§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now publish a list of approved pregnancy advisory bureaux.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe Select Committee on Abortion was re-established by the House of Commons on 9th February and published its first report of this Session on Wedneday 28th July. In its Third Special Report last Session the Committee recommended that
1025WAs a matter of urgency, the Secretaries of State shall provide lists of those pregnancy referral agencies and pregnancy advice bureaux which they consider are satisfactory, and shall make their approval of places for the purposes of section 1 of the Abortion Act 1967 conditional on their non-acceptance of patients referred by unlisted agencies and bureaux".This recommendation was accepted by my predecessor my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn in a statement to the House on 21st October 1975. —[Vol. 364, c. 1261–1268.] My Department has been conducting detailed inspection and investigation of referral agencies and pregnancy advice bureaux wishing to be registered, and I have reached decisions on those agencies and bureaux to be approved which will be announced after a period to allow for representations from those not approved. I have deliberately awaited the Select Committee report, not wishing to prejudge its recommendations. I noted that the Select Committee, while appreciating the response made on 21st October believes that the need for legislation remains. It also makes detailed recommendations about the form such legislation should take. This recommendation and the others will be considered carefully by the House of Commons as a whole, and my decision to implement the approved list as foreshadowed on 21st October in no way prejudges the full examination of the Select Committee's report.