Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children aged between 12 and 16 years inclusive that have taken illegal drugs.

There are two official national surveys on illicit drug use among children. NHS England’s Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People surveys pupils aged between 11 and 15 years old in England. In 2023, 13% of pupils reported that they had taken drugs.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, published by the Office for National Statistics, reported that in the year ending March 2024, 15% of young people aged 16 to 19 years old reported using any drugs in the past 12 months.