This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

An internal coalition battle over a taxpayer subsidy for cheap gun licences spilled into the open on Tuesday when a Liberal Democrat Home Office minister said that he will attempt to force through reforms despite being blocked by the prime minister, David Cameron.

Norman Baker, who has responsibilities for shotgun certificates, said he has been frustrated by the decision to block plans to raise the cost of gun licences, forcing police services to find more than £17m from their operational budgets to subsidise them.

The prime minister, himself a pheasant shooter and deer stalker, is understood to have intervened in December to stop a rise in the cost of a gun licence, which has been frozen at £50 since 2001 – just over a quarter of the £196 that it costs police to issue the licence.

In an unusual public display of coalition tensions, Baker said: "The current position is difficult to justify – why should the police subsidise the issuing of licences for firearms? We are driving greater efficiencies in the way the police handle applications, which will bring the cost of issuing down, but firearms users also need to pay a fair amount, which is not happening at the moment. I hope to be able to reach a sensible outcome in the near future."

Baker's pledge comes as UK's leading police officer on gun certification claims that the government's decision to block the price rise could raise the number of life-threatening incidents involving firearms.

As police forces face further cuts, many senior police officers argue that gun licences should be cost efficient, and rise to around £200 a licence.

Britain has around 600,000 private gun licences, many of which are used by people such as farmers or those who shoot for sport or competitive marksmen.

Chief police officers want to end the subsidy, and say that the costs are being taken out of policing budgets.

They want the licence fee to rise to £92 initially, and could then increase each year in line with inflation.

The Home Office is understood to support the police. However, an attempt last year to increase the licence fee was blocked after being referred to a cabinet subcommittee.

Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, objected to the proposed increase and contacted No 10, according to Whitehall sources.

The prime minister is believed to have agreed with Paterson and intervened to halt its progress.

Sources said there has been furious lobbying behind the scenes by pro-shooting groups who say they are concerned that a rise in the cost will prohibit many occasional shotgun enthusiasts.

The fact that lobbyists seem to have won over crucial ministers has concerned senior police officers. Andy Marsh, the chief constable of Hampshire police, said that without an increase in the cost of a shotgun licence, it is "unrealistic" to expect forces to maintain the same level of oversight over shotguns.

"There is a likelihood of a significant backlog in grant and renewal without an increase in the costs of a licence. Without the staffing levels to constantly reassess risk, it could lead to an increased threat of harm," he said.

"It's becoming increasingly difficult to protect the level of staffing given to the oversight and scrutiny of the licensing process. But the reality remains that fees havent gone up since 2001.

"Meanwhile, we have seen other fees such as drivers' licences and passports rise on a full cost recovery which I think is the right thing to do."

Gill Marshall-Andrews, the chair of the Gun Control Network, said that the intervention of ministers to halt a planned increase is a disgrace.

"Everyone wanting a gun should be checked for a history of domestic violence, mental illness, and drug and alcohol abuse. These checks cost money but they do save lives," she said.

"The fact that the gun lobby's friends in cabinet are blocking the increase is a scandal."

Shooting groups have lobbied against the kind of rise proposed by senior police officers and gun safety campaigners.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the UK's largest pro-shooting organisation, said that an increase in the licensing fee is due, but added that the final figure should only be calculated once police forces have disclosed their actual costs for overseeing licenceholders.

"We want to see the police's proper costs so that we can ensure that the service is efficient," said Simon Clarke, the BASC'spokesman.

The association says it has been involved in continuing talks with the police and home office officials over licence fee proposals.

No deadline has been placed on their talks, it added.

No 10 did not respond to the allegation that Cameron has blocked the reforms. Defra did not respond.