Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) estimate she has made of the number of drink spiking-related offences in the last 12 months and (b) steps the Government is taking to tackle that offence.

The recent reports of spiking of drinks are of course concerning. It is not possible with the data that the Home Office holds to provide a full picture on the scale of such attacks or to make accurate estimates into whether or not there has been an increase.

This is an ongoing matter which the police are investigating and the Home Secretary has asked police forces to provide an update.

Action which the Government is already taking on spiking includes:

• Through the Safety of Women at Night Fund, and round 3 of the Safer Streets Fund, the Home Office is supporting the rollout of pilot initiatives to improve the safety of women in public spaces, including in the night-time economy (NTE). These projects, totalling more than £27 million, include:
  • Training packages for NTE staff;
  • Drink spiking test kits in Police vehicles and NTE venues;
  • Upgrades to CCTV and street lighting throughout the country;
  • Educational training programmes for men and boys.
• Reclassifying GHB and related substances from Class C to Class B under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. These are so-called “date rape” drugs, which have been used in drug-facilitated crime (though there is little evidence to link these drugs to needle-spiking specifically).
• Working with the police to better understand the nature of spiking through the crime recording framework.