PFD report

Joshua William Leatham-Prosser · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 27 Feb 2025•Dorset

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

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Concerns
2

Raised in this report

Recipients
1

Named on the report

Responses found
1

Of 1 recipient

Stated actions
4

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised2

  1. Increasing number of young people presenting with potentially fatal health problems linked to drug use
  2. Highly addictive and harmful nature of a Class B drug
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.4

  1. Action

    Continue working with health, policing and wider public services to reduce drug use and associated harms.

    Stated by Home OfficeStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 27 February 2025.
  2. Action

    Continue working with partners to discourage drug misuse and alert people, particularly young people, to ketamine’s dangers.

    Stated by Home OfficeStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 27 February 2025.
  3. Action

    Carefully consider the Advisory Council’s recommendations before deciding how to proceed on ketamine classification.

    Stated by Home OfficeStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 27 February 2025.

Respondent positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when it does not describe a specific action.1

  1. Position

    Changes to ketamine’s classification cannot be made until the legally required ACMD advice has been considered.

    Stated by Home OfficeUnable to actThe respondent said that a constraint prevented them from taking the relevant action.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Increasing number of young people presenting with potentially fatal health problems linked to drug use

Wider context from the report

“2. I have concerns with regard to the following: i. The highly addictive and harmful nature of a drug with a classification of Class B. ii. The increasing number of young people presenting with potentially fatal health problems linked to its use. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

No recurring-concern membership is currently published.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Highly addictive and harmful nature of a Class B drug

Wider context from the report

“2. I have concerns with regard to the following: i. The highly addictive and harmful nature of a drug with a classification of Class B. ii. The increasing number of young people presenting with potentially fatal health problems linked to its use. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

No recurring-concern membership is currently published.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Continue working with health, policing and wider public services to reduce drug use and associated harms.

Verbatim wording from the response

“I am very aware ketamine can cause significant harm when misused, and this Government is concerned that the harms – including its degree of addictiveness and the possibility of irreversible bladder damage – may be significantly underestimated by those who use the drug. It is also particularly worrying that the misuse of ketamine amongst young people has grown in recent times. Through the Government’s Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer, we will continue to work closely with health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and its associated harms. Also, the Home Office will continue to work with our partners to discourage drug misuse and to alert people, particularly young people, about the dangers of ketamine.”

Source location

Response from the Home Office
Page 1 · response
Published 27 February 2025

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Continue working with partners to discourage drug misuse and alert people, particularly young people, to ketamine’s dangers.

Verbatim wording from the response

“I am very aware ketamine can cause significant harm when misused, and this Government is concerned that the harms – including its degree of addictiveness and the possibility of irreversible bladder damage – may be significantly underestimated by those who use the drug. It is also particularly worrying that the misuse of ketamine amongst young people has grown in recent times. Through the Government’s Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer, we will continue to work closely with health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and its associated harms. Also, the Home Office will continue to work with our partners to discourage drug misuse and to alert people, particularly young people, about the dangers of ketamine.”

Source location

Response from the Home Office
Page 1 · response
Published 27 February 2025

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Carefully consider the Advisory Council’s recommendations before deciding how to proceed on ketamine classification.

Verbatim wording from the response

“As you may be aware, the Government is required to consider the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (“ACMD”) before making any changes to the classification of a controlled drug. I should also like to inform you that I wrote to the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, to formally commission an updated harms assessment of ketamine on 14 January. The ACMD is independent of the Government, but I have full confidence that it will consider the issue with due care and provide valuable advice. The Government will carefully consider the ACMD’s recommendations before making any decision on how to proceed.”

Source location

Response from the Home Office
Page 2 · response
Published 27 February 2025

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Commission an updated Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs assessment of ketamine harms.

Verbatim wording from the response

“As you may be aware, the Government is required to consider the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (“ACMD”) before making any changes to the classification of a controlled drug. I should also like to inform you that I wrote to the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, to formally commission an updated harms assessment of ketamine on 14 January. The ACMD is independent of the Government, but I have full confidence that it will consider the issue with due care and provide valuable advice. The Government will carefully consider the ACMD’s recommendations before making any decision on how to proceed.”

Source location

Response from the Home Office
Page 2 · response
Published 27 February 2025

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Changes to ketamine’s classification cannot be made until the legally required ACMD advice has been considered.

Verbatim wording from the response

“As you may be aware, the Government is required to consider the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (“ACMD”) before making any changes to the classification of a controlled drug. I should also like to inform you that I wrote to the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, to formally commission an updated harms assessment of ketamine on 14 January. The ACMD is independent of the Government, but I have full confidence that it will consider the issue with due care and provide valuable advice. The Government will carefully consider the ACMD’s recommendations before making any decision on how to proceed.”

Source location

Response from the Home Office
Page 2 · response
Published 27 February 2025

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026