New mandatory firearms license training – called for after the Plymouth shooting – is to be introduced nationally this month, the police minister has said.

In August 2021, there were five people killed by a gunman using his licensed rifle before turning the gun on himself in the Keyham area.

In a letter to the local MP, Dame Diana Johnson said that firearms licensing staff in every force will undergo mandatory training from this month to make their decisions more consistent and robust.

She said all applicants for a firearms license must now provide police with relevant medical information with their application – supported by a new digital firearms marker on medical records.

Dame Diana said the new training would help ensure there was “greater consistency within the police in carrying out their firearms licensing responsibilities and to ensure that police checks on the suitability of firearms license applicants and holders fire are as robust as possible”.

She said the digital markers will alert GPs to patients who have a firearms license and allow them to alert police if the patient starts to suffer from a relevant condition so police can assess whether he is safe that the individual continues to have access to firearms. .

The minister said the system would be monitored to ensure it was working properly.

She also promised to prioritize the government’s response to the Home Office’s summer 2023 consultation on firearms reform in the letter sent in September, saying it would be published “as soon as we can”, but could not commit to a calendar.

The consultation was prompted by recommendations from the Plymouth Coroner and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Luke Pollard, Labor MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: “I know the Police Minister understands the strength of feeling in our city and the commitment he has made is an important step forward, as is the additional police training he has bring her

“Since the Keyham tragedy, we have campaigned alongside the community here to reform the UK’s gun laws for the better, so that a tragedy like this never happens again.”