Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted and given mandatory sentences for two knife crime convictions in the last three years.

Section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 provides for a minimum custodial sentence for a second (or further) conviction for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. This provision was commenced by the Government on 17 July 2015 and applies to those offenders who committed a second offence after this date. The latest quarterly sentencing bulletin for knife possession offences contains information about repeat offences:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483951/knife-possession-sentencing-bulletin-q3-2015.pdf .

These statistics only show a small number of cases of knife crime possession dealt with under the most recent sentencing provisions, given the short time since implementation. However, the next quarterly bulletin will start to provide a clearer picture of the impact of the minimum sentence, but we would normally look to assess the impact of a new provision on the basis of at least 12 months data.