Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New law to ban zombie-style knives and machetes, published on 25 January 2024, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of that proposed legislation on preventing the sale of zombie-style knives; and what steps his Department plans to take to confiscate zombie-style knives already in public possession.

The maximum penalty for being in possession of a bladed or pointed article in public is 4 years imprisonment. In 2015, we introduced minimum custodial sentences for repeat knife possession, alongside the existing minimum sentence for threatening with a knife. Adults face a minimum of 6 months’ imprisonment whilst young people aged 16 or 17 face a minimum 4-month Detention and Training Order.

Measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which came into force on 28 June 2022, strengthen existing provisions by ensuring that the courts pass at least the minimum sentence for certain offences, including threat and repeat possession of a knife or offensive weapon, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences.

It is the function of the court to decide the sentence in each case subject to the maximum that Parliament has provided and any guidelines that may be laid down by the Sentencing Council or the Court of Appeal. Sentencing must also be proportionate to the offence committed, considering all the circumstances of each case. That is why our sentencing framework generally sets maximum penalties but not mandatory or minimum penalties.

Research shows that it is the certainty of apprehension and punishment which consistently has a deterrent effect. However, it is of course crucial that serious offenders serve sentences that truly reflect the severity of their crimes, helping to protect the public and giving victims confidence that justice has been served.

Where someone is actually harmed by a knife or offensive weapon, there are a range of serious offences that the person may be charged with, such as causing grievous bodily harm. These can result in lengthy sentences including life imprisonment.

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 come into effect on 26 August 2024 to remove zombie style machetes and knives from circulation. The manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes will be outlawed from 24 September, and this will be enforced by the Police, Trading Standards and Border Force. An impact assessment, supporting the Statutory Instrument, will be published very shortly.