Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of guidelines for tougher sentences for knife crimes on the numbers of people imprisoned for such crimes.

After the introduction of our two strikes legislation, people caught carrying a knife a second time are now more likely than ever before to go to prison.

The government continues to monitor sentencing for bladed and offensive weapon offences. On 9 March the latest knife possession sentencing quarterly statistics bulletin was published and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-october-to-december-2016.

Sentencing Guidelines are produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The Council has developed a draft guideline on sentences for knife possession and threat offences which they consulted on between 6 October 2016 and 6 January 2017. The draft guideline is available from the Sentencing Council’s website: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk