Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has issued to schools on the potential adverse effects of emergency contraception being provided to girls under the age of 16 (a) by school staff and (b) on school premises.
Advice to healthcare professionals, local commissioners and providers of healthcare on the provision of emergency contraception to girls under the age of 16 is contained in recommendation 5 of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) public health guideline on sexually transmitted infections and under-18 conceptions prevention and recommendation 9 of the NICE public health guideline on contraceptive services for under 25s. The guidelines can be viewed on the NICE website at the following links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph3/chapter/1-Recommendations
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph51/chapter/1-Recommendations
In addition, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) has published clinical guidance for health professional on the use of emergency contraception. This guideline covers potential adverse side effects and is available on the FSRH website at the following link:
https://www.fsrh.org/documents/ceu-clinical-guidance-emergency-contraception-march-2017
The Department has not issued separate guidance to schools on this issue.