We continue to urge the Israeli authorities to lift all restrictions that are delaying the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, including food, medical items, and shelter kits, and to enable safe, unrestricted access for the United Nations and other organisations seeking to deliver that humanitarian relief.

As of August 2025, there are 10,412 community pharmacies in England. Many community pharmacies provide locally commissioned services including supervised needle exchange programmes and other services such as naloxone provision and supervised consumption of opioid substitution treatment medicines, like methadone. Pharmacies also provide free healthcare advice, public health interventions, and signposting to relevant organisations and services. Data is not held centrally on how many community pharmacies provide needle exchange programmes and other substance misuse services.

Local substance misuse services and community pharmacies should work together to help provide an effective service to people who use drugs and alcohol. This includes encouraging person-centred and trauma-informed treatment with shared decision-making.

The Department is aware of the challenges in the ability of some community pharmacies to provide substance misuse services and has been supporting drug and alcohol treatment services to identify local solutions, including increased payment and some alternative models of provision of these services.

It is important for sharps to be disposed of safely, to avoid risk of accidental needle-stick injuries to pharmacy or general practice staff, waste management operatives, and other members of the public. All sharps should be disposed in sharps bins, which can be obtained on prescription or purchased. Local authorities are obliged to collect clinical waste, including sharps bins, from householders upon request. Under section 45(3)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 they may make a reasonable charge for this service.

The Department has had no discussions with the pharmaceutical industry about meeting the cost of this disposal.

It is important for needles to be disposed of safely, as inappropriate disposal methods create a risk of accidental needle-stick injuries to pharmacy or general practice staff, waste management operatives, and other members of the public, potentially leading to infection with blood-borne diseases. All needles should be disposed in sharps bins, which can be obtained on prescription or purchased. Local authorities are obliged to collect clinical waste, including needles bins, from householders upon request, but under section 45(3)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, they may make a reasonable charge for this service. Patients can find out how to request a clinical waste collection from their local authority on the GOV.UK website.

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through needle, food, drink or vape. The Government is committed, as per its Manifesto, to introduce a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime. It will be delivered in the First Session of this Parliament.

In addition, the Home Office is currently supporting a range of work to tackle spiking, including specific training for up to 10,000 people working in the night-time economy (which includes specific information on needle spiking) and testing the efficacy of commercial drug test kits.

NHS Supply Chain sources, delivers, and supplies healthcare products for National Health Service trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales, and also has robust measures in place to ensure the continuity of supply of medical products, including needles. This includes close collaboration with suppliers, and managing supply levels. As a result of a broad supply base within the syringes and needles framework agreement, NHS Supply Chain seeks to maintain adequate volumes to meet demand, whilst minimising the risk of supply gaps.

The Department has arrangements in place to help ensure the continuity of the supply of medical products, such as needles, in the event of disruption. This includes the National Supply Disruption Response (NSDR), which acts as a single point of contact to the health and care system in the event of a supply issue. In the event a shortage does occur, the NSDR can work with the medical supply industry, the health and care system, and our system partners to put mitigations in place to help minimise any impact to patients and the provision of care.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is aware of the issues raised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning quality control and design problems with plastic syringes manufactured in China. Whist the MHRA works on the basis that CE or UKCA marked plastic syringes originally produced in China are in use within the United Kingdom healthcare system, one of the main suppliers of plastic syringes into the UK healthcare system, Becton, Dickinson and Company, has confirmed that their products are not affected by this issue.

Medical device safety issues may affect different global regions to varying extents. Whilst awareness and active information exchange between regulators is critical to focus national investigations, regulatory action is taken based on UK relevant evidence. Device safety corrective actions communicated via so-called Field Safety Notices (FSNs) related to the specific problems highlighted in the FDA alert have not been issued in the UK. FSNs issued in the UK are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts

The MHRA is an active member of the International Medical Device Safety group. Representatives of regulatory authorities across the world meet on a regular basis to discuss emerging safety issues related to medical devices. The current issue was identified and MHRA are closely monitoring the situation. At this stage, there is insufficient evidence to justify actions against specific manufacturers of these products supplying into the UK.

The Home Office does not collect figures for the number of people who have been spiked through the use of injection needles.

However, following the concerns raised about this new phenomenon last year, the Home Secretary has been receiving regular reports from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC). The NPCC has established a reporting mechanism to enable forces to report any reported incidences of needle-spiking to help us to gain a better understanding of the scale and nature of the problem.

None of the combined needles and syringes associated with COVID-19 vaccine administration procured by Public Health England were produced in the United Kingdom.

The number of needles and syringes procured by Public Health England (PHE) for use with COVID-19 vaccine was consistent with administering two doses of vaccine to the United Kingdom population with an allowance for wastage. Subsequently there has been a further increase with additional vaccine availability. PHE is now procuring additional 250 million syringes associated with possible future COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

Public Health England has procured combined needles and syringes for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccinations. These levels are commercially sensitive and therefore not available.

The production of the seasonal flu vaccines is the responsibility of manufacturers. All flu vaccines this season have been supplied by manufacturers in pre-filled syringes and the Department is confident there is adequate supply to offer the flu vaccination to over 30 million people.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local drug needs and commissioning prevention, treatment and harm reduction services and interventions, which include needle exchange provision.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with PHE to review the harm reduction activity that is currently available.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs and commissioning drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction services to meet these needs. This includes providing needle and syringe programmes in their areas.

Public Health England supports local authorities in their work of needs assessment and commissioning services by providing advice, guidance and data.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs and commissioning drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction services to meet these needs. This includes providing needle and syringe programmes in their areas.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that local areas commission services which offer and encourage the use of low dead-space needles and syringes. The guidance on Needle and syringe programmes is attached.

Public Health England supports local authorities in their work of needs assessment and commissioning services by providing advice, guidance and data.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction services for their local area. This includes the supply of clean injecting equipment for people who use drugs, for example through needle and syringe exchange programmes. Maintaining this supply during the COVID-19 outbreak will be one of their priorities.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs and commissioning drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction services to meet these needs. This includes making sure people in this high-risk population are screened for hepatitis C virus and identified for treatment when they access these services.

Public Health England (PHE) provides a range of drug and alcohol treatment data to local authorities which monitors national and local activity in drug treatment settings and can inform local commissioning of services. This includes the number of people in drug treatment who have been tested for hepatitis C.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have an Elimination Programme Partnership with the Pharmaceutical Industry and work closely with Gilead Sciences, who have hepatitis C Testing projects with the six largest groups of National Health Service and independent sector treatment providers in England covering approximately 95% of the available addiction services. Their plan is that ‘everybody tests, and everybody is tested’; all staff can carry out tests and they target 100% of their population. Those in contact with drug treatment services in secure and detained settings are engaged through reception in a programme of ‘opt out’ blood borne virus testing covering hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus. Those already within the prison are targeted through a rolling programme of ‘whole population’ testing.

Local authorities are also responsible for commissioning needle and syringe programmes in their areas. The number of needle and syringe programmes in England is not recorded centrally.