Sale of knives etc to persons under 18

What is this consultation about? The Sentencing Council is proposing to issue two guidelines for the offence of the sale of knives etc to persons under 18 contrary to section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; one for sentencing individuals and one for sentencing organisations. What is the Sentencing Council? The Sentencing Council is the independent body responsible for developing sentencing guidelines which courts in England and Wales must follow when passing a sentence. The Council consults on its proposed guidelines before they come into force and makes changes to the guidelines as a result of consultations. Why are we doing this? The offence of selling knives to persons under the age of 18 is prosecuted by Trading Standards departments within local authorities and almost all prosecutions are as a result of test purchases. In 2020 the Council received a submission on behalf of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham