact I would very much be failing in my duty if she did. In reality how much of an issue is this likely to be? Will the interviewing officer even ask?
 
Last edited:
As far as I was aware it possibly could affect your application if it was yourself with depression but not your wife.If you are not asked on any of the forms then there is no need to offer the information to them,and as you rightly say she will not have access to the cabinet anyway...............good luck V

Martin
 
I'd avoid mentioning it, it's not relevant. Also, it's a temporary condition which she'll have got over by the time you get a SGC with a waiting time like that. I doubt your GP would consider her depression a risk of doing anything stupid anyway.
 
I thought as much. Tbh I wasn't going to offer the information anyway, as far as I can see it hasn't got a whole lot to do with the grant. I was just a little surprised it could come up.

Ultimately if for some reason something did go horribly wrong (not that I ever think it will) it's almost certain I would be massively culpable anyway so very little blame, if any, would be attached to the police.
 
I thought as much. Tbh I wasn't going to offer the information anyway, as far as I can see it hasn't got a whole lot to do with the grant. I was just a little surprised it could come up.

Ultimately if for some reason something did go horribly wrong (not that I ever think it will) it's almost certain I would be massively culpable anyway so very little blame, if any, would be attached to the police.

The official police view is that there is a risk because your wife has depression. The only way blame doesn't get attached to the police is to reduce the risk and refuse to grant a certificate, they cannot be at fault at all then. It is completely bonkers that train of thought but unfortunately the way they view it. You could always pray that BASC will help.
 
Last edited:
As you are the applicant there is no point offering up any irrelevant information to your application. You have sole access to the cabinet. Good luck,
 
If don't ask don't offer but if they ask tell the truth , point out sole access etc & if need be if you get refused get your organisation involved

Paul
 
So fingers crossed then... exactly how I like my odds.:lol:

I would be pretty surprised if I was the only one in this position though.
 
Not sure about SGC but for FAC they undertake backgound checks on everyone living in the house.
Only the applicant has medical checks though.
 
There are many shotgun and firearm certificate holders who themselves suffer from a form of depression, controlled by medication.

Depression is a condition that takes many forms and degrees. Many people will suffer some form of reactive depression at some time in their lives, in response to a life event.
The more severe form of depression is a mental illness that carries a high risk to the sufferer and others if not treated and controlled.

The issue of a family member suffering from a form of depression is not at all uncommon and is something that firearms licensing units should be familiar with.
Once again, it is a question of the degree of the condition and whether the presence of a gun within the dwelling represents a greater/unacceptable risk.

The OP's situation, with his wife suffering from a mild form of post-natal depression, will hopefully be transient and well controlled by medication until it passes.
Having said that, in some cases, post-natal depression can become severe and introducing a gun to the family home would be unwise to say the least.

It should be borne in mind that the family GP may mention the situation (if considered relevant) in response to a police enquiry regarding the applicant.

Having dealt with numerous similar situations during my time as a firearms licensing manager, I would advise the OP to raise the situation rather than be 'found out'.
My best wishes to the OP and his family.
 
There are many shotgun and firearm certificate holders who themselves suffer from a form of depression, controlled by medication.

Depression is a condition that takes many forms and degrees. Many people will suffer some form of reactive depression at some time in their lives, in response to a life event.
The more severe form of depression is a mental illness that carries a high risk to the sufferer and others if not treated and controlled.

The issue of a family member suffering from a form of depression is not at all uncommon and is something that firearms licensing units should be familiar with.
Once again, it is a question of the degree of the condition and whether the presence of a gun within the dwelling represents a greater/unacceptable risk.

The OP's situation, with his wife suffering from a mild form of post-natal depression, will hopefully be transient and well controlled by medication until it passes.
Having said that, in some cases, post-natal depression can become severe and introducing a gun to the family home would be unwise to say the least.

It should be borne in mind that the family GP may mention the situation (if considered relevant) in response to a police enquiry regarding the applicant.

Having dealt with numerous similar situations during my time as a firearms licensing manager, I would advise the OP to raise the situation rather than be 'found out'.
My best wishes to the OP and his family.


fantastic post Norm, they will be very familiar with mental health issues on different scales as Norm has already said, as soon as the word anxiety or depression is mentioned does not mean you will have a swat team round ripping your cabinet off the wall, and I think it's a great shame that mental Heath carries such a stigma amongst shooters, and with people in general,and probably for this reason why many SGC/FAC holders suffer in silence instead of seeking help.
 
Many thanks for the replies.

Uncle Norm raises an interesting point though- through the application I sign to say that I am happy for the police to contact my GP and potentially access my medical files. My wife has obviously not signed anything like this, so if the GP does mention something would they not be breaking some form of confidentiality?

As it stands my wife and I have different GPs so it's less likely to get mentioned, but it does raise an interesting query.

Even when unmedicated prior to being diagnosed my wife was never a danger to herself or others so hopefully this is all just a storm in a teacup.

Tbh this is pretty much the only issue that I could see with my application. I'm a very bog standard 1 speeding ticket, good job, mentally stable, 30 something male of temperate habits. God I'm boring.:D

I have also taken some clay lessons and joined BASC for the insurance to help grease the wheels a little.
 
Hi,
I applied for FAC and SGC with A+S in November 2015, finally got certificates in March 2016 - but dated 19th Feb!
My mucker was in exactly the same position, he kicked up about it and they changed the dates on his. I just left it, didn't want to wait another week or more for updated certs.
I thought 'The visit' was the last hurdle, but no; It was a further wait for the Certificates to be in my hand.
You must be patient, whatever they quote as the waiting time is probably a minimum NOT a reality. Although to be fair they do try their best, standard 'less bodies being expected to cover more work' situation according to my FEO.
I know this is not what you want to hear, but the waiting is only made worse by unrealistic expectations, trust me.....
 
All in all about 16 weeks then. Not horrible compared to some.

Ball ache but what you gonna do...

Out of interest how long did it take them to contact you to set up the visit?
 
All in all about 16 weeks then. Not horrible compared to some.

Ball ache but what you gonna do...

Out of interest how long did it take them to contact you to set up the visit?

It was three or four weeks I think, but Christmas fell in the middle of my application; which didn't help the overall speed of the process!
Also I moved house in the January, they were given the new address on the application. The visit was at my old address in December, then the FEO came to my new house with my certificates in hand, and did a quick glance that the cabinet I had shown him before, was installed OK and out of sight. Very happy with the whole experience. All the staff at A+S are very helpful on the phone. Just takes too long! more staff would rectify this, but that will not happen.

Hammo
 
Agreed, the staff I have spoken to have been super helpful and very prompt at replying to emails. Always got a response the same day (other than the one at 10:30 at night, but I may let them off that one!)
 
Well, just had a phone call from the Firearms Officer - interview is next week. So far so good!

They received the application on the 14th, cheque was cashed the 21st and interview is the 1st Dec! Never know I may actually get it before Christmas....
 
Last edited:
Another vote for Avon and Somerset firearms department. - Initially I used an old form for a variation application to add another rifle - it was sent back to me by return of post with the correct form to fill in and the variation arrived in less than 2 weeks.
 
Back
Top