§ Mr. Jim CunninghamT o ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had regarding a UK-wide amnesty on knives. [150953]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 27 January 2004]: There are presently no plans to introduce a national knives amnesty. However, we are discussing a range of issues relating to the sale and possession of knives with the Association of Chief Police Officers.
604W
Table A: Total National Probation Directorate staff by grade, as at 31 December 2003 Grade Staff in post 31 December 2003 Consultants within establishment Contractual staff within establishment SCS 14 0 0 Grade 6 37 1 2 Grade 7 96 10 10 Senior Executive Officer 56 5 8 Higher Executive Officer (D) 1 0 0 Higher Executive Officer 49 4 1 Executive Officer 65 1 0 Administrative Officer 37 0 0 Administrative Assistant 7 0 0 Senior Personal Secretary 9 0 0 Personal Secretary 15 0 0 Assistant Chief Officer 12 0 0 Senior Probation Officer 11 0 0 Detective Chief Inspector 1 0 0 PO5 1 0 0 Psychological Assistant 2 0 0 Interventions Consultants 17 17 0 Electronic Monitoring Consultants 4 4 0 IT Project Manager 1 — 1 IT Consultants 9 9 — Total 444 51 22
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the merits of raising the age limit for the purchase of non-kitchen knives to 18 years of age. [150955]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 27 January 2004]: We are currently seeking the views of the Association of Chief Police Officers on the sale of knives.