HC Deb 12 February 1986 vol 91 cc955-7 3.32 pm
Mr. Archy Kirkwood (Roxburgh and Berwickshire)

(by private notice) asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidelines his Department proposes to issue following the GMC's advice to doctors regarding the circumstances in which they involve the parents of under-16-year-old patients when prescribing contraceptives.

The Minister for Health (Mr. Barney Hayhoe)

As the House is aware, the existing DHSS guidance on this issue is being revised to take account of the Law Lords' judgments and the wide range of views expressed on the matter. The revised guidance will advise those doctors and others concerned about the considerations that they need to have in mind when giving contraceptive advice or treatment to under-16-year-olds. I will, of course, also take into account the new guidance approved by the General Medical Council yesterday. I hope to issue the revised DHSS guidance shortly.

Mr. Kirkwood

Will the right hon. Gentleman apply his mind to issuing the guidance quickly? I believe that powers must be available to doctors, to involve parents in exceptional circumstances, but there is worry and anxiety in the BMA, and a hiatus has been caused by the GMC ruling. Will the right hon. Gentleman end that hiatus, because it is in no one's interest that girls of 16 and under should continue to be exposed to the risk of pregnancy?

Mr. Hayhoe

The GMC is an independent statutory body, for which the Government are not accountable in any way. Therefore, it is not appropriate for me to comment on the advice that it gives to the medical profession. I have said that I hope to issue the DHSS guidance shortly.

Dame Jill Knight (Birmingham, Edgbaston)

What does my right hon. Friend make of the statement of the president of the GMC that he still hopes that the vast majority of doctors will not inform parents? When my right hon. Friend is considering guidelines, will he bear in mind the weight of evidence that adverse medical effects can be present among young girls, particularly if they are receiving other medical treatment from their doctors? Will he insist that doctors at least tell GPs?

Mr. Hayhoe

I am not aware of the statement to which my hon. Friend refers. I hope that no one in the House, or outside, would seek to undermine or diminish parental responsibility in these matters in any way.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich)

Will the Minister be very clear when he is writing his guidelines that if 16-year-olds are asked by the doctor concerned whether they want their parents told, and they make it clear that they do not, it is essential that their confidentiality should be respected? If that is not so, and if the girls are not told that, we shall get more and more illegitimate children through there being no faith in the confidentiality of the consultation.

Mr. Hayhoe

The position is that confidentiality must be for the individual doctor, guided by the advice of the General Medical Council.

Mr. Harry Greenway (Ealing, North)

Does my hon. Friend not accept that it is in the best interests of the underage girl that parental responsibility and family stability should be fostered by the new guidelines which he will introduce? Does he not agree that doctors should be under an obligation to tell the parents of girls who are being placed upon the pill that that is happening, rather than having that right conferred upon them? This will in itself give proper protection to all girls. Is that not what we should be seeking to do?

Mr. Hayhoe

I think it very important that nothing is done to diminish or undermine parental responsibility in this matter.

Mr. Eric Deakins (Walthamstow)

Is the Minister confident that the revised guidance will serve to reduce the appalling number of teenage pregnancies?

Mr. Hayhoe

I am concerned at the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies and the number of abortions. I think hon. Members in all parts of the House will be concerned about the numbers, and I would not wish the guidance which is given by my Department to make matters worse. The intention of the guidance is to take account of the Law Lords' judgment on this matter, and to take into account the social and moral concern that has been widely expressed on this issue.

Mrs. Anna McCurley (Renfrew, West and Inverclyde)

Does my hon. Friend not think that this institutionalisation of a breach of confidentiality on a subjective judgment is the thin end of the wedge for general practitioners and medical practitioners? Young girls who go to them are socially responsible. Despite what my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) said, it has nothing to do with parents whether there are adverse or non-adverse effects on children or young people who are prescribed contraceptives; it is a matter of clinical judgment. That is not affected by whether parents know or do not know.

Mr. Hayhoe

I received only this morning the revised guidance which the General Medical Council approved yesterday and have not had time to give it the careful consideration which it deserves. I believe in these matters that careful consideration is much preferred to instant comment.

Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington)

Is the Minister aware that many of us in the Life lobby have found the position of Victoria Gillick very hard to stomach, and that that is one of the issues which has divided many of us? Is he aware that the General Medical Council's guidance note may be an excellent compromise?

Mr. Hayhoe

Rather than comment upon the guidance which was approved by the GMC yesterday, I believe that it would be right for me to give it careful consideration, and I shall take it into account along with the other matters that I have described before I issue the revised DHSS guidance, which I hope to do shortly.

Dr. John G. Blackburn (Dudley, West)

Does my right hon. Friend agree that there are hundreds of thousands of caring parents who wish to know what will be the position of 13 and 14-year-old children in the revised guidelines? At that stage in their lives they need all the love and care of a secure home and the knowledge that their families care.

Mr. Hayhoe

The stability of family relationships and parental responsibility are matters that we must all take fully into account.

Ms. Jo Richardson (Barking)

Is the Minister aware that many young girls consult their parents but that many find that they cannot? I echo the outrage of the British Medical Association at the confusion which the General Medical Council's guidelines will cause for doctors and their patients. The guidelines make the situation worse than it was before Mrs. Gillick brought her case. They provide virtually a licence for doctors to do as they like.

Will the Minister clarify the fact that a young girl seeking advice on contraception will have to talk to her doctor before she knows whether he will inform her parents? Surely this uncertainty will mean that she will not consult him at all. She will not do so unless she has some sort of assurance beforehand. What does the Minister propose to do—we look forward to receiving his guidelines—to improve the service for young people to avoid the unwanted pregnancies to which he referred? In 1983—the most recent year for which he has given me figures—over half of these unwanted pregnancies were terminated.

Mr. Nicholas Soames (Crawley)

Tell them not do it.

Mr. Hayhoe

I am glad that the hon. Lady is awaiting the revised guidance, which I shall be issuing after having given careful consideration to the guidance issued and approved by the General Medical Council yesterday.

Mrs. Elaine Kellett-Bowman (Lancaster)

Does my right hon. Friend accept that the very thought that parents might be informed by the doctor will be a substantial deterrent to girls indulging in under-age sex? Given the extremely alarming figures that are now emerging, and which the House debated only recently, of cervical cancer among the very young, would it not be very desirable to have this deterrent in situ?

Mr. Hayhoe

I note what my hon. Friend has said, as I have noted the remarks of hon. Members in all parts of the House on this important issue. I shall take all views into account in preparing the revised guidance that I hope to issue shortly.