§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the price of emergency contraception upon the extent of its use; and if he will make a statement. [41885]
780W
§ Yvette CooperDirect sale of emergency contraception in pharmacies has provided a welcome additional point of access to emergency contraception. Data are not collected on over the counter pharmacy sales of emergency contraception. Supply of a pharmacy medicine outside national health service arrangements is a private transaction and payment is therefore required. The cost is entirely a matter for the product licence holder and community pharmacies.
We do however recognise that the cost of this product may be a barrier for some women and that emergency contraception must continue to be widely available under NHS arrangements. Emergency contraception continues to be available free of charge, on prescription, from general practitioners, contraceptive clinics, youth clinics, and walk-in centres. In addition pharmacists in some areas are supplying emergency contraception free of charge under a patient group direction. We welcome the introduction of these schemes and have recently provided funding to 14 areas to enable further pharmacy schemes to be developed.