Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of age verification and identity checks by (a) Temu and (b) other online shopping apps for sales of (i) knives and (ii) other age-restricted items.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.
The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.
The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.
This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.
The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives 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.
Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.
Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.
On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the sale of (a) knives and (b) other illegal weapons on online shopping apps.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.
The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.
The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.
This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.
The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives 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.
Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.
Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.
On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Mentions:
1: Preet Kaur Gill (LAB - Birmingham, Edgbaston) The National Crime Agency has referred to“an overall increase in organised acquisitive crime”,including - Speech Link
2: Chris Philp (Con - Croydon South) sets of crime statistics are published: there is police recorded crime, which are the figures she is - Speech Link
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 202514 and the absence of a reference to that potential legislation in the King's Speech, what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals on banning machetes and zombie knives.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.
The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.
The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.
This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.
The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives 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.
Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.
Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.
On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Found: or other large knives that were the subject of the recent consultation.
Feb. 14 2024
Source Page: Government exploring toughening crossbow rulesFound: Safeguarding Minister, Laura Farris said: Crossbows are used rarely in violent crime in this country
Found: Measures to prevent knife crime and enhance public safety in clauses 10 and 18 of the Criminal Justice
Found: Measures to prevent knife crime and enhance public safety in clauses 10 and 18 of the Criminal Justice
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory jail terms for people caught in possession of (a) blades, (b) knives and (c) other pointed articles without authorisation.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
Found: Committee on 12 December 2023, the below is additional written evidence setting out further detail on knife crime