Knife Crime Summer 2021 2021-07-12
2021-07-12
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the rise in knife crime during summer 2021. Knife crime has been increasing across the country, leading to more deaths and trauma for families and communities.
What steps she is taking to help prevent knife crime during summer 2021. I am concerned about the rising number of incidents this year.
This year, we are investing more than £130 million to tackle serious violence at local level. That includes funding violence reduction units which draw in all key partners, including the police, local authorities and the community, to address the root causes of violence, as well as targeted police action to deter and disrupt knife crime. It also includes up to £23 million for new early intervention programmes that will help stop young people being drawn into violence.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP referenced a constituent who informed her about the death of another young person due to knife crime. Knife crime has been rising since 2013 in every police command area.
Yesterday, I spoke to Cindy, whom I met three years ago as we both worked to support her friend whose son had been murdered with a knife. She phoned to tell me that a 16-year-old son of another friend had also been stabbed and killed this weekend. Knife crime has risen in every police command area across the country in the last decade, doubling since 2013. Lives are being lost, families devastated and communities traumatised every single week, yet the Government have disbanded the serious violence taskforce. Why are they so complacent about the loss of young lives?
May I try to correct the hon. Lady? We understand and express our commiserations to the families affected by knife crime. Violence reduction units are funded to help police work with other agencies, local authorities, local groups, and others to tackle serious violence both with enforcement and through intervention projects.
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Assessment & feedback
Disbanding of the serious violence taskforce
Correcting
Commiserating
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP questioned the short-term funding of violence reduction units despite the Government's commitment to a public health approach to tackling youth violence.
The Government have stated that they are committed to a public health approach to tackling violence affecting young people and the Minister has just mentioned the violence reduction units, yet our 18 violence reduction units only receive short-term funding settlements. The work these units do is extremely important in tackling the root causes of violence, but they cannot formulate long-term strategies without long-term funding, so what is the Home Secretary doing to ensure that the comprehensive spending review delivers on that?
Violence reduction units are a key part of our work to tackle serious violence. We have invested record amounts in these units, and we are imposing a serious violence duty on every single local area across the country through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
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Assessment & feedback
Long-term funding commitments for VRU's
Constrained
Current Spending Review
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP highlighted several young people who were stabbed to death in her constituency over the past few years, causing significant grief for their families. There has been a decimation of budgets for youth centres, schools, health services and children's centres.
Michael Jonas, Ayodeji Habeeb Azeez, Jay Hughes, Levi Ernest-Morrison and Tashawn Watt are all young children and young people who have been stabbed to death in my constituency over the past few years. Words cannot do justice to the grief and anguish this has caused their families and the wider community. The Government say they are committed to a public health approach to youth violence, but youth centres, schools, health services and children's centres have all had their budgets decimated over the past 10 years. My constituents cannot wait any longer. When will the Government reverse these cuts and take urgent action before more lives are lost?
The hon. Lady rightly raises the names of those who have been murdered in her constituency, and our thoughts go to their families and friends affected by that. We are taking a whole-system approach: tough law enforcement and early intervention to help young people avoid gangs.
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Assessment & feedback
Urgent action timeline
Whole-System
Tough Law Enforcement
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The question was prompted by a growing epidemic of violence on the streets, leading to young lives being lost, including a recent case in Croydon. The MP referenced the importance of role models and mentors highlighted by football stars who overcame tough upbringings.
As we have been watching the incredible achievements of the England football team, the epidemic of violence on our streets has been growing, with younger and younger boys losing their lives in horrific murders. Many of our football heroes had tough upbringings and have spoken out about the importance of role models and mentors. I want all our young people to be able to unlock their talent, but many adults who could help them have disappeared following a decade of extreme cuts. Our summer holidays should be flooded with youth work, mentorship programmes, sports clubs and mental health support. The scale of the problem deserves an appropriate response, so will the Government today recognise the potential of our whole nation and commit to helping every vulnerable child this summer?
May I join the hon. Lady in acknowledging the sportsmanship, the talents, the dignity and the joy that the English football team have brought so many people over the tournament? The hon. Lady is quite right to raise the question of role models. We are building structures around them with increased investment through the Department for Education funding over the summer and through our own work in funds such as the trusted relationships fund, which helps young people build positive relationships with positive role models.
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Assessment & feedback
The government's commitment to specific resources and support for youth programmes during summer holidays was not clearly addressed.
May I Join The Hon. Lady In Acknowledging
They Themselves Tell The Tale That If You Have The Belief And You Have The Talent, My Goodness You Can Make It
Response accuracy