Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Rigby and Clive Jones

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that knife crime is still too high—more than 50,000 instances in the year to June 2024. He is also right to highlight that this Government are taking strong action to combat knife crime. We know that effective local policing is vital to tackling knife crime, which is why we are putting 13,000 more police and police community support officers on our streets, because we are determined to make our streets safe. The Home Secretary has also commissioned a rapid review to understand how these weapons are sold online and delivered to under-18s and identify gaps in legislation and the most effective ways to stop this.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Last month, Thames Valley police’s Wokingham neighbourhood team attended Bohunt school in Arborfield, where they presented to young people the dangers of carrying knives. Early intervention is key to deterring children from violence, and police officers play a crucial role in that. What conversations has the Solicitor General had with her Home Office colleagues on the link between police officer numbers and effective recording of the prevention of knife crime? Has the Solicitor General expressed concerns to her colleagues about the potential decrease in the number of Thames Valley police officers?

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight these issues in this House. Key to prevention and early intervention is our programme of young futures hubs and prevention partnerships. Our young futures hubs will bring together services to improve the ways that young people can access the support they need, and our prevention partnerships will proactively identify the young people most at risk and map youth service provision to ensure there is a clear understanding of the support available in each area.