Oral Answers to Questions

Scott Benton Excerpts

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

The Attorney General was asked—

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Ind)]

1. What steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to support the prosecution of serious violent crime.

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

11. What steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to support the prosecution of serious violent crime.

[The Solicitor General (Michael Tomlinson)]

This Government are committed to delivering justice for victims of serious violence, and I can confirm that the CPS prosecuted more than 103,000 cases of serious violence, firearm offences and homicides in 2022, with a conviction rate of over 84%.

[Scott Benton]

There have been a number of knife crime incidents in Blackpool over recent weeks that have concerned my constituents, not least a disturbing case in which a man was arrested after carrying a 16-inch machete. What action is being taken by the CPS to reduce knife crime offending both in Blackpool and across Lancashire as a whole?

[The Solicitor General]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his interest and knowledge in this area—not least because he seems to be drawn for these questions, week in, week out. Of course the CPS has been instrumental in the pilots of serious violence reduction orders, which are aimed at reducing knife crime, and it is right to say that those orders will provide an extra tool to help to crack down on violent crime. The CPS looks at both breaches of those and the original orders. The law tour next week is visiting the north-west CPS area, which covers both my hon. Friend’s constituency and yours, Mr Speaker, and you would both be more than welcome to join us on that tour to see the CPS and the police working together on this issue.