Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the enforcement of the prohibition on the sale and possession of nitrous oxide cylinders in Bromsgrove constituency; and whether her Department plans to take steps to increase enforcement actions for offences involving the recreational use of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide is controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This makes it an offence to supply and possess it for ‘wrongful inhalation’, namely the inhalation of the gas for its psychoactive effect.

There is a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both for supply, and a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both for possession.

Legitimate uses of nitrous oxide, such as for baking and cooking, are not prohibited by the Act.

The police are operationally independent, but we expect them to tackle crime, including drug-related crime. There were 2,564 seizures of nitrous oxide by police and Border Force in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 237% upon the previous year’s figure (761). Police forces accounted for almost all nitrous oxide seizures (2,552). The quantity of nitrous oxide seized by police forces increased by 170% over the same period.

Nitrous oxide sold online is subject to the provisions of the Online Safety Act. This requires that all technology companies take robust action against illegal content, such as the sale of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation