This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the forthcoming debate on the impact of government policy on knife crime.
Knife Crime: Government Policy (221 KB , PDF)
On 27 June 2019, the House of Lords is due to debate a motion moved by Lord Paddick (Liberal Democrat). The motion is that “this House takes note of the impact of government policy on knife crime”. This briefing sets out recent statistics relating to knife crime and provides an overview of government policy on the issue, alongside some of the reaction to it.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) demonstrates that in recent years, the level of offences involving a knife or sharp object has risen, in some cases reaching historic highs.
Responding to this rise in serious violence, including knife crime, the Government has announced a series of initiatives aimed at tackling the problem. These include: expanded police powers in relation to stop and search; ring-fenced funding to tackle knife crime; and a consultation on a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence. These measures have received a mixed response. While some have welcomed the actions taken, others have argued the Government is not doing enough.
Knife Crime: Government Policy (221 KB , PDF)
The Hares (Closed Season) Bill [HL] would create a closed season during which it would be an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any hare between 1 February to 30 September each year. It would also repeal the Hares Preservation Act 1892.
![Hares (Close Season) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 52 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Agriculture-and-farming-568x426.png)
UK prime ministers may draw up a resignation honours list on their departure from office, in which they may request that the reigning monarch grant honours to any number of people. Such honours may include peerages, knighthoods and damehoods, or other awards. However, not all have chosen to draw up such a list. This briefing lists those prime ministers who have requested that peerages be conferred on their departure from office.
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has re-examined relations between the UK government and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following the introduction of new intergovernmental relations structures in January 2022 and its own earlier inquiry on the subject. In a report published in September 2024, the committee urged the government to add a new principle of positive engagement to the principles underpinning the new structures.
