Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific offences they categorise as violent crime; and what are the criteria for such categorisation.

The scope of the Serious Violence Strategy is concerned with homicide, knife crime, and gun crime and areas of criminality where serious violence or its threat is inherent, such as in gangs and county lines drug dealing. It also includes emerging crime threats faced in some areas of the country such as the use of corrosive substances as a weapon.

Serious violence also extends to other forms of serious assault. We know that a significant proportion of violence is linked to either domestic abuse or alcohol, but these two important elements are not driving the increases we are seeing in violent crime. The strategy also does not address specifically sexual abuse, modern slavery or violence against women and girls. They may all involve forms of serious violence but there are already specific strategies addressing those important issues, and so they are not included within the scope of the Serious Violence Strategy.