§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps have been taken to ensure that her Department's guidelines and arrangements for counselling on abortion, have been followed in each district health authority;
(2) if she will list the applications made by local authorities for the funding of pilot projects concerned with counselling on abortion as envisaged under health circular HC(77)26 together with the name of the health authority, the sum requested, the year of application, whether or not funding was granted and the sum granted.
§ Mr. SackvilleHealth circular (77)26 was issued in 1977 following the report of the Lane committee on the working of the Abortion Act 1967. The arrangements introduced at that time for funding training from central funds were designed to enhance existing local training facilities through pilot projects, if needed. The arrangements were not intended to be permanent or long-running. Records of take-up are no longer available. It is now the responsibility of local management to ensure that staff are properly trained in counselling skills where this is relevant to their work.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the number of inspections of each of the places approved for the purposes of section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 since they were first approved under that section.
§ Mr. SackvilleThis information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Once approval is given under632W section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967, those places using all of their beds for abortions are visited at least twice a year. Other approved places have at least one visit a year.