Violent Crime Reduction Bill

I read the noble Earl’s amendment again, and if it were one moved on almost any other Bill, or which had been sponsored by a Minister, we might be subject to the criticism of being rather generous in giving the Secretary of State the opportunity to make such wide-ranging rules. I understand the spirit behind the amendment, which is to create a lighter touch from regulations. I enter that important caveat at the outset because attractive though the amendment may be to some noble Lords, I caution against the approach that has been adopted. It is probably one that will cost me dear on other legislation but no matter; I shall pursue the point. We must remember that at present there are no controls on where air weapons can be sold. Clause 26 addresses that point, and Clause 27 addresses concerns that under-age purchasers can buy air weapons via mail order or over the internet. It requires dealers to hand air weapons to purchasers in person. Of course, I entirely understand the motivation of the amendment, which is to ensure that shooting sports are properly protected, and to meet the concerns of those in more remote areas who want to buy air weapons. I appreciate the fact that the clause may deter some of those legitimate purchasers. However, we can deal with the point without requiring the separate controls envisaged by the amendment. Clause 27 already provides help when someone wishes to purchase an air weapon from a retailer who is some distance away. It allows for the gun to be transferred to a local dealer so that the transaction can be completed more conveniently, but still face to face. So we answer the point raised by the noble Earl in his amendment, interesting though it is. The noble Earl, Lord Peel, mentioned cost to the retail trade. I gave some indication of where we thought costs might lie in answering the previous amendment. I am sure that this will disappoint the noble Earl, but there will be no compensation, because we are not moving or acting to prevent legitimate sales. Although we can see that there may be some added layer of difficulty by tightening up the way in which sales are conducted, it will not have such a serious or adverse impact as the noble Earl clearly anticipates. I understand the amendment’s motivation, but it is met by the consideration that I have raised. I hope that the noble Earl, Lord Shrewsbury, will feel able to withdraw his amendment.