Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help prevent people under 19 years old who are convicted of knife crime from reoffending.

On 9 April 2018, the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy that set out action being taken to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The Strategy emphasises the importance of early intervention to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime among young people and to encourage them to take up positive activities.

This includes working with those who have previously offended through both the voluntary sector and statutory services. For example, youth offending teams provide supervision to young people who have been convicted of carrying or using an offensive weapon and this can include the young person participating in a knife crime intervention programme with the aim of reducing reoffending.