[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Small Calibre Pistol Compensation Scheme & Surrender Arrangements

A draft of the Firearms (Amendment)(No. 2) Act 1997 Compensation Scheme has been laid before Parliament under section 18(1) of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 ("the 1997 Act")¹ and has been approved by resolution of each House.

Accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 16 and 17 of the 1997 Act, the Secretary of State hereby makes the following Scheme:

1. This Scheme may be referred to as the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 Compensation Scheme and shall come into force on the date on which section 1 of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 ("the 1997 (No. 2) Act") comes into force.

2. Compensation will be paid for prohibited small-calibre pistols (i.e. those pistols prohibited by virtue of section 1 of the 1997 (No. 2) Act) surrendered in accordance with arrangements provided for under the 1997 Act and referred to in this Scheme.

3. Compensation will also be paid for certain ancillary equipment (that is equipment which is designed or adapted for use in connection with small-calibre pistols and which has no practicable use with any firearm which is not prohibited) which is specified in Annex B.

- surrender of pistols and equipment
- receipt and verification of claims
- evaluation of claims (including, where appropriate, independent valuation)
- payment (or refusal) of claims
- disposal of pistols and equipment.

6. Any property for which compensation is sought must be surrendered to the police in accordance with arrangements made by the Secretary of State (the police will inform claimants where and when to surrender their property). An individual must surrender his property to the police force which granted or renewed the firearm certificate in respect of any firearm or ammunition which is being surrendered, or to the police force for the area in which he resides. A dealer must surrender his property to the police force which has registered him as a dealer or, if he has a place of business in another area, to the police force which has registered that place of business. The police may designate one or more police stations as being suitable for the purpose of surrender.

7. The property in question must have been held by the individual or dealer (in the case of a firearm or ammunition by virtue of a firearm certificate or registration as a dealer) on or immediately before 14 May 1997, or be property which the individual or dealer was entitled to hold (in the case of a firearm or ammunition by virtue of a certificate or registration) after that date by virtue of a contract entered into before that date. Surrender of any property must take place within a period of one month from the date on which this Scheme comes into force.

Option A - a flat rate payment for individual items;

Option B - a payment for an individual item at the relevant price contained in the lists of values annexed to this Scheme;

Option C - a payment based on an individual valuation of an item's full market value as at or immediately before 16 October 1996.

9. Individuals and dealers claiming compensation must choose one of the three options for each item in respect of which a claim is made. However, individuals may only claim compensation under Option C for pistols or equipment which are not listed under Option B, or for pistols which are so listed but which have been adapted or customised in such a way as to significantly increase their value.

10. Any claim made under Option C must be supported by documentary evidence, eg evidence of purchase price and the date the item in question was acquired, a dealer's valuation or a recent insurance valuation for the item (or, for dealers claiming under this option, relevant invoices, company accounts or business records, or equivalent documentation showing the cost to the dealer of the item). Other documentary evidence could include published evidence of value, eg a manufacturer's, distributor's or retailer's price list from the period immediately before 16 October 1996.

11. A claim form will be included when the police write to firearm certificate holders and registered firearms dealers with information about the surrender of property for which compensation is to be claimed.

12. All claims for compensation in respect of property which is surrendered must be submitted to the police force to which the property in question is being surrendered. A completed claim form must be submitted to the police at the same time and same police station as the property to which it relates is surrendered. Where items of property are surrendered separately the completed claim form must be submitted with any pistols which are surrendered or, if no pistols are surrendered, with any ammunition which is surrendered.

13. The police will write to dealers requiring them to give advance notice of surrender and will provide such additional security in transit as they consider necessary to ensure that the firearms and ammunition in question can be surrendered safely at a designated police station. The police will similarly also wish to be notified in advance where individuals wish to surrender substantial quantities of firearms or ammunition. Other individuals who might experience genuine difficulty in surrendering the property for which they are seeking compensation may wish to do likewise.

14. In the case of persons who have applied for export licences in respect of their pistols, or who have applied to the police for their pistols to be included in the exemption for historic handguns (by way of a condition on a firearm certificate) under section 7 of the 1997 Act, but whose applications have not been determined before the expiry of the one month period, claims in respect of such property must be submitted within a period of one month from the date of the determination of the application.

15. The police will check the details of firearms and ammunition claimed for against those of the firearms and ammunition surrendered and against those of the firearms and ammunition recorded on the firearm certificate or dealer's register of transactions. The firearm certificate will then be amended accordingly. The police will also check any other ancillary equipment listed on the claim form against the items actually surrendered and against the list of items for which compensation may be sought.

16. Once the claim is received, the police will give the claimant a reference number and a receipt for the property surrendered. Any discrepancies in the claim will, where possible, be resolved before the claim is forwarded to the Firearms Compensation Section of the Home Office (FCS), which will be responsible for administering this Scheme in addition to the large-calibre handgun Compensation Scheme made under the 1997 Act.

17. Pistols and equipment which are surrendered will be stored securely by the police until such time as a disposal instruction is issued by the FCS. The exception to this will be in respect of ammunition: for safety reasons, once surrendered ammunition has been checked by the police against the details given on the claim form, it may be disposed of without the need for a specific disposal instruction from the FCS.

18. After a claim for compensation is received by the FCS the claim form will be checked to ensure that it has been completed correctly by both the claimant and the police and, where appropriate, to ensure that any documentary evidence required has been supplied. If the claim contains errors which prevent it from being processed, the FCS will contact the claimant direct or, if appropriate, return the claim form to the originating police force in order to rectify them.

19. The details of the claimant and his claim will be entered into the FCS database. The way in which claims will be processed will depend on the claim option chosen by the claimant. In all cases the first step will be to check that the items in respect of which a claim has been made fall within the scope of the Scheme.
20. The FCS will operate from the lists annexed to this Scheme which contain average second-hand retail values as at or immediately before 16 October 1996 for a range of common makes and models of small-calibre pistols and the specified ancillary equipment covered by the Scheme. The values are based on published prices for the pistols and equipment in question, reduced to reflect the normal depreciation of about 25% in the value of such items. The lists which will be used are attached as follows:

Annex A Small-calibre pistols and their relevant values;

Annex B The specified types of ancillary equipment, and the relevant flat rates for each type; and

Annex C Individual items of ancillary equipment and their relevant values.

21. The list of types of ancillary equipment (Annex B) will be used to determine whether a particular item falls within the scope of this Scheme. The two value lists (Annexes A and C) will inform claimants of the amounts that will be paid under Option B for particular pistols and items of equipment.

22. The value lists in Annexes A and C will be used by the FCS to make payments in respect of claims made under Option B and, where appropriate, may be used to assist in the assessment of Option C claims made in respect of listed pistols which have been adapted or customised in such a way as to significantly affect their value.

23. Claims made under Option A (flat rate payment) will be paid automatically at the level of £100 per small-calibre pistol, or at the relevant flat rate for the particular type of ancillary equipment.

24. Claims made under Option B (listed values) will be checked against the lists of values in Annexes A and C. Claims will be paid automatically at the listed value for the item in question.

25. An individual claimant (as opposed to a dealer) may only submit a claim under Option C for a listed pistol which has been adapted or customised in such a way as to significantly increase its value, or for a pistol or item of ancillary equipment which is not listed. Such conditions will not apply to dealers.

26. Any claim under Option C must be supported by valid documentary evidence of the full market value of the item in question as at or immediately before 16 October 1996. For individual claimants this evidence should be of the retail price of the item, and could be in the form of a receipt for the purchase of the item, a dealer's valuation, a recent insurance valuation or published evidence of value. For dealers this evidence should be of the cost to the dealer of the item in question and should be in the form of relevant invoices, company accounts or business records, or equivalent documentation. If the documentary evidence gives a satisfactory indication of the value of the item, the claim will be met on the basis of the formula used to calculate the Option B value lists (i.e. value less 25%) or, in the case of dealers, on the basis of cost price plus 25%.

27. Where the documentary evidence submitted in support of an Option C claim is unsatisfactory (eg it does not fully support the amount claimed, appears to be of doubtful provenance or, in the case of a listed pistol, does not appear to justify a significant departure from the listed value), the FCS will request further evidence from the claimant. If the additional documentary evidence is satisfactory, the claim will be met. Where no such additional evidence is submitted, or the additional evidence remains unsatisfactory, the claim will be paid at the listed value or, if the claim does not relate to a listed pistol or item of equipment, the originating police force will be asked to seek a valuation from an independent source (eg a dealer, a specialist auctioneer or a valuer) selected at the discretion of the chief officer. The cost of obtaining such a valuation will be borne by the FCS. Where an independent valuation is obtained this will normally be used to calculate the payment to the claimant.

28. Payment may be made in respect of a claim as a whole or any part of it, and will be made direct to the claimant's bank or building society account, or to an account nominated by the claimant.

29. A claimant who has made a valid claim either wholly or in part under Option A or B will, once the claim has been processed, receive notification that the claim (or that element of the claim made under Option A or B) has been approved and that a payment of the requested amount will be made shortly. The notification will detail how the total payment is made up. Where the claim also contains an Option C element, the notification will confirm that the payment is being made for the Option A or B elements only, and that a decision on the Option C element will be made once it has been fully considered by the FCS. (An acknowledgment only will be issued at this stage for claims made wholly under Option C.)

30. In the case of a valid claim made wholly or in part under Option C, the claimant will, once the supporting evidence has been examined, receive notification that his claim, or that part of his claim made under Option C, has been approved, whether in whole or in part, and that a payment of a given amount will be sent to him. The payment notification will contain a declaration (to be completed and returned by the claimant before payment is made) that he agrees with the amount to be paid in settlement of the claim, or that part of the claim, as the case may be. The payment instruction will be issued as soon as the completed declaration is returned to the FCS. No such declaration will be required in relation to Option A or B claims as the claim form will make clear that, in seeking compensation under these options, the claimant is agreeing in advance to receive the specified flat rate or listed value in settlement of the claim, or those elements of the claim, as the case may be.

31. Where the claim is for more than one item the notification will detail how the total payment is made up. Reasons for the refusal, in whole or in part, of any element of a claim will be given. Any original documents submitted with a claim will be returned to the claimant.

32. All property subject to a claim for compensation will be retained by the police until such time as they receive a formal instruction from the FCS that the property in question may be disposed of. Once such an instruction has been received the property will be disposed of at the discretion of the Secretary of State. The exception to this general rule will be in respect of ammunition: for safety reasons, once surrendered ammunition has been checked by the police against the details given on the claim form it may be disposed of without the need for a specific disposal instruction from the FCS.

33. For claims made under Option A or B the FCS will normally issue disposal instructions to the police at the same time payment is notified. Disposal instructions in Option C cases may only be issued upon receipt of completed declarations from the claimants accepting the offered amounts in settlement of their claims under Option C.

Under section 15(1) of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 ("the 1997 Act")² the Secretary of State may make such arrangements as he thinks fit to secure the orderly surrender at designated police stations of firearms the possession of which will become or has become unlawful by virtue of section 1 of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 ("the 1997 (No. 2) Act"). Under section 15(2) of the 1997 Act the police may designate any police station as being suitable for the receipt of surrendered firearms of any description. Accordingly, in exercise of his powers under section 15(1) of the 1997 Act, the Secretary of State hereby makes the following arrangements:

All firearms prohibited by virtue of section 1 of the 1997 (No. 2) Act must be surrendered within a period of one month from the date on which the 1997 (No. 2) Act Compensation Scheme comes into force.

A firearm certificate holder must surrender his firearms to the police force which granted or renewed the firearm certificate in respect of any firearm which is being surrendered, or to the police force for the area in which he resides. A registered firearms dealer must surrender his firearms to the police force which has registered him as a dealer or, if he has a place of business in another area, to the police force which has registered that place of business.

The police will write to firearm certificate holders and registered firearms dealers with information as to where and when to surrender their firearms. Registered firearms dealers must give the police advance notice of surrender when so required by the police, and the police will provide such additional security in transit as the police consider necessary to secure the safe surrender at a designated police station of the firearms in question. Other individuals who will need to surrender substantial quantities of firearms (or ammunition) can also give advance notice to the police who, if so notified, will again provide such additional security as they consider necessary.

Any firearms for which compensation is sought must be surrendered to the police in accordance with these arrangements. Compensation is only payable in respect of firearms which are surrendered at designated police stations in accordance with these arrangements.