Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children were (a) convicted and (b) cautioned for knife possession in each of the last five years.

Delivering the manifesto commitment to tackle knife possession by children will require police and Youth Justice Services to put in place more evidence-based interventions to ensure that knife possession by children is addressed swiftly, robustly and effectively. The Ministry of Justice is committing £320 million over the next 3 years to youth justice services. This multi-year certainty will give the stability to retain staff, plan more effectively with partners, and commission services more efficiently – in order to better tackle knife possession and other offence committed by children.

Of the £320 million funding settlement, £46 million will be ringfenced for Turnaround – the Ministry of Justice’s youth crime early intervention and prevention programme. The Turnaround programme was established by the Ministry of Justice in 2022 to provide additional funding to support children on the cusp of the youth justice system, with the explicit aim of preventing future offending.

The new knife possession guidance is non-statutory. Youth Justice Services (YJSs) will be required, as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding, to have due regard to the guidance.

The Government will monitor compliance through:

• the annual plans produced by Youth Justice Services as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding;

• new data requirements about Out of Court Resolutions that the Youth Justice Board has agreed to collect from YJSs from April 2026; and

• upcoming inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

If a child does not comply with their mandatory plans, Youth Justice Services must notify the police. The police may then charge and prosecute the child for the original offence.

Engagement with interventions by Youth Justice Services can provide positive outcomes for children. Evidence from the Ministry of Justice’s Turnaround programme shows that, as of December 2024, only 7% of children who completed Turnaround interventions had offended as proven by a judicial decision or caution within 12 months of completion.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on convictions and cautions for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group in the Outcomes by Offences data and Out of Court Disposals tools, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.

The Ministry of Justice publishes sentencing information following remands for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.

The police and Youth Justice Services will conduct assessments as soon as the child comes into their contact to assess their needs. Any child who identifies as a victim of county lines or drug distribution exploitation will receive specialist support within their mandatory targeted plans.