Written question asked by Kerry McCarthy (Labour) on Friday, 21 February 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 February 2014. It was answered by Jeremy Wright (Conservative) on Friday, 28 February 2014 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Chemicals

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of using ethylene glycol-based anti-freeze products deliberately with the intention to poison in each of the last five years.

Answer: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information whether a defendant was convicted for the use of ethylene glycol-based anti-freeze products from other products. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MOJ. As such, the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information