§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the fact that there was a 3 per cent, decrease in the percentage of legal abortions on women resident in England and Wales carried out by the National Health Service in 1979, if he will take action to halt this decline and to improve National Health Service abortion services.
§ Dr. VaughanDespite a decrease in the proportion of women having abortions in the NHS between 1978 and 1979, the total number increased slightly over this period.
It is for health authorities to decide the level of provision for abortion in the light of local needs and priorities, but I am anxious that NHS abortion services should be improved where possible, and I have commended to health authorities the use of day-care in cases of early termination as a means of using resources more efficiently.
It is open to health authorities to make arrangements with the private sector for treatment of NHS patients, and many already do so.