To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the participation of the (a) City of London Police and (b) Metropolitan Police Service in Operation Sceptre.

Operation Sceptre originated as a Metropolitan Police initiative, but with the agreement of the National Police Chiefs Council, it has become a regular national week of action against knife crime for police forces in England and Wales. Operation Sceptre includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps of hotspot areas, test purchases of knives from retailers, the use of surrender bins, and educational events with young people.

Both the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police take an active role in Operation Sceptre. The Metropolitan Police Service conducts its own local phases of Operation Sceptre every month, alongside the national weeks of action.

The latest national phase of Operation Sceptre in February resulted in the following:

• 591 test purchase operations were carried out in retail premises. Of these, there were 469 passes. 122 resulted in the retail outlet failing the test purchase
• 1212 stop and searches were carried out and 615 arrests made. Overall, 4104 weapons were seized
• 918 weapon sweeps were conducted
• 3660 knives were surrendered or recovered
• More than 600 education events were held to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying knives.