Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review sentencing guidelines or judicial training for the sentencing of repeat knife carriers.

Knife crime has destroyed far too many lives. That is why, as part of the Safer Streets mission, we are working to halve knife crime within a decade. To date, we have taken action to ban zombie knives, and the ban on ninja swords came into force on 1 August 2025 – it is now illegal to sell or own these weapons. We have also implemented “Ronan’s Law”, a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives.

The maximum penalty for carrying a knife or threatening with an offensive weapon is 4 years’ imprisonment. In recognition of the seriousness of offences related to knives, Parliament has provided for minimum custodial sentences for repeat knife possession and offences that involve threatening with a weapon. Where someone is physically harmed by a knife or offensive weapon, there are a range of offences that they may be charged with, such as causing grievous bodily harm. These can result in lengthy sentences, up to life imprisonment.

Sentencing guidelines are produced by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. In 2018, the Council issued a package of guidelines on offences involving possession of and threatening with bladed articles and offensive weapons. These are available on its website at: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/crown-court/. The Council published an evaluation last year which found that the package of guidelines are working as intended.

To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for judicial training is held by the Lady Chief Justice, Senior President of Tribunals and Chief Coroner. The responsibilities are fulfilled by the Judicial College. The training programme is published online in an annual prospectus.