§ Ms ChurchTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of the psychological effects of infertility; [102678]
59W(2) how many written representations have been received by his Department in respect of infertility treatment and service provision since May 1997; [102675]
(3) when he will announce the results of his Department's survey of health authority provision of infertility services; and if he will make a statement; [102676]
(4) if he will provide guidance to health authorities as to their responsibilities in respect of the funding of infertility guidance. [102677]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 16 December 1999]: The Department has received 319 written representations in respect of infertility treatment since May 1999.
It is planned that a short report detailing the results of the Department's survey of health authority provision of infertility services will be available in February 2000. The results of that survey are currently being considered by Ministers.
The Department has not commissioned any research specifically on the psychological effects of infertility. However, we do fully appreciate the distress suffered by infertile couples. This is clearly evident from the written representations received by the Department.