§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement indicating those provisions in his departments circular, "Health Services Management Family Planning Services for Young People", which govern the situation in which contraceptives may be prescribed for minors(a) without parental consent and (b) without first discussing the situation with the child's usual general practitioner; and if he will identify the steps which are taken by his Department to ensure that these provisions are met by those providing contraceptive services. [21283]
§ Mr. HoramThe appendix to the circular sets out in paragraph 3 the criteria to be satisfied in providing contraceptive advice and/or treatment to young people under 16 without parental knowledge or consent. Paragraph 4 states that the doctor must use his clinical judgment to decide if these criteria are satisfied. Paragraph 4 also states that a doctor who is not the young person's GP would be advised, with the young person's agreement, to discuss his action with the GP involved.
To ensure that these guidelines are fully understood, the British Medical Association in partnership with other medical and voluntary organisations has produced advice for health professionals on this issue. This guidance makes it clear that a young person must be strongly encouraged to involve his or her parents and their reasons for not wishing to do so should be fully explored.
§ Mrs. WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of girls aged under 16 who were prescribed contraceptives in the latest year for which figures are available; what estimate he has made of the number of those girls to whom such prescriptions were given without parental knowledge; and if he will make a statement. [21282]
§ Mr. HoramDetails are not held centrally of the number of young women under 16 prescribed contraceptives, or if they were advised or treated without their parents' knowledge or consent as specified in the Department's 1986 guidelines.