Every child caught with a knife to get tailored support

Young people will be given a mandatory targeted plan to stop them reoffending and protect the public.

Since becoming MP for Blackpool South I’ve had lots of meaningful and illuminating conversations with local young about knife crime. What I’ve heard is shocking – they describe a culture of fear, intimidation and gang warfare on our streets. When a child tells me that carrying a knife is normal, I see an urgent sign of a society that has failed to protect them and a reminder of how urgently we must act.

Every life lost to knife crime is a tragedy and a chain of missed opportunities to intervene. If we only respond after the worst has happened we have already failed. Now, for the first time, under new measures announced by the government, every child caught carrying a knife will be given a mandatory, tailored action plan designed to tackle the root causes of their behaviour.

Police will be required to refer every young person found with a knife to Youth Offending Teams and within weeks those teams will work with schools, families, social services and local charities to put a targeted plan in place. The focus will be on turning young lives around before they spiral into repeat offending or serious violence.

This approach is tough on crime and big on prevention, recognising the simple truth that most young people carrying knives because they are scared, influenced by peers, or trapped in difficult circumstances. Yes, they need clear consequences, but they also need support, guidance and opportunity.

With Protective Services students at Blackpool 6th Form - we had a great conversation about knife crime

The government is backing this approach with more than £300 million over three years for youth justice services, giving local areas the certainty they need to plan long-term interventions. That includes funding for early-intervention programmes and community alternatives to custody, so we can steer young people away from the criminal justice system before it is too late.

This is part of a wider commitment to halve knife crime over the decade. We are already seeing progress with knife offences and hospital admissions falling, but statistics only tell part of the story. The real proof will be when parents are happy to let their children go out without fear, and young people don’t feel the need to carry a knife with them for protection.

In Blackpool, we know the impact of years of cuts to youth services. When safe spaces disappear kids take to the streets. We must give young people alternatives – education, mentoring, sports, apprenticeships and safe places to go after school.

The new mandatory action plans are a crucial step in the right direction. They send a clear message that carrying a knife will always have consequences – but also that we will not give up on a young person at the first sign of trouble.

I reject the idea that any child is beyond help. With the right support at the right time, they can change course, rebuild trust and build better futures. Our job as a society is not just to punish when things go wrong, but to intervene early enough that they don’t go wrong at all.

If we get this right, we will not only reduce knife crime but give a generation of young people the chance to grow up without fear.