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Written Question
Knives
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban zombie knives.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 was laid in Parliament on 25 January 2024.

Once the legislation has been approved by Parliament, a surrender scheme will be launched this summer to remove these knives from our streets.

Once the surrender scheme has been completed, the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes will be outlawed from 24 September.

Additionally, through the Criminal Justice Bill, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.


Written Question
Offensive Weapons
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 202514 and the absence of a reference to that potential legislation in the King's Speech, what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals on banning machetes and zombie knives.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Consumer Goods: Internet
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of age verification and identity checks by (a) Temu and (b) other online shopping apps for sales of (i) knives and (ii) other age-restricted items.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Offensive Weapons: Sales
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the sale of (a) knives and (b) other illegal weapons on online shopping apps.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Crimes of Violence: Knives
Wednesday 18th October 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the age of the perpetrator of incidents of (a) grievous bodily harm and (b) homicide involving knives in (i) London and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed data on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on the type of sharp instrument used in a homicide, including zombie knives and machetes, was added to the collection in April 2022. These data, for the year ending March 2023, are due to be published by the Office for National Statistics in February 2024.

The Homicide Index also holds information on the method of killing and age of convicted suspect. These data are in the given table. The number of convictions is likely to increase as more cases are finalised by the courts.

The Home Office does not routinely collect information on the types of knives or sharp instruments used in other offences or the age of perpetrators.

Number of suspects convicted of homicide where method of killing was by sharp instrument, by age,

England and Wales, 2017/18 to 2021/22

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Under 16

21

11

9

8

16

16 to 24

141

125

135

119

83

25 to 34

55

70

59

52

41

35 to 44

32

37

31

19

18

45 to 54

26

21

17

14

13

55 to 64

11

5

6

5

6

65 to 74

2

4

0

6

0

75 plus

1

2

2

1

1

Total

289

275

259

224

178

Source: Home Office Homide Index

As at 6 December 2022; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.


Written Question
Crimes of Violence: Offensive Weapons
Wednesday 18th October 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of (a) grievous bodily harm and (b) homicide involving (i) machetes and zombie knives there were in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed data on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on the type of sharp instrument used in a homicide, including zombie knives and machetes, was added to the collection in April 2022. These data, for the year ending March 2023, are due to be published by the Office for National Statistics in February 2024.

The Homicide Index also holds information on the method of killing and age of convicted suspect. These data are in the given table. The number of convictions is likely to increase as more cases are finalised by the courts.

The Home Office does not routinely collect information on the types of knives or sharp instruments used in other offences or the age of perpetrators.

Number of suspects convicted of homicide where method of killing was by sharp instrument, by age,

England and Wales, 2017/18 to 2021/22

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Under 16

21

11

9

8

16

16 to 24

141

125

135

119

83

25 to 34

55

70

59

52

41

35 to 44

32

37

31

19

18

45 to 54

26

21

17

14

13

55 to 64

11

5

6

5

6

65 to 74

2

4

0

6

0

75 plus

1

2

2

1

1

Total

289

275

259

224

178

Source: Home Office Homide Index

As at 6 December 2022; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.


Written Question
Offensive Weapons
Wednesday 18th October 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban machetes and zombie knives.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government will seek to legislate a ban on certain types of large knives and machetes that do not seem to have practical use and appear to appeal to those who want to use these items as weapons when parliamentary time allows.

Once the new legislation is in force, it will be a criminal offence to import, sell or possess these types of weapons.


Written Question
Refugees: Children
Wednesday 21st June 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children were accommodated in Home Office operated hotels in each month since October 2022 by age.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

If any child goes missing the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe.The Police are responsible for locating any missing children.

The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.


Written Question
Refugees: Children
Monday 19th June 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children accommodated in Home Office operated hotels (a) have gone missing since July 2021 and (b) are missing as of 13 June 2023.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

There are 154 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) missing as of 8 June 2023.

If any child goes missing, including UASCs, the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The police are responsible for locating any missing children.


Written Question
Refugees: Children
Monday 19th June 2023

Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of police forces investigating crimes where the alleged victim is an unaccompanied child who was accommodated in, or went missing from, a Home Office operated hotel.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

This information is held by the individual encountering police forces but is not held or collated centrally.