Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Summary Report for the Commission on Gangs and Violence: Uniting to Improve Safety by Reverend Dr Carver Anderson, published in November 2017, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations in that report.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands launched the Commission on Gangs and Violence to critically assess the rise in serious violence and gang-related activities in Birmingham and to offer solutions to tackle the issue. The PCC is responsible for implementing the report’s recommendations.

On 9 April 2018, the Government published a new Serious Violence Strategy to take action to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The strategy outlines our response under four key themes: tackling county lines and misuse of drugs; early intervention and prevention; supporting communities and local partnerships; and an effective law enforcement and criminal justice response. The response is based on evidence about the trends and drivers of serious violence and analysis of what works in terms of interventions.

Our approach is not solely focused on law enforcement, very important as that is, but depends also on partnerships across a number of sectors such as education, health, social services, housing, youth services, victim services and others. In particular, the strategy stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence and provide young people with the skills and resilience to lead productive lives free from violence.