Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to support the enforcement of legislation to tackle the illicit use of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023.

The government has not provided specific support to the police for the enforcement of this legislation. 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).

Further information about this data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024

The most recent data about drug misuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, showed that 0.9% of those aged 16-59 in England and Wales used nitrous oxide in the year ending 31 March 2024, a reduction from 1.3% in the previous year. This is equivalent to a reduction from 419,000 to 311,000 users and the lowest figure since this data was first collected in the year ending March 2013.

Further information about this data is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesyearendingmarch2024.