Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle knife crime.

Tackling knife crime is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.

We identified a clear need for new primary legislation to respond to public concerns and provide the police with the powers they need. As such, under the provisions of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we have prohibited the possession of a range of particularly dangerous knives and offensive weapons, and we are introducing further measures to tackle crime involving bladed items. These include stopping bladed items being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Under the same Act we introduced Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPO). These preventative orders enable the courts to place positive requirements as well as restrictive measures on individuals to help the police steer those most at risk away from serious violence.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes a duty on public sector bodies to take a joined-up approach to addressing serious violence; the requirement for local agencies to review the circumstances when an adult homicide takes place involving an offensive weapon; and Serious Violence Reduction Orders, which give the police the power to stop and search known knife and offensive weapons carriers.

We have also committed £130.5m to tackle serious violence including knife crime and homicide in 21/22. This includes funding for targeted policing in serious violence hotspots, as well as our network of Violence Reduction Units, which draw together partners in 18 areas worst affected by serious violence in England and Wales to deliver coordinated action to tackle violence at its root.

In addition, we have invested £200m over 10 years for the Youth Endowment Fund, which is funding projects to support children and young people at risk of violence and exploitation and to steer them away from crime.