Lincolnshire renewal times , anyone got any ideas on how long ?

[Guest stevo]

As per title , have things speeded up yet at nettleham ? anyone had any recent experience's ?

 

p.s im on about FAC .

 

stevo

Edited November 21, 2014 by stevo

[triumphant59]

Apparently they are clamping down on dodgy builders from London!

[Guest stevo]

Apparently they are clamping down on dodgy builders from London!

haha good job im from Kent then

 

hope your well mate .

[rogcal]

Give them a bell and ask them.

 

When I asked how long for a variation 9 months ago they quoted 60 days and it took 59 days.

 

As far as I'm aware from what others have said at clubs and at shoots, the timescales of last year remain unchanged and they are still issuing renewal letters a good 12 weeks in advance of a certificate's expiration date and even then they are having to issue a permit when that date is imminent and the new cert is not likely to be issued for another month. My last co-terminous renewal took well over 4 months. Good old G4S!

 

As I said, give them a call, you might be surprised and be told everything is being turned around in a week.

[Guest stevo]

ok mate thanks for that , I will give them a couple more weeks and then drop them a call . as It it they received my paperwork on Monday 17/11/14

[rogcal]

Any update on this Stevo?

[Carman06]

I have been told recently by people it's taken 16 weeks for a variation. I put my initial grant in 4 weeks ago and they haven't even cashed the cheque yet. I hate waiting.

[Guest stevo]

Any update on this Stevo?

nope nothing yet as such , spoke to them on Friday and woman said that my checks have all come back and my file is now on the FLO's desk .

and that's as far as I has got ,

 

I will be phoning tomorrow to get the FLO's details as the owner of one of the estates I shoot wants to phone him and kick him up the backside !

[Guest stevo]

^{ps mine went in 16 weeks ago .. as of tomorrow}

Edited March 1, 2015 by stevo

[rogcal]

The one thing that G4S has achieved since winning the firearms licensing contract for Lincs Police is that they have got rid of the title "manager" and it's only "decision makers" that can be kicked up the backside now.

 

Just in case you think writing to the Police and Crime Commissioner to complain about the lengthy timescales, save yourself the time and energy.

 

He (Alan Hardwick) will not respond to your concerns and judging from the last report made by his team into the firearms licensing department, "the delays had been resolved". That report was made over a year ago and the timescales still remain as they were two years ago.

 

A law unto himself methinks and given the controversies surrounding him over the last couple of years with no indication of contrition on his part, he is IMHO sticking the proverbial two fingers up to the people of Lincolnshire.

 

The sooner the Government rids this country of all PCCs and returns to something akin to the old system where a Police Authority controlled the policies of a police force, the better.

 

This current Government introduced the concept of PCCs to bring about more accountability and if Mr Hardwick is anything to go by they got it very, very wrong!

Edited March 2, 2015 by rogcal

[deershooter]

The reason that lincolnshire police are so slow is because in certain departments that G4s run if they are late or under perform they are fined, this doesn't hapen in the firearms licensing department so it is under staffed . Let's be honest there is no good reason a variation should not be turned round in 7 working days one for one variations should only take 4 days at most .

 

The discision makers job is job shared by two people 3 days by one 2 days by the other swapping each week so if one has not made a decision by the end of his 2 days the file will sit on the desk for next 3 working days until he returns

 

Not going to say much more because big brother watches and then phones me up to give me a telling off

 

Deershooter

[Whitebridges]

There must be some sort of contract between G4S and the police. You might expect Service Standards and turnaround times to be documented. I wonder if this contract is/will be in the public domain?

 

Some of the delays listed above should be put right.

 

The role of a PCC is very clear:

 

http://apccs.police.uk/role-of-the-pcc/

 

in Lincs I would suggest that Mr Hardwick should be doing more than he is actually doing.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Whitebridges

[Guest stevo]

The reason that lincolnshire police are so slow is because in certain departments that G4s run if they are late or under perform they are fined, this doesn't hapen in the firearms licensing department so it is under staffed . Let's be honest there is no good reason a variation should not be turned round in 7 working days one for one variations should only take 4 days at most .

 

The discision makers job is job shared by two people 3 days by one 2 days by the other swapping each week so if one has not made a decision by the end of his 2 days the file will sit on the desk for next 3 working days until he returns

 

Not going to say much more because big brother watches and then phones me up to give me a telling off

 

Deershooter

Who is this big brother you keep referring too ?

If you have someone who keeps reading you comments and messages and then as you put it . Tells you off .

Surely there are laws in place to prevent others from snooping on your post/messages . So who are you referring to ??

[rogcal]

Here's the section from a report made by the Lincolnshire Police G4S Strategic Partnership published in June 2013 where they clearly state "60 days" as an improvement on previous performance. If they meant the performance of the firearms department when it was controlled by Lincolnshire Police then they are sadly mistaken, as 4 to 5 weeks could be expected.

 

However, if the are referring to their own performance prior to this report when turn around times for an application were around 80 days then yes it is an improvement but none the less 60 days is still a joke and one that G4S are still perpetuating.

 

I would be interested to read the service level agreement that was originally drafted by Lincs Police when it put the contract out to tender and see how many changes have been made to it at the insistence of G4S to enable them to achieve the targets that they have imposed on themselves.

 

I bet the timescales have been drastically extended to give them a chance of fulfilling the terms of the contract with the minimum of resources!

 

 

Firearms Licensing

 

This area is responsible for the efficient operation and management of the legal ownership of firearms, shotguns and explosives within the county. This includes processing all applications for shotgun and firearms licences; the renewals of shotgun and firearms licences and amendments to licences, such as change of addresses.

 

Prior to April 2012 the Firearms Licensing service area had 15.48 full time equivalent staff. All bar two staff transferred across to G4S under TUPE arrangements. Those who remained employed by Lincolnshire Police did so to ensure that applications could continue to be signed by a representative of the Chief Constable.

 

The service maintains more than 20,000 firearm and shotgun certificates, covering approximately 50,000 legally held guns, a high figure reflecting the predominantly rural nature of the county.

 

The planned service improvements were: Digitalise the management of the applications to create a paperless environment, this includes: The completion of a back record scanning of all historic files, which is searchable.

 

The introduction of an intelligent document management system that will enable officers to receive accurate live information, providing them with more intelligence when responding to incidents.

 

New processes have been introduced to the service area leading to a reduction in time of the processing of the applications. This has ensured that all applications for the last eight months are being completed, with a decision made within 60 days - an improvement on previous performance.

 

The main success of the last year has been the partnership working between Crime Management Bureau (CMB) and Firearms Licensing. This has resulted in the sharing and utilising of skill sets across the service areas enabling staff to be omni-competent and share supervisory capability. The new working practices have enabled the backlogged files of renewals and grants of shotguns to be cleared, which was approximately four months.

 

This backlog has effectively been reversed, with the team now able to proactively prepare files up to two months in advance. The greatest challenge has been identifying a document management system that will enable the reduction of double keying, by interfacing directly with the crime management system and with the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS)

[rogcal]

Heard anything yet Stevo?

[stu nesling]

have they added a new member of staff?

 

Firearms Licensing Administration Assistant (Fixed term for 12 months)

 

Job Reference: G1431
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Full Time
Salary: £17,500

Location: Nettleham, Lincoln
G4S Region: UK & Ireland
Country:United Kingdom

G4S Business Unit:UK - Central Government Services
Closing Date: December 9, 2014

[kaunda]

The one thing that G4S has achieved since winning the firearms licensing contract for Lincs Police is that they have got rid of the title "manager" and it's only "decision makers" that can be kicked up the backside now.

 

Just in case you think writing to the Police and Crime Commissioner to complain about the lengthy timescales, save yourself the time and energy.

 

He (Alan Hardwick) will not respond to your concerns and judging from the last report made by his team into the firearms licensing department, "the delays had been resolved". That report was made over a year ago and the timescales still remain as they were two years ago.

 

A law unto himself methinks and given the controversies surrounding him over the last couple of years with no indication of contrition on his part, he is IMHO sticking the proverbial two fingers up to the people of Lincolnshire.

 

The sooner the Government rids this country of all PCCs and returns to something akin to the old system where a Police Authority controlled the policies of a police force, the better.

 

This current Government introduced the concept of PCCs to bring about more accountability and if Mr Hardwick is anything to go by they got it very, very wrong!

If we are not happy with the performance of friend Hardwick,and this seems to be the case,to whom can we complain ? There must be some overseeing body,and don't say

' Try Theresa May '

[rogcal]

If we are not happy with the performance of friend Hardwick,and this seems to be the case,to whom can we complain ? There must be some overseeing body,and don't say

' Try Theresa May '

 

She'll be unemployed soon if the "great unwashed" get off their ar*es and vote as they did in 1997.

 

Any sniff of a threat to their beloved benefits system and all of a sudden they learn how to read and put a cross next to the Labour candidate!

 

....... and no I'm not a Tory just someone who works hard and gets pis*ed off when I see how much of our money goes to support the workshy and bone idle bast*rds that continually ponce off the rest of us.

 

Yes, I'll agree that there are many who find themselves in need of support when they fall on hard times and I'd not begrudge them a single penny of the benefits they get but I do expect them to do all they can to get back on their "financial" feet as soon as they can and not just take the easy option and idle their lives away!

Edited March 29, 2015 by rogcal

[muffin]

SG Renewal came just before Christmas. Sent off 2 Jan cheque cashed 3 March they asked for 12 weeks Renewal came 5 days after cert expired.

[Alex1Nat2]

SGC expired on the 21st.

Documentation has been with them for 10 weeks.

When I rang on Friday last week to chase all they could tell me was it wa still being processed!

[rogcal]

Stevo, are you still waiting?

[Guest stevo]

Stevo, are you still waiting?

no mate , mine was all sorted on Friday , ticket back with the .22 WMR and another ,22lr both ALOQ and fox ,

how did you get on ?

[rogcal]

Pleased to hear you got what you wanted after such a long wait.

 

I wasn't waiting for anything, just keenly interested to see how long your application took from the moment you posted it to when you received it.

 

As we know Lincs police (or rather G4S) are quoting 60 days but are they in fact keeping to that timescale!

 

How many days in total was it for you?

[Guest stevo]

148 days.

 

I of people waiting 11 and 12 weeks for 1-4-1

Edited April 27, 2015 by stevo

[rogcal]

148 days

 

You are kidding me aren't you!

 

88 days beyond their own stated goal to achieve an application.

 

Even if they had to make any special enquiries and adding staff sickness into the equation, that timescale is appalling.

 

Little we mere mortals can do about it but if I were the PCC for Lincolnshire I'd be very embarrassed but I was forgetting that our Mr Hardwick has no sense of responsibility or respect for those that he is overseeing Lincolnshire Police for, on their behalf!