Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to publish the number of deaths caused by volatile substance abuse in England and Wales in (a) 2013-14 and (b) future years.

The Department has asked Public Health England to consider how future data on volatile substance abuse deaths might be collected and reported. Additionally, on 17 October 2014, the Office for National Statistics published a one-off report providing data on drug related deaths involving volatile substances and nitrous oxide in England and Wales, 1993–2013. A copy of the report is attached.