Essex’s Museum Development Officer has contacted William Brown, National Security Advisor at the Arts Council for clarity on museum fire arms.
His advice is that a museum needs a firearms license if a ‘collection contains live firearms, although there is an exception for historic firearms. However, no definition is in place as to what constitutes a “historic firearm”. The decision is made at the discretion of your local police’.
The Home Office recently undertook a consultation on increasing the licensing fees for museums from £200 for five years to £1,240 for renewal and £1,440 for a new grant.