Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Everitt Excerpts
Monday 14th November 2022

(1 year, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Bob Blackman Portrait Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
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9. What steps she is taking to tackle knife crime and serious violence.

Ben Everitt Portrait Ben Everitt (Milton Keynes North) (Con)
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13. What steps she is taking to tackle knife crime and serious violence.

Alex Cunningham Portrait Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
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19. What steps her Department is taking to tackle serious violent crime.

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Chris Philp Portrait Chris Philp
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I agree with my hon. Friend that a robust police response is essential, as is the courts making robust use of the two-strikes rule requiring a mandatory prison sentence on a second conviction for possessing a bladed article. Those are very important, and I am happy to look with him at how they are working and whether they need to be pushed a bit further. I am sorry to hear about the knife crime statistics in Harrow. Nationwide, knife crime, or knife-enabled crime, is down about 9% compared with pre-pandemic levels. If my hon. Friend feels that more needs to be done in his area, I would be happy to discuss it with him.

Ben Everitt Portrait Ben Everitt
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The two-strikes strategy is not something we have done in Milton Keynes. The Home Secretary has heard about Operation Deter, under which people caught with a knife in Milton Keynes will spend time behind bars. Along with the right legislation and the right policing strategies, such as Operation Deter, we need to work with local communities. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the Knife Angel to Milton Keynes as we work with communities to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime?

Chris Philp Portrait Chris Philp
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I completely agree with my hon. Friend; the Knife Angel and other organisations do fantastic work, and I strongly commend them. It is exactly that kind of initiative that some of the funding streams I mentioned earlier are designed to support.