


Firearms licensing league table
Force | Staff | Budget | FA certs | SG certs | Certs processed 21/22 | Turn- around time (renewal) | Turn- around time (grant) | Average turn- around time | Cost per cert | Cert per staff | Staff costs |
A&S | 18 | 464,400 | 6,400 | 21,173 | 5,323 (19.3%) | 60 Days | 144 Days | 102 Days | £87.24 | 295.7 | £25,800 |
Bedfordshire | 1,550 | 6,008 | 1,724 (22.8%) | 37 Days | 40 Days | 38.5 Days | |||||
Cambridgeshire | 2,961 | 11,522 | 3,202 (22.1%) | 40 Days | 45 Days | 42.5 Days | |||||
Hertfordshire | 2,310 | 9,655 | 2,849 (23.8%) | 39 Days | 40 Days | 39.5 Days | |||||
BCH Combined | 27 | 923,000 | 6,821 | 27,185 | 7,775 (22.8%) | 39 Days | 42 Days | 40.5 Days | £118.71 | 287.9 | £34,185 |
Cheshire | 2,737 | 10,658 | 2,626 (19.6%) | 53 Days | 86 Days | 70 Days | |||||
Cleveland | 3.1 | 107,700 | 1,188 | 2,868 | 883 (21.8%) | 35 Days | 48 Days | 41.5 Days | £121.97 | 284.8 | £34,741 |
Cumbria | 3,375 | 8,962 | 1,076 (8.7%) | 179 Days | 177 Days | 178 Days | |||||
Derbyshire | 5.6 | 3,442 | 11,945 | 3,265 (21.2%) | 69 Days | 91 Days | 80 Days | 583 | |||
Devon & Cornwall | 11,063 | 29,319 | 5,006 (12.4%) | 115 Days | 89 Days | 102 Days | |||||
Dorset | 3,426 | 10,202 | 963 (7.1%) | 128 Days | 110 Days | 119 Days | |||||
Durham | 14 | 557,480 | 2,389 | 5,249 | 1,068 (14%) | 88 Days | 141 Days | 115 Days | £521.99 | 76.3 | £39,820 |
Dyfed-Powys | 22.2 | 4,475 | 14,140 | 3,584 (19.2%) | 88 Days | 97 Days | 93 Days | 159.8 | |||
Essex | 23.96 | 831,851 | 4,993 | 20,235 | 6,338 (25.1%) | 58 Days | 66 Days | 62 Days | £131.24 | 264.5 | £34,718 |
Gloucestershire | 2,785 | 11,114 | 2,922 (21%) | 49 Days | 51 Days | 50 Days | |||||
GMP | 2,002 | 6,773 | 1,217 (13.9%) | 93 Days | 131 Days | 112 Days | |||||
Gwent | 14 | N/A | 1,562 | 5,478 | 1,633 (23.2%) | 51 Days | 70 Days | 61 Days | 116.6 | ||
Hampshire | N/A | 601,800 | 5,399 | 21,721 | 4,285 (15.8%) | 83 Days | 85 Days | 84 Days | £140.44 | ||
Humberside | 9.81 | £111,510 | 3,202 | 9,743 | 2,642 (20.4%) | 87 Days | 88 Days | 88 Days | £42.21 | 269.3 | £11,367 |
Kent | 31 | £821,361 | 5,778 | 21,037 | 4,215 (15.7%) | 60 Days | 59 Days | 60 Days | £194.87 | 136 | £26,495 |
Lancashire | 14.52 | £260,918 | 3,089 | 11,607 | 3,182 (21.7%) | 60 Days | 114 Days | 87 Days | £82 | 219.2 | £17,970 |
Leicestershire | 12 | 2,421 | 11,203 | 2,924 (21.5%) | 50 Days | 93 Days | 71.5 Days | 243.7 | |||
Lincolnshire | 24 | £380,000 | 4,042 | 13,251 | 3,786 (22%) | 61 Days | 61 Days | 61 Days | £100.37 | 157.8 | £15,833 |
Merseyside | 8 | £232,724 | 981 | 3,222 | 775 (18.4%) | 60 Days | 74 Days | 67 Days | £300.30 | 96.9 | £29,091 |
MPS | 4,353 | 24,822 | 4,619 ( (15.8%) | 96 Days | 96 Days | 96 Days | |||||
Norfolk | 5,249 | 20,772 | 4,637 (17.8%) | 95 Days | 86 Days | 91 Days | |||||
Suffolk | 4,673 | 16,622 | 3,753 (17.6%) | 83 Days | 120 Days | 102 Days | |||||
Norfolk & Suffolk | 34 | 9,922 | 37,394 | 8,392 (17.7%) | 89 Days | 103 Days | 97 Days | 246.8 | |||
Northamptonshire | 9.16 | £260,564 | 2,504 | 9,600 | 2,541 (21%) | 50 Days | 103 Days | 77 Days | £102.54 | 277.4 | £28,446 |
Northumbria | 3,642 | 8,718 | 1,262 (10.2%) | 158 Days | 148 Days | 153 Days | |||||
North Wales | 14 | £468,000 | 2,940 | 10,654 | 2,733 (20.1%) | 66 Days | 85 Days | 76 Days | £171.24 | 195.2 | £33,428 |
North Yorkshire | 6,863 | 18,267 | 5,548 (22.1%) | 59 Days | 128 Days | 94 Days | |||||
Nottinghamshire | 1,961 | 7,977 | 1,816 (18.3%) | 85 Days | 96 Days | 91 Days | |||||
South Wales | 16.5 | N/A | 2,267 | 6,540 | 1,794 (20.4%) | 59 Days | 119 Days | 89 Days | 108.7 | ||
South Yorkshire | 12.36 | £130,816 | 2,310 | 8,373 | 1,983 (18.6%) | 80 Days | 116 Days | 98 Days | £65.97 | 160.4 | £10,583 |
Staffordshire | 3,165 | 13,163 | 2,458 (15.1%) | 136 Days | 101 Days | 119 Days | |||||
WMP | 1,853 | 7,820 | 1,495 (17.2%) | 149 Days | 114 Days | 131 Days | |||||
Staffs & WMP comb | 17 | £666,269 | 5,018 | 20,983 | 3,953 (15.2%) | 142 Days | 108 Days | 125 Days | £168.55 | 232.5 | £39,192 |
Surrey | 3,083 | 12,153 | 2,909 (19.1%) | 63 Days | 93 Days | 78 Days | |||||
Sussex | 6,679 | 12,153 | 5,209 (27.7%) | 63 Days | 88 Days | 76 Days | |||||
Thames Valley | 26.35 | £887,076 | 6,161 | 25,604 | 6,427 (20%) | 57 Days | 61 Days | 59 Days | £138.02 | 243.9 | £33,665 |
Warwickshire | 10 | £208,725 | 2,451 | 9,033 | 2,266 (19.7%) | 62 Days | 69 Days | 66 Days | £92.11 | 226.6 | £20,873 |
West Mercia | 28 | £812,000 | 7,582 | 27,584 | 4,899 (13.9%) | 74 Days | 123 Days | 99 Days | £165.75 | 175 | £29,000 |
West Yorkshire | 12 | £355,328 | 3,149 | 10,544 | 2,689 (19.6%) | 75 Days | 85 Days | 80 Days | £132.14 | 224.1 | £29,611 |
Wiltshire | 11 | £167,847 | 3,573 | 13,190 | 2,980 (17.8%) | 62 Days | 149 Days | 106 Days | £56.32 | 270.9 | £15,259 |
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
Force name | FAC Grant | SGC Grant | Coterminous Grant | FAC Renewal | SGC Renewal | Coterminous Renewal | Variation |
Avon & Somerset | 161 | 139 | 150 | 58 | 55 | 61 | 61 |
Bedfordshire | 32 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 7 |
Cambridgeshire | 20 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 6 |
Cheshire | 62 | 74 | 49 | 45 | 33 | 43 | 3 |
City of London | 49 | 18 | n/a | n/a | 68 | 49 | n/a |
Cleveland | 55 | 55 | 51 | 28 | 26 | 15 | 2 |
Cumbria | 81 | 68 | 61 | 64 | 58 | 62 | 24 |
Derbyshire | 75 | 73 | 63 | 42 | 40 | 42 | 17 |
Devon & Cornwall | 76 | 96 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 7 |
Dorset | 72 | 88 | 80 | 69 | 64 | 69 | 8 |
Durham | 98 | 146 | 56 | 226 | 204 | 223 | 15 |
Dyfed Powys | 81 | 81 | 69 | 62 | 42 | 64 | 15 |
Essex | 28 | 31 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 28 | 5 |
Gloucestershire | 106 | 59 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 19 |
Greater Manchester Police | 111 | 164 | 82 | 118 | 108 | 116 | 5 |
Gwent | 108 | 121 | 111 | 51 | 49 | 55 | 24 |
Hampshire | 55 | 59 | 39 | 36 | 33 | 37 | 25 |
Hertfordshire | 23 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 8 |
Humberside | 111 | 94 | 109 | 69 | 63 | 70 | 22 |
Kent | 67 | 64 | 62 | 56 | 49 | 55 | 23 |
Lancashire | 74 | 82 | 75 | 40 | 35 | 38 | 4 |
Leicestershire | 76 | 103 | 85 | 31 | 12 | 30 | 2 |
Lincolnshire | 41 | 39 | 42 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 2 |
Merseyside | 78 | 70 | 76 | 32 | 30 | 33 | 4 |
Metropolitan Police | 100 | 112 | 92 | 62 | 52 | 61 | 18 |
Norfolk | 66 | 72 | 41 | 87 | 57 | 86 | 35 |
North Wales | 71 | 56 | 65 | 49 | 44 | 51 | 24 |
North Yorkshire | 100 | 109 | 78 | 26 | 21 | 28 | 4 |
Northamptonshire | 81 | 174 | 57 | 65 | 59 | 64 | 36 |
Northumbria | 98 | 129 | 89 | 78 | 74 | 76 | 2 |
Nottinghamshire | 86 | 93 | 81 | 73 | 60 | 72 | 20 |
South Wales* | 59 | 84 | 58 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
South Yorkshire | 119 | 93 | 115 | 90 | 80 | 88 | 15 |
Staffordshire | 103 | 111 | 96 | 101 | 83 | 96 | 13 |
Suffolk | 88 | 90 | 63 | 72 | 20 | 73 | 11 |
Surrey | 62 | 75 | 64 | 40 | 23 | 36 | 4 |
Sussex | 48 | 63 | 41 | 32 | 21 | 31 | 3 |
Thames Valley Police | 39 | 49 | 39 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
Warwickshire | 32 | 32 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 6 |
West Mercia | 41 | 41 | 41 | 37 | 36 | 37 | 9 |
West Midlands Police | 127 | 139 | 128 | 108 | 87 | 105 | 13 |
West Yorkshire | 79 | 60 | 84 | 71 | 63 | 70 | 15 |
Wiltshire | 86 | 111 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 47 | 9 |
* South Wales, unlike all other police forces in England and Wales, are not updating the firearms licensing database NFLMS until the renewal has been fully processed. Therefore, they are unable to officially state how long the processing of a renewal is taking and the answer is not applicable.
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
Force name | FAC Grant | SGC Grant | Coterminous | FAC Renewal | SGC Renewal | Coterminous | Variation |
Avon & Somerset | 112 | 117 | 92 | 56 | 52 | 63 | 50 |
Bedfordshire | 52 | 39 | 50 | 46 | 41 | 46 | 19 |
Cambridgeshire | 48 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 40 | 46 | 20 |
Cheshire | 59 | 59 | 49 | 20 | 27 | 20 | 4 |
City of London | n/a | 81 | n/a | n/a | 12 | n/a | n/a |
Cleveland | 44 | 32 | 42 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Cumbria | 49 | 39 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 34 | 12 |
Derbyshire | 61 | 57 | 56 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 19 |
Devon & Cornwall | 53 | 54 | 53 | 45 | 38 | 43 | 3 |
Dorset | 70 | 73 | 67 | 62 | 57 | 62 | 5 |
Durham | 76 | 81 | 69 | 73 | 68 | 73 | 2 |
Dyfed Powys | 66 | 74 | 64 | 54 | 34 | 53 | 18 |
Essex | 39 | 38 | 39 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 4 |
Gloucestershire | 76 | 52 | 73 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 13 |
Greater Manchester Police | 89 | 78 | 80 | 117 | 116 | 116 | 5 |
Gwent | 76 | 62 | 73 | 62 | 63 | 57 | 17 |
Hampshire | 47 | 50 | 38 | 25 | 18 | 27 | 18 |
Hertfordshire | 44 | 38 | 39 | 43 | 40 | 42 | 14 |
Humberside | 87 | 87 | 84 | 61 | 50 | 62 | 19 |
Kent | 61 | 63 | 57 | 61 | 55 | 60 | 22 |
Lancashire | 56 | 59 | 56 | 39 | 36 | 38 | 6 |
Leicestershire | 42 | 40 | 39 | 33 | 3 | 31 | 4 |
Lincolnshire | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
Merseyside | 54 | 49 | 51 | 41 | 44 | 41 | 1 |
Metropolitan Police | 63 | 62 | 59 | 44 | 41 | 45 | 10 |
Norfolk | 50 | 52 | 40 | 55 | 43 | 54 | 16 |
North Wales | 66 | 63 | 68 | 49 | 38 | 52 | 21 |
North Yorkshire | 77 | 89 | 63 | 37 | 32 | 38 | 6 |
Northamptonshire | 73 | 85 | 64 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 24 |
Northumbria | 39 | 41 | 31 | 51 | 48 | 49 | 2 |
Nottinghamshire | 67 | 57 | 55 | 58 | 37 | 56 | 22 |
South Wales | 101 | 90 | 99 | 45 | 37 | 45 | 17 |
South Yorkshire | 67 | 62 | 67 | 81 | 79 | 76 | 4 |
Staffordshire | 66 | 55 | 78 | 107 | 96 | 94 | 13 |
Suffolk | 48 | 50 | 40 | 48 | 16 | 46 | 8 |
Surrey | 62 | 69 | 52 | 47 | 46 | 40 | 3 |
Sussex | 48 | 45 | 37 | 42 | 44 | 39 | 4 |
Thames Valley Police | 77 | 67 | 77 | 72 | 44 | 68 | 17 |
Warwickshire | 34 | 38 | 33 | 36 | 43 | 35 | 6 |
West Mercia | 39 | 45 | 38 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 9 |
West Midlands Police | 95 | 81 | 94 | 123 | 112 | 119 | 18 |
West Yorkshire | 49 | 41 | 54 | 55 | 47 | 52 | 11 |
Wiltshire | 66 | 76 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 50 | 3 |
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
Force name | FAC | SGC | Coterminous | FAC | SGC | Coterminous | Variation |
Avon & Somerset | 96 | 102 | 92 | 49 | 45 | 53 | 27 |
Bedfordshire | 53 | 53 | 48 | 41 | 38 | 41 | 22 |
Cambridgeshire | 51 | 51 | 43 | 28 | 25 | 31 | 20 |
Cheshire | 54 | 60 | 50 | 36 | 40 | 37 | 7 |
City of London | 0 | 96 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cleveland | 43 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
Cumbria | 61 | 41 | 57 | 50 | 34 | 48 | 14 |
Derbyshire | 47 | 46 | 41 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 15 |
Devon & Cornwall | 56 | 55 | 52 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 4 |
Dorset | 146 | 159 | 133 | 97 | 89 | 98 | 24 |
Durham | 46 | 55 | 45 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 3 |
Dyfed Powys | 56 | 60 | 53 | 48 | 29 | 45 | 19 |
Essex | 65 | 63 | 62 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 10 |
Gloucestershire | 97 | 61 | 79 | 33 | 26 | 37 | 16 |
Greater Manchester | 95 | 95 | 90 | 83 | 74 | 78 | 5 |
Gwent | 61 | 53 | 68 | 58 | 53 | 57 | 21 |
Hampshire | 63 | 54 | 49 | 25 | 18 | 30 | 16 |
Hertfordshire | 67 | 42 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 18 |
Humberside | 78 | 79 | 89 | 45 | 41 | 49 | 18 |
Kent | 54 | 50 | 48 | 59 | 55 | 58 | 14 |
Lancashire | 38 | 42 | 33 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 2 |
Leicestershire | 41 | 38 | 46 | 31 | 6 | 28 | 6 |
Lincolnshire | 49 | 48 | 40 | 49 | 52 | 45 | 7 |
Merseyside | 69 | 69 | 75 | 43 | 39 | 40 | 7 |
Metropolitan Police | 62 | 58 | 54 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 10 |
Norfolk | 37 | 36 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 31 | 15 |
North Wales | 69 | 64 | 72 | 47 | 44 | 51 | 28 |
North Yorkshire | 81 | 85 | 77 | 35 | 25 | 35 | 2 |
Northamptonshire | 62 | 64 | 65 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 21 |
Northumbria | 43 | 43 | 37 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 3 |
Nottinghamshire | 57 | 46 | 55 | 48 | 27 | 44 | 19 |
South Wales | 155 | 143 | 133 | 151 | 62 | 141 | 29 |
South Yorkshire | 78 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 2 |
Staffordshire | 61 | 59 | 65 | 82 | 64 | 73 | 14 |
Suffolk | 49 | 51 | 43 | 45 | 20 | 44 | 9 |
Surrey | 75 | 60 | 63 | 54 | 46 | 49 | 3 |
Sussex | 42 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 4 |
Thames Valley Police | 91 | 67 | 90 | 76 | 43 | 73 | 16 |
Warwickshire | 271 | 24 | 25 | 34 | 40 | 30 | 11 |
West Mercia | 36 | 36 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 36 | 13 |
West Midlands Police | 82 | 72 | 83 | 102 | 75 | 95 | 20 |
West Yorkshire | 57 | 45 | 51 | 64 | 56 | 60 | 11 |
Wiltshire | 59 | 62 | 52 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 4 |
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
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Regional director – east of England
Salary/Vehicle: Circa £50,000Location: Regional office, east of EnglandReporting to: Deputy director of shooting and operationsClosing Date: 6 April 2025Reference: RDE/MAR/2025 Role information Day-to-day leadership and management of a team of regional officers, operations coordinator, regional firearms officer, volunteers and contractors to ensure the highest standards of service delivery in accordance with BASC’s vision and business