Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Women's Lives, Women's Rights: Strengthening Access to Contraception Beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic, published by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health on 10 September 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the accessibility of remote contraceptive services to marginalised populations; and what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of face-to-face services for people who experience obstacles in accessing remote services.

Ensuring equal access to contraception will be a key theme of our new Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy. Sexual and reproductive health services have remained open during the pandemic though some are temporarily reducing their face-to-face appointments and may only be able to see emergency or urgent cases in person. Services are maintaining access during this time through scaling up of online services including increasing eligibility through current provision or utilising a neighbours’ service for residents of another local authority.