Recommendation SP16: Guidance on suspicious archery/crossbow purchasers
From The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1, published 13 April 2026.
Recommendation
The Home Office should provide clear guidance to all UK retailers of archery bows and crossbows on identifying and reporting suspicious behaviour, including underage purchasers or those who appear to be interested in criminal use of the equipment, and should consider placing retailers under defined obligations to report material suspicions.
In brief (written by this site)
In July 2026, HM Government accepted the recommendation, stating that the Home Office expects to complete implementation in early 2027 (Home Office response, Jul 2026). It explained that statutory guidance covering age verification for online crossbow sales and advice on reporting suspicious purchases will be introduced under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 following discussions with stakeholders and devolved administrations (Home Office response, Jul 2026). The record holds no update since the government's response of July 2026 (Home Office response, Jul 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The Home Office is the lead department and expects to complete the implementation of this recommendation in early 2027. Progress and next steps:
- Statutory guidance on age verification measures for the online sale and delivery of crossbows in England and Wales will be introduced under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, to be implemented in early 2027.
- Guidance will include advice to retailers on sales of archery bows and arrows and advice on reporting suspicious sales or attempted sales.
- Detailed proposals will be discussed with stakeholders during preparation of the guidance.
- Guidance will be discussed with the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The government's response to Phase 1 (CP 1623, 2 July 2026) agreed with all 67 recommendations in one sentence, and names only 39 of them individually. Where a recommendation is not named, the response shown is the passage the response gives for the group it belongs to (the recommendations for organisations outside central government, or the recommendations to policing bodies), which is not a response to that recommendation alone; the response does not list the members of any group. The 10 recommendations for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider show no response: the response introduces them (paragraph 20) but answers none of them. The government accepts the recommendations that are for central government to deliver. Where a recommendation is for an organisation outside central government, the government's agreement is not that organisation's acceptance.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Home Office has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 July 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response