Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Working Protocol between the Home Secretary and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, published on 15 November 2011, whether she discussed with the Chair or a nominated representative her reasons to reject the Council's recommendations on nitrous oxide before making a final decision.

As Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, I met the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and the Chair of the ACMD Novel Psychoactive Substances Committee, which undertook the nitrous oxide review, on 7 March 2023 to discuss the findings of the updated ACMD harms assessment on nitrous oxide before a final decision had been taken.

This is in accordance with Part 4 (iv) of the Working Protocol between the Home Secretary and the ACMD.