A deal is close to being struck to
allow British pistol shooters to train on
home soil for the Olympics.
A clampdown on handguns was imposed in
the Firearms Amendments Act 1997 after the
deaths of 16 children and a teacher at
Dunblane Primary School in 1996. The ban
applies in England, Wales and Scotland but
could be lifted for sport. Sports Minister
Gerry Sutcliffe told the Parliamentary
Culture, Media and Sport Committee that
talks were "almost at a point of an
agreement".
Many British competitors currently have
to travel to Switzerland to practise but
changes to the rules could help Britain's
medal hopes in Beijing and also at the 2012
London Games.
"I am hoping there will be an agreement
between the Olympic bodies, the Ministry of
Defence and the Home Office, trying to make
sure that the ability is there for our
athletes in the UK," said Mr Sutcliffe.
Previously, the Government granted a
dispensation for handguns during the 2002
Manchester Commonwealth Games. But Mr
Sutcliffe added that any change to the rules
would have to be "working in conjunction
with the legislation that exists".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/shooting/7202905.stm
PLEASE NOTE: When
applying for or renewing your RCA
(Recipient Competent Authority)
document, the address to write to has
changed and the flier being sent out
with your explosives certificate
currently still has the old address on
it. The new address is:
HSE's
Explosives Inspectorate
HSE's Explosives Inspectorate
is the operational arm that
licences manufacturing and
larger storage sites as well as
enforcing the legislation for
these sites and for the
classification and transport of
explosives. It can be contacted
at:
Health & Safety Executive
1.2 Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS
Tel: 0151 951 4025
Out of hours - 5pm to 8.30am -
incase of emergency ring Duty
Officer - 0151 922 9235 or 5pm -
8.30am - ring 0151 951 3133
(answer phone only).
email: Please use the email
address that is most appropriate
for your enquiry.
See:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/contact.htm
If your enquiry is about
licensing or RCA's you should
send it to:
explosives.licensing@hse.gsi.gov.uk
If your enquiry is about
classification or transportation
you should send it to:
cad.explosives@hse.gsi.gov.uk
Regards Stuart Scott (Pistol
Captain)
