The reporting function under the Poisons Act 1972 applies to retailers in Great Britain only.

Upon importation Border Force does, however, have the powers to seize or detain if regulated explosive precursors or poisons that do not have the requisite licence or are considered suspicious are identified.

As set out in CONTEST, The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism, the Government is committed to reducing the ability of terrorists to access and use materials and technology of concern. We continue to keep our policies regarding dangerous substances under review to ensure appropriate regulation and controls are in place to keep the public safe.

The Poisons Act 1972 sets out the legal obligations in relation to the sale, purchase, and use of explosives precursors and poisons for suppliers, professional users, and members of the public.

The Poisons Act was amended in October 2023 to strengthen controls, and enhance suspicious activity reporting requirements, including new obligations for online marketplaces. As well as the requirement to report suspicious transactions, economic operators supplying any reportable substances must now demonstrate that their personnel are aware about which of their products contain listed substances, and are instructed on their obligations.

Sodium nitrate is a reportable explosives precursor listed in Part 4 of Schedule 1A of the Poisons Act 1972; this means it is lawful to sell this substance in Great Britain without further controls, however suppliers have a legal obligation to report any suspicious transactions.

The Home Office work with retailers and suppliers to raise awareness and emphasise their legal obligation to report suspicious activity for regulated and reportable substances. Government expertise in relation to substances of concern is also shared to inform retailer sales practices. This includes encouraging suppliers to use declaration of use forms for sales of such substances. This work will continue to ensure suppliers are meeting their requirements under the Poisons Act.

As set out in CONTEST, The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism, the Government is committed to reducing the ability of terrorists to access and use materials and technology of concern. We continue to keep dangerous substances under review to ensure appropriate regulation and controls are in place to keep the public safe.

As well as direct and tailored advice offered to individual businesses, the Home Office has published guidance for suppliers to assist them in their legal obligations in respect of poisons and explosive precursors. This includes advice on how to sell licensed products online, how to secure their chemicals, and advice on how to verify the professional or trade status of a prospective customer. The latter is not made available publicly as some of the detail may assist individuals in evading control measures.

The Home Office has a team of embedded police officers to engage with companies and provide advice. The team also assess controls, including through test purchases, to check the robustness of the regime. Where problems are found the team engage and seek to improve compliance.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions of defendants charged with offences under the Poisons Act 1972. This information could only be obtained by a manual examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

While the CPS does not collect data on defendants prosecuted by specific offence or the outcome of any prosecution, information is available for the number of offences under the Act in which a prosecution commenced at magistrates’ courts.

The table below shows the number of these offences recorded on the CPS’s Case Management System in each financial year over the last ten years.

It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same victim.

We keep Schedule 1A of the Poisons Act 1972 under continual review. We have moved sulphuric acid above a concentration of 15% from being a reportable to a regulated substance. We have no current plans to regulate any of the other corrosive substances which are reportable substances within Schedule 1A of the Poisons Act 1972.

The Home Office keeps Schedule 1A to the Poisons Act 1972 under continual review to ensure that potentially hazardous substances with legitimate uses are being controlled effectively.

We do not make this guidance publicly available owing to concerns surrounding national security.

The “Sell Chemical Products Responsibly” leaflet was re-issued following amendments to Schedule 1A to the Poisons Act 1972 laid on 3 April. It was designed with face to face transactions in mind, providing some indicators of suspicious transactions as well as how to identify products of concern and report suspicions. Specific, tailored guidance has been shared with online retailers to support their reporting obligation under the same Act.

We have no plans to currently amend the regulations in the Poisons Act 1972 on the sale, possession and use of phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, ammonia or hydrofluoric acid. We will continue to keep the Act under review.

Phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sodium hydroxide, ammonia and ammonium hydroxide are all reportable poisons and this means retailers and wholesalers are required to report suspicious transactions, significant losses and thefts to the national contact point.

The Home Office uses a wide range of methods used in monitoring the compliance of online and offline retailers to ensure that they are adhering to the law.

One method is to have a covert officer attempt to purchase a banned or restricted product without meeting the required conditions (i.e. having a Home Office issued licence). Due to operational security, we are unable to provide further details.

The Home Office has a wide range of methods used in monitoring the compliance of online and offline retailers to ensure that they are adhering to the law. One method is to have a covert officer attempt to purchase a banned or restricted product without meeting the required conditions (i.e. having a Home Office issued licence). Due to operational security, we are unable to provide further details.

Since the implementation of EU regulation 98/2013 on the marketing and use of explosives precursors in 2014, which introduced the legal requirement for retailers to report suspicious transactions and is now implemented through the Poisons Act 1972, the Home Office has engaged with a wide range of retailers that supply both regulated and reportable explosive precursors and poisons.

This ongoing work has resulted in suspicious transactions being reported to the police. Due to operational security, we are unable to provide exact details.

As well as frequently engaging with online retailers of substances under the control of the Poisons Act 1972, guidance for both online and physical sellers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hazardous-sites-and-substances#epp-licensing:-guidance-for-businesses

The Poisons Act 1972 places a legal requirement on retailers of all substances listed under Schedule 1A to report any suspicious transactions, loss or thefts to the Anti-Terrorist hotline on 0800 789321 or Chemical.Reporting@Met.Police.UK

In addition to this, there is a range of guidance available to retailers of these substances on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hazardous-sites-and-substances#epp-licensing:-guidance-for-businesses

We are currently reviewing the Poisons Act 1972 and how it can be amended to prevent the use of hazardous substances to cause harm. As part of this review, the Home Secretary announced that sulphuric acid would become a regulated substance under Part 1 of Schedule 1A.

The Poisons Act 1972 places a legal requirement on retailers of all substances listed under Schedule 1A to report any suspicious transactions, loss or thefts to the Anti-Terrorist hotline on 0800 789321 or Chemical.Reporting@Met.Police.UK

In addition to this, there is a range of guidance available to retailers of these substances on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hazardous-sites-and-substances#epp-licensing:-guidance-for-businesses

As well as frequently engaging with online retailers of substances under the control of the Poisons Act 1972, guidance for both online and physical sellers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hazardous-sites-and-substances#epp-licensing:-guidance-for-businesses

The Poisons Act 1972 requires a supplier to report any relevant transaction(s) that they deem to be suspicious that involve substances listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1A.

Our policy is based on the following key strands:

Effective partnerships with relevant trade associations, suppliers and online retailers to help them understand which products are within scope of the Act, what action they should take to ensure compliance. Working with them and providing guidance to ensure they are able to spot and report suspicious transactions in a timely fashion.

Effective law enforcement by providing guidance to police officers on identifying non-compliance, preventing attacks, searching potential perpetrators for harmful substances and responding to victims at the scene.

Identifying where less harmful alternatives are available which achieve the same legitimate use.

Ensuring legislation covering the use of substances listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1A to the Poisons Act 1972 including acid and other corrosives is fit for purpose, that it is understood and consistently applied.

The Poisons Act 1972 requires a supplier to report any relevant transaction(s) that they deem to be suspicious that involve substances listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1A.

Our policy is based on the following key strands:

Effective partnerships with relevant trade associations, suppliers and online retailers to help them understand which products are within scope of the Act, what action they should take to ensure compliance. Working with them and providing guidance to ensure they are able to spot and report suspicious transactions in a timely fashion.

Effective law enforcement by providing guidance to police officers on identifying non-compliance, preventing attacks, searching potential perpetrators for harmful substances and responding to victims at the scene.

Identifying where less harmful alternatives are available which achieve the same legitimate use.

Ensuring legislation covering the use of substances listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1A to the Poisons Act 1972 including acid and other corrosives is fit for purpose, that it is understood and consistently applied.

On 16 July 2017, the Home Secretary announced that there will be a review of the Poisons Act 1972 to help combat the horrendous crimes that are being committed on our streets. This work, done in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the Police Service is ongoing; details of which will be released in due course.