Written question asked by Nigel Evans (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 January 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Friday, 22 February 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Offensive Weapons: Crime

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the merits of creating specific offences for (a) carrying and using a knife in a violent attack and (b) carrying a knife in a violent attack.

Answer: [holding answer 21 January 2008]: The Government are committed to reducing instances of all types of violent crime including knife crime and to see that offenders are brought to justice.We do not currently have plans to create new specific offences in relation to knife crime. The new Tackling Violence Action Plan, published on 18 February focuses on a range of actions to ensure robust enforcement of the existing criminal law, including those currently in force in relation to the possession of knives. Current sentencing guidelines include the use of weapons as an aggravating factor to be taken into consideration by the courts when considering sentencing.

Secondary information