Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice the police provide on the disposal of knives that are not the target of surrender schemes.

It is an operational matter for police forces on what advice they provide on the disposal of knives.

However, the Home Office has issued guidance to support its recent knife surrender schemes, and this is informed by best practice in police forces. The guidance advises members of the public to ensure that if they are travelling with any knives for disposal that they are not carried openly any time and are wrapped and placed in a sealed bag or box. Carrying bladed articles in public without a good reason or lawful authority is an offence.