The Air Weapons Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2016

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2016 No. 188

Arms And Ammunition

Criminal Law

The Air Weapons Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2016

Made

24th May 2016

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

26th May 2016

Coming into force

1st July 2016

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 35(1), 36(1) and 86 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015(1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.

PART 1 General provisions

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Air Weapons Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and come into force on 1st July 2016.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, “table of fees” means the table of fees in schedule 3.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference to—

(a) a numbered form is a reference to the form so numbered in schedule 1; and

(b) a numbered section is a reference to the section so numbered in the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.

PART 2 Forms and procedure etc.

Air weapon certificates

3.—(1) An application for the grant or renewal of an air weapon certificate made under section 3(1) must—

(a) be in the form of Form AWL1;

(b) for the purpose of section 4(1), be verified in the form set out in Part E of Form AWL1;

(c) for the purpose of section 7(2), be consented to in the form set out in Part D of Form AWL1 where the applicant is under the age of 18; and

(d) be accompanied by two identical photographs of the applicant which meet the requirements in regulation 4.

(2) An air weapon certificate granted or renewed under section 5(1) must—

(a) be in the form of Form AWL1a; and

(b) bear a photograph of the holder of the certificate.

Photograph requirements

4.  The requirements mentioned in regulation 3(1)(d) are that—

(a) each photograph must—

(i) measure 45 millimetres high by 35 millimetres wide;

(ii) be taken against a light background;

(iii) show a current true likeness of the applicant; and

(iv) show the applicant’s full face, without the applicant wearing any sunglasses, tinted glasses or head covering (unless the applicant wears a head covering on account of religious belief); and

(b) the back of one of the photographs must be signed, in ink, by the applicant.

Police permits and visitor permits

5.—(1) An application for the grant of a police permit made under section 12(1) must be in the form of Form AWL2.

(2) A police permit granted under section 12(1) must be in the form of Form AWL2a.

(3) An application for the grant of a visitor permit made under section 13(1) or (2) must—

(a) be in the form of Form AWL3; and

(b) for the purpose of section 14(2), be consented to—

(i) in the form set out in Part D of Form AWL3 where an individual applicant is under the age of 18; or

(ii) by a parent or guardian signing the final column of the table in Part E of Form AWL3 in respect of any individual who is under the age of 18 and on whose behalf a visitor permit is applied for as part of a group application.

(4) A visitor permit granted under section 13(1) must be in the form of Form AWL3a.

Variation of air weapon certificates, police permits and visitor permits

6.—(1) This regulation applies to an application for the variation of—

(a) an air weapon certificate made under section 10(2)(a); or

(b) a police permit or a visitor permit made under section 16(2)(a).

(2) The application must be in the form of Form AWL4.

(3) Where the applicant is under the age of 18, the applicant’s parent or guardian must consent to the making of the application in the form set out in Part D of Form AWL4.

Event permits

7.—(1) An application for the grant of an event permit made under section 17(1) must be in the form of Form AWL5.

(2) An event permit granted under section 17(1) must be in the form of Form AWL5a.

Approval of air weapon clubs

8.—(1) An application for the grant or renewal of an approval of an air weapon club made under section 18(1) must be in the form of Form AWL6.

(2) An approval of an air weapon club granted or renewed under section 18(1) must be in the form of Form AWL6a.

(3) An application for the variation of an approved air weapon club’s approval made under section 19(2)(a) must be in the form of Form AWL7.

Prescribed mandatory conditions

9.  Schedule 2 prescribes mandatory conditions for the purposes of—

(a) section 6(1) (air weapon certificate: conditions);

(b) section 15(1) (police and visitor permits: conditions); and

(c) section 18(4) (approval of air weapon clubs).

Replacement certificates, permits and approvals

10.—(1) This regulation applies where any air weapon certificate, police permit, visitor permit, event permit or approval of an air weapon club has been damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen.

(2) The holder of the certificate or permit, or the approved air weapon club (as the case may be), may request that the chief constable issue a replacement.

(3) The chief constable may replace the certificate, permit or approval (as the case may be) when the specified fee is paid.

(4) In paragraph (3), “specified fee” means the fee specified in entry 1, 2 or 3 (as the case may be) of Part 2 of the table of fees.

PART 3 Fees

Fees in respect of applications

11.  The fee to be charged by the chief constable in respect of an application listed in column 1 of Part 1 of the table of fees is the fee specified in relation to that application in column 2 of the table.

Other fees

12.  The fee to be charged by the chief constable in respect of the chief constable’s performance of a function listed in column 1 of Part 2 of the table of fees is the fee specified in relation to that function in column 2 of the table.

Circumstances in which no fee is payable

13.  No fee is payable in respect of an application for the variation of an approved air weapon club’s approval made under section 19(2)(a).

PART 4 Transitional provisions

Duration of air weapon certificates applied for before 31st December 2016

14.  Schedule 4 makes transitional provision in relation to applications for the grant of an air weapon certificate which are made before 31st December 2016, and the fee to be charged by the chief constable in respect of those applications.

MICHAEL MATHESON

A member of the Scottish Government

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

24th May 2016

Regulations 3 and 5 to 8

SCHEDULE 1 FORMS

CONTENTS

Form number	Subject matter	Page number
AWL1	Application for the grant or renewal of an air weapon certificate	6
AWL1a	Air weapon certificate	18
AWL2	Application for the grant of a police permit	19
AWL2a	Police permit	25
AWL3	Application for the grant of a visitor permit	26
AWL3a	Visitor permit	38
AWL4	Application for the variation of an air weapon certificate, a police permit or a visitor permit	39
AWL5	Application for the grant of an event permit	45
AWL5a	Event permit	52
AWL6	Application for the grant or renewal of an approval of an air weapon club	53
AWL6a	Approval of an air weapon club	61
AWL7	Application for the variation of an approved air weapon club’s approval	62

FORM AWL1 Application for the grant or renewal of an air weapon certificate

FORM AWL1a Air weapon certificate

FORM AWL2 Application for the grant of a police permit

FORM AWL2a Police permit

FORM AWL3 Application for the grant of a visitor permit

FORM AWL3a Visitor permit

FORM AWL4 Application for the variation of an air weapon certificate, a police permit or a visitor permit

FORM AWL5 Application for the grant of an event permit

FORM AWL5a Event permit

FORM AWL6 Application for the grant or renewal of an approval of an air weapon club

FORM AWL6a Approval of an air weapon club

FORM AWL7 Application for the variation of an approved air weapon club’s approval

Regulation 9

SCHEDULE 2 PRESCRIBED MANDATORY CONDITIONS

1.  For the purpose of section 6(1), the prescribed mandatory conditions are that the holder of an air weapon certificate must—

(a) on receipt of the certificate, sign it in ink; and

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the chief constable of any change of the address specified on the certificate.

2.  For the purpose of section 15(1), the prescribed mandatory conditions are that the holder of a police permit or visitor permit must—

(a) on receipt of the permit, sign it in ink; and

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the chief constable of any change of the address specified on the permit.

3.  For the purpose of section 18(4), the prescribed mandatory conditions are that—

(a) the club secretary or other officer named on an approved air weapon club’s approval must, on receipt of the approval, sign it in ink;

(b) the approved air weapon club must, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the chief constable of any change of the club’s address; and

(c) the approved air weapon club’s approval (or a copy of it) must be prominently displayed at the club premises, at all times that target shooting is taking place there, so as to be capable of being read by anyone using the club’s facilities.

4.  In paragraph 3(c), “club premises” has the meaning given in section 22(8).

Regulations 11 and 12

SCHEDULE 3 TABLE OF FEES

PART 1 Fees in respect of applications

Column 1 Application				Column 2 Fee
1.	Application for the grant of an air weapon certificate made under section 3(1)—
	(a)	where the applicant is aged 18 years or more		£72.00
	(b)	where the applicant is aged 17 years		£12.50
	(c)	where the applicant is aged 16 years		£25.00
	(d)	where the applicant is aged 15 years		£37.50
	(e)	where the applicant is aged 14 years		£50.00
2.	Application for the renewal of an air weapon certificate made under section 3(1)			£48.00
3.	Application for the grant or renewal of an air weapon certificate made under section 3(1), seeking alignment with the applicant’s firearm or shot gun certificate in accordance with section 9(2) or (4)			£5.00
4.	Application for the variation of an air weapon certificate made under section 10(2)(a)			£20.00
5.	Application for the grant of a police permit made under section 12(1)			£15.00
6.	Application for the grant of a visitor permit made under section 13(1) or (2)—
	(a)	in the case of an individual application		£20.00
	(b)	in the case of a group application made on behalf of—
		(i)	2 qualifying visitors	£40.00
		(ii)	3 qualifying visitors	£60.00
		(iii)	4 qualifying visitors	£80.00
		(iv)	5 to 20 qualifying visitors	£100.00
7.	Application for the variation of a police permit or a visitor permit made under section 16(2)(a)			£5.00
8.	Application for the grant of an event permit made under section 17(1)			£40.00
9.	Application for the grant of an approval of an air weapon club made under section 18(1)			£45.00
10.	Application for the renewal of an approval of an air weapon club made under section 18(1)			£45.00
11.	Application for the grant or renewal of an approval of an air weapon club made under section 18(1), seeking alignment with the club’s approval as a rifle club in accordance with section 21(2) or (4)			£30.00

PART 2 Fees in respect of the performance of functions by the chief constable

Column 1 Function		Column 2 Fee
1.	Replacing an air weapon certificate which has been damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen	£4.00
2.	Replacing a police permit, a visitor permit or an event permit which has been damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen	£4.00
3.	Replacing an approval of an air weapon club which has been damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen	£4.00

Regulation 14

SCHEDULE 4 TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

1.  This schedule applies where, before 31st December 2016, an individual aged 18 years or more makes an application (“an advance application”) under section 3(1) which—

(a) is for the grant of an air weapon certificate; and

(b) does not request the alignment of different types of certificate in accordance with section 9(2).

2.  The chief constable may grant the air weapon certificate for such shorter period than is provided for in section 8(1)(b) as is appropriate to secure that it expires during the relevant period, except that the certificate must be granted for at least 12 months.

3.  The fee to be charged by the chief constable in respect of an advance application is (instead of the standard fee) £1.20 for each month for which the air weapon certificate is to be granted, discounting any period before 31st December 2016.

4.  Accordingly, in respect of an advance application—

(a) the minimum fee payable is £14.40; and

(b) the maximum fee payable is £39.60.

5.  On receipt of an advance application, the chief constable must—

(a) determine the date on which the air weapon certificate would expire if it were granted; and

(b) notify the applicant of the fee that must be paid for the application to be valid.

6.  If the chief constable decides not to grant an air weapon certificate to an applicant, the chief constable must refund any amount of the fee paid in respect of the advance application which exceeds £14.40.

7.  In this schedule—

“relevant period” means the period beginning with 1st January 2018 and ending with 30th September 2019;

“standard fee” means the fee specified in entry 1(a) of Part 1 of the table of fees.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the purposes of Part 1 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (“the Act”), which relates to the licensing and regulation of air weapons.

Part 2 (including schedules 1 and 2) prescribes the form in which the various applications under Part 1 of the Act must be made, as well as the form in which any corresponding certificate, permit or approval must be granted or renewed. It also prescribes mandatory conditions that apply to every air weapon certificate, police permit, visitor permit and approval of an air weapon club granted (or renewed) under that Part of the Act. It further provides for the replacement of any certificate, permit, or approval which is damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen.

Part 3 (including schedule 3) specifies the various fees that are to be charged by the chief constable in respect of applications made under Part 1 of the Act, and in respect of the performance of certain functions by the chief constable under that Part of the Act. It also specifies circumstances in which no fee is payable.

Part 4 (including schedule 4) makes transitional provision to allow the chief constable to grant an air weapon certificate for a shorter period than the standard 5 years provided for in section 8(1)(b) of the Act, subject to a minimum period of 12 months. It applies only in relation to advance applications. These are applications for the grant of an air weapon certificate made before 31st December 2016, when Part 1 of the Act comes fully into force, other than those made by individuals under the age of 18 or by individuals seeking to have their air weapon certificates (if granted) expire on the same day as their firearm or shot gun certificates. Schedule 4 also specifies a reduced fee to be charged in respect of an advance application, based on the period for which an air weapon certificate would be granted if the application were successful. It further provides for a partial refund, in certain circumstances, if the chief constable decides not to grant an air weapon certificate to an applicant.

(1)

2015 asp 10.