A multimillion-pound scheme to tackle knife violence among young people has reduced hospital admissions and offences, the Government said today.

At the launch of the second phase of the Tackling Knives Action Programme, David Hanson, the police minister, said that the initiative would be expanded to include all forms of serious violence among a wider age group.

However, the programme has failed to bring down the number of what officials call “sharp-instrument homicides” among the original target group of 19 and younger. During the programme period (June 2008 to March 2009), there were 23 murders of this type, the same number as the previous year. For victims aged 20 and over, the number went up by 7 per cent, from 96 to 103.

The first phase involved ten police forces in England and Wales at a cost of £7 million. The Government will devote £5 million to the second part of the strategy, which is operating in 16 areas.

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said: “It is encouraging to see a reduction in knife-related violence and in provisional hospital admission numbers for sharp instrument assaults in the last year.

“This is not a problem we can solve overnight but we remain totally committed to tackling youth violence . . . By working together — Government, police, families and communities — we can make a difference and tackle the culture that can lead to violence.”

According to the Home Office, for victims aged 19 and under there was a 17 per cent reduction in the number of recorded violence offences that involved sharp instruments in the areas covered by the programme. NHS hospital admission statistics indicated a 32 per cent drop in admissions for assault with a sharp weapon for the same age group. There was a smaller reduction for regions outside the pilot figure.

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