Knives: Crime
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support community-based knife crime prevention programmes in Bradford.
Answered by Dame Diana Johnson
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Bradford, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.
Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in West Yorkshire, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.
As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.
In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing over £4.3m in grant funding to the West Yorkshire VRU, alongside £169k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty. This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes.
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