Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to increase funding for the provision of practical support to women facing crisis pregnancies who want to keep their child.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services locally to support women considering whether to continue their pregnancy. The Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England (2013) sets out that women considering an abortion should be referred or signposted to services which provide impartial, accurate information and, if required, counselling on the options available. This includes National Health Service services and registered independent sector providers who can provide advice on the termination options available as well as information of alternatives to abortion.

The Framework is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-framework-for-sexual-health-improvement-in-england