Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have led to a custodial sentence for knife crime in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

The number of knife possession offences resulting in immediate custody in England and Wales, monthly from April 2014 to March 2015, is available via the link below. The most recent quarterly statistics were published on 11 June at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-january-to-march-2015.

Following the commencement of the relevant provisions in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, offenders convicted of a second offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon and sentenced on or after 17 July 2015 face a minimum custodial sentence of six months.

The next set of statistics will be published tomorrow