Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research, monitoring and data collection her Department undertakes to assess the prevalence of chemical submission offences in England and Wales.

To improve understanding of the prevalence and motivations behind these offences, spiking has been added to the Annual Data Requirement, through which the Home Office collects police data from forces in England and Wales. Returns will be analysed using the National Data Quality Improvement Service to provide more robust and insightful data on the subject.

The Home Office has also commissioned the University of Birmingham to research the motivations of spiking perpetrators, providing important first-hand insights into the range of factors that drive this offending.

This is in addition to a range of other work the Government is undertaking to combat all forms of spiking, including the introduction of new legislation as part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.