The Government is set to introduce new legislation making spiking a specific criminal offence in the King’s Speech this week.
More than 35 bills are expected to be included in the program announced Wednesday.
Spiking is already a criminal offence and is covered by other legislation, including the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
But Labour’s manifesto, like the Conservatives’, says creating new specific crimes would allow police to respond better to incidents.
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Spiking is the act of putting drugs in someone’s drink or getting drugs into their body in some other way without their consent.
Police in England and Wales received 6,732 reports of drug use, including needle drug use, in the year to April 2023.
The Metropolitan police said reports of drugs being mixed into drinks rose 13% between July and December 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, after a four-fold increase in recent years.
Police received 1,383 cases of suspected drug abuse in 2023, with the majority of cases occurring in public places, particularly bars and nightclubs.
But the National Police Chiefs’ Council says drug smuggling is under-reported and the speed at which drugs move through the system can make it difficult to investigate cases.
The King’s Speech marks the official opening of the new Parliament and sees the King read out the Government’s programme for the duration of Parliament’s term.
Chancellor Sir Keir Starmer signalled urgency in the plan, which will be focused on economic growth, saying there was “no time to waste”.
Kiir said the government was “serious about bringing about stability that will boost growth.”
But beyond economic measures, this is also a chance for the new government to outline its key priorities in other areas.
The plan is also expected to revive legislation to introduce “Martin’s Law”, named after Manchester bombing victim Martin Hett.
The legislation, promised by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, would force venues and local authorities to put in place preventative plans to deal with terror attacks.
Martin’s mother, Figen Murray, said she was “disappointed” with Mr Sunak after the plan was proposed in the last Parliament but not passed before Parliament was prorogued ahead of the election.
The spiking laws apply in England and Wales. Any further measures in Scotland and Wales will be left to devolved politicians.
