Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what national assessment they have made of drug-facilitated sexual assault within relationships; and whether they have a strategy to address the online facilitation of such crimes.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Individual police forces retain operational ownership of investigations. However, several international cooperation tools can support cross‑border enquiries. This includes engagement with INTERPOL and Europol, as well as other mechanisms such as international biometric exchange. Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) can be used where evidence is required from overseas jurisdictions. Eurojust can support coordination of prosecutions and judicial cooperation in relevant cross‑border cases, where appropriate.

We have limited data on the prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault within intimate relationships. We have however taken several steps to tackle spiking in England and Wales, including where it is linked to drug facilitated sexual assault. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new criminal offence for spiking, which will give greater clarity to victims and raise the maximum sentence for the offence of administering a poisonous or noxious substance in section 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

We are working with three police forces to roll out a sample collection pilot in Spring 2026, which aims to improve the timeliness and accessibility of urine sample collection following suspected spiking incidents. We have commissioned the University of Birmingham to undertake academic research into the motivations of spiking perpetrators. finally, the Police are developing a new guidance and training package on spiking for frontline officers, which will enable better support to be provided to suspected victims, as well as more timely evidence-gathering which should help to bring perpetrators to justice.

Statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour has been issued to the police and other agencies, which highlights that perpetrators of domestic abuse may use substances such as alcohol or drugs to control a victim through dependency. More details can be found here: Controlling or coercive behaviour: statutory guidance framework (accessible) - GOV.UK. The Government has committed to updating the controlling or coercive behaviour statutory guidance by the end of 2026.

All NHS staff receive national mandatory safeguarding training that is being strengthened for launch in December 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of violence and abuse.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what mandatory training exists for police and health services on recognition and evidence capture regarding drug-facilitated sexual assault in intimate contexts.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Individual police forces retain operational ownership of investigations. However, several international cooperation tools can support cross‑border enquiries. This includes engagement with INTERPOL and Europol, as well as other mechanisms such as international biometric exchange. Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) can be used where evidence is required from overseas jurisdictions. Eurojust can support coordination of prosecutions and judicial cooperation in relevant cross‑border cases, where appropriate.

We have limited data on the prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault within intimate relationships. We have however taken several steps to tackle spiking in England and Wales, including where it is linked to drug facilitated sexual assault. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new criminal offence for spiking, which will give greater clarity to victims and raise the maximum sentence for the offence of administering a poisonous or noxious substance in section 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

We are working with three police forces to roll out a sample collection pilot in Spring 2026, which aims to improve the timeliness and accessibility of urine sample collection following suspected spiking incidents. We have commissioned the University of Birmingham to undertake academic research into the motivations of spiking perpetrators. finally, the Police are developing a new guidance and training package on spiking for frontline officers, which will enable better support to be provided to suspected victims, as well as more timely evidence-gathering which should help to bring perpetrators to justice.

Statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour has been issued to the police and other agencies, which highlights that perpetrators of domestic abuse may use substances such as alcohol or drugs to control a victim through dependency. More details can be found here: Controlling or coercive behaviour: statutory guidance framework (accessible) - GOV.UK. The Government has committed to updating the controlling or coercive behaviour statutory guidance by the end of 2026.

All NHS staff receive national mandatory safeguarding training that is being strengthened for launch in December 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of violence and abuse.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government who owns the operational lead and what interagency co-ordination exists for cross-border aspects of drug-facilitated sexual assault.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Individual police forces retain operational ownership of investigations. However, several international cooperation tools can support cross‑border enquiries. This includes engagement with INTERPOL and Europol, as well as other mechanisms such as international biometric exchange. Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) can be used where evidence is required from overseas jurisdictions. Eurojust can support coordination of prosecutions and judicial cooperation in relevant cross‑border cases, where appropriate.

We have limited data on the prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault within intimate relationships. We have however taken several steps to tackle spiking in England and Wales, including where it is linked to drug facilitated sexual assault. Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new criminal offence for spiking, which will give greater clarity to victims and raise the maximum sentence for the offence of administering a poisonous or noxious substance in section 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

We are working with three police forces to roll out a sample collection pilot in Spring 2026, which aims to improve the timeliness and accessibility of urine sample collection following suspected spiking incidents. We have commissioned the University of Birmingham to undertake academic research into the motivations of spiking perpetrators. finally, the Police are developing a new guidance and training package on spiking for frontline officers, which will enable better support to be provided to suspected victims, as well as more timely evidence-gathering which should help to bring perpetrators to justice.

Statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour has been issued to the police and other agencies, which highlights that perpetrators of domestic abuse may use substances such as alcohol or drugs to control a victim through dependency. More details can be found here: Controlling or coercive behaviour: statutory guidance framework (accessible) - GOV.UK. The Government has committed to updating the controlling or coercive behaviour statutory guidance by the end of 2026.

All NHS staff receive national mandatory safeguarding training that is being strengthened for launch in December 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of violence and abuse.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require platforms (1) to assess and mitigate the risks of hosting or organising illegal sexual harm communities, and (2) to respond promptly to credible notifications of such communities.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Online Safety Act requires user‑to‑user services to assess risks of different kinds of illegal harm on their platforms, including child sexual exploitation and abuse, grooming, intimate image abuse and extreme pornography, and to take proportionate steps to mitigate those risks, including where they are facilitated through groups.

Services must also have effective systems and processes to prevent, detect and act against illegal content and activity, both proactively and in response to notifications. Ofcom, as the independent regulator, sets out expected measures in statutory codes of practice, which came into force in July 2025, including on proactive technologies such as hash‑matching.