Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

2. What recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General on the prosecution of people who carry knives.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General on the prosecution of people who carry knives.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Robert Buckland)]

I work closely with the Attorney General and Home Office Ministers to ensure that the criminal justice system commands public confidence and tackles crime effectively. To address this and other serious crimes, we are recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers, investing £85 million in the Crown Prosecution Service and building an additional 10,000 prison places, and this is together with the work of police and crime commissioners in setting up violence reduction units.

[Robert Buckland]

Of course, the prosecuting authorities take knife crime incredibly seriously. In 2015, minimum custodial sentences of six months for repeat knife crime possession were introduced, and in the year ending March of this year 83% of offenders received a custodial sentence for that type of repeat offence.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

Does the Justice Secretary agree that the sentence should reflect the serious nature of knife crime and the serious damage it does to our communities? Does he support the work of organisations such as Only Cowards Carry, which help to highlight the devastating damage knife crime does to the individuals involved, on both sides?

[Robert Buckland]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the hard work of that local organisation and many others, such as the Ben Kinsella Trust, which do so much to educate young people about the folly of carrying knives. The new knife crime prevention orders, introduced by this Government as part of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, will be a key tool in preventing knife crime, and we are working with the Home Office to develop operational guidance, because we want to get on with introducing that programme.