Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has taken recent steps to reduce litter caused by the recreational use of nitrous oxide canisters; and if she will make a statement.

It is an offence to drop litter, and in recent years we have bolstered councils' powers to take enforcement action by almost doubling the upper fixed penalty limit for littering to £150. Furthermore, The Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced powers, such as Public Space Protection Orders, which the police and local councils can use to prevent people from taking intoxicating substances, such as nitrous oxide, in specified areas.

In September 2021, the Government asked the independent statutory advisory body, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), to provide advice on whether nitrous oxide should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The ACMD is independent of Government and can provide a broad range of recommendations, including advice on regulatory or legislative changes. The Government will consider the ACMD advice carefully before deciding how to proceed.