To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of (a) wounding or grievous bodily harm, (b) assault with injury and (c) robbery there were involving a knife in each month since May 1997. (304304)

The Home Office has collected data on knife and sharp instrument offences since April 2007 via a special additional data collection, so it is not possible to give data back to May 1997.

Data are published annually. 2007-08 and 2008-09 data can be found in tables 7.11 and 7.12 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin “Crime in England and Wales 2008/09” at the following link.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/crimeew0809.html