Firearms and Shotgun Policy and Procedure

(Last reviewed 02/10/2024)

Introduction
This policy explains the responsible ownership, storage, and use of firearms and shotguns—including replica and imitation weapons—by foster carers. It offers clear procedural guidance for assessing and supervising social workers. A Firearm Licensing Supervisor from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Firearms Command provided professional guidance during its development.

Legislative Summary
National Minimum Standards (NMS), Standard 6.1 requires foster carers to provide a safe environment.
NMS, Standard 6.6 states that the home must be free from avoidable hazards that could place a child at risk of harm or injury.
The police refer to:
Section 27 or 28, Firearms Act 1968
Home Office Guide on Firearms Licensing (December 2021 edition)
Home Office Statutory Guidance on Firearms Licensing
& Firearms Security Handbook (list not exhaustive).
Under the Firearms Rules 1998, a prescribed safekeeping condition attaches to every firearm and shotgun certificate. The certificate holder must store firearms, shotguns, and ammunition securely so that, as far as reasonably practicable, no unauthorised person can take or use them.

Key Objectives
• Identify foster carers who own firearms and/or shotguns.
• Ensure firearms, shotguns, and ammunition are stored safely and correctly.

Key Actions
• The Fostering Service will confirm firearm and/or shotgun ownership for prospective carers during assessment and for approved carers during health and safety reviews.
• The Fostering Service will request sight of a valid firearm licence issued by the local police.
• A copy or the details of the valid firearm licence certificate must be kept on file at all times.

Definitions and Licence Requirements

Gun Type	Characteristic	Firearm certificate	Shotgun certificate
Firearm	Rifled barrel; uses ammunition	✓
Shotgun or musket	Smooth bore; fires cartridges or blanks		✓
Multi-shot shotgun	Holds more than three cartridges	✓
Air rifle	Kinetic energy exceeds 12 ft/lbs	✓

Police Firearm Licensing – general information
As the licensing authority, the police alone decide whether a person is initially and continually suitable to hold a firearm licence; each police force manages the licences issued in its area.
Licence holders undergo a lifelong intelligence check at approval and then further checks every 5 years when the licence is renewed. These checks cover a person’s reasons for owning a firearm and their arrangements for secure storage.
Licences are not issued or renewed unless all high-threshold criteria are met. A valid, in-date licence certificate demonstrates that the holder is considered responsible, trustworthy, and compliant with storage and safety requirements.
Details of every firearm licence holder are stored on a central database, which is updated and reviewed every 24 hours for flagged concerns or crime reports, whether the holder is a victim or a perpetrator. For example, even the reported loss of a mobile phone triggers a notification to the firearms licensing team for review.
GPs are informed when a firearm licence is issued and place a marker on the holder’s medical record. If the holder later presents with mental-health, mood-related, or depression-type concerns, the police firearms licensing team is alerted immediately so that revocation can be considered.
Licences may be revoked for various reasons, including issues found during home inspections, new disclosures, database alerts, or changes in household members. Licence holders must inform the police of any household change, including when a foster child or young person moves in.
When a licence is revoked, it is physically removed and the database updated.
Holders may voluntarily surrender a licence, or do so on police advice if concerns fall below the threshold for immediate revocation.
If a person cannot produce a valid, in-date licence, they must be treated as unlicensed.

NB: The police advise that social workers must not inspect firearms or their storage. Safe storage is assessed by the police during licence issue and renewal. Social workers should rely on possession of a valid licence as confirmation that a foster child will not have access to any firearm. Any concerns must be discussed with a team manager and referred to the local police firearms licensing division.

Agency Procedure

Initial Assessment and Induction
At the initial assessment, every applicant must confirm whether they own or have access to firearms (including shotguns or rifles). All details of ownership or access must be recorded in the Form F assessment report considered by panel.
The assessing social worker must view a valid, in-date firearm or shotgun licence certificate and record or copy the licence number, issuing police force, and expiry date. Applicants must be informed that licence inspection will be required each year during the health and safety review.
Applicants and foster carers need to understand that many children and young people may be curious about firearms (including replicas) and may not grasp the dangers involved. The assessor and social worker must be satisfied that applicants and carers recognise this risk and will take appropriate steps to safeguard both the children and themselves.

Consent
During induction, supervising social workers must make it clear to foster carers that children or young people in their care must never be involved in the use of firearms or shotguns.
Representations from young people who wish to take part in firearm or shotgun activities can be passed to the agency, and the agency will liaise with the child’s local-authority social worker.
The child’s social worker and everyone with parental responsibility must always give written permission before a child or young person can take part in any activity involving weapons or firearms.

Matching and Placement
If a foster carer keeps a firearm or shotgun on the premises, the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker must consider this as part of the matching process and risk assessment.
For some children who have experienced violence in their family of origin, or who have been involved in gang-related activities, it will not be appropriate to place them where guns are present in the home.
In every case, an age-appropriate discussion must take place with the child before placement, reassuring them about how the guns are securely stored and explaining their intended purpose.
The agency will not knowingly match a child to a fostering family where a firearm or shotgun is kept if the child has a known history of, or is at significant risk of, county-lines activity, gang affiliation, criminal exploitation, or any form of violence involving dangerous implements or firearms.
In addition, the agency will not place children in such households when it is known that they have previously been exposed to gangs, firearms, violence involving guns or weapons, or criminal exploitation. The agency relies on information shared by the local authority, but will make every effort to obtain a full understanding of the child’s history, presentation, and risks by liaising with the local-authority placement team and consulting the local-authority social worker.
If new information emerges indicating that a child’s emotional or physical wellbeing could be affected by living in a household with a firearm or shotgun, the agency will withdraw any offer of placement, because the child’s welfare is paramount in the matching process.
The placement team must inform the local-authority social worker for each child placed that firearms and/or shotguns are kept by the foster carer.

Health and Safety Home Visits
During the health-and-safety home visit, when a carer holds a firearm or shotgun licence, the supervising social worker must be shown the licence certificate and check that it is valid and in date.
If the carer cannot produce the licence certificate, the supervising social worker must report this immediately to their team manager.

The team manager will be responsible for:
• Informing the police
• Informing the registered manager
• Informing the local authority for any child in placement

The agency regards this as a very serious breach of policy and procedure, which may lead to a recommendation to move the children and to review the carer’s registration.

Imitation and Replica Firearms
This policy also applies to all imitation and replica firearms.
To protect every child’s safety and wellbeing, foster carers must not display or leave accessible to children any items that resemble firearms. This includes objects that may be cultural, religious, or decorative. While the agency respects each carer’s background and beliefs, the home environment must remain free from items that could cause distress, confusion, or risk to children. Foster carers must store any such items securely so they are never visible or accessible to children.

Example certificate (standard format for shotgun or firearm licence)