Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has assessed the effectiveness of MSI Reproductive Choices UK’s enhanced safeguarding pathways for telemedicine abortion services; what steps her Department is taking to help ensure (a) women and girls are being provided with adequate care when not seeing a doctor and (b) doctors can verify that telemedicine patients are not subject to coercion; and what information her Department holds on how MSI Reproductive Choices UK ensures abortions are not occurring beyond the legal time limit of ten weeks' gestation.

While no specific assessment has been made, all abortion providers must comply with legal requirements and take regard of any statutory guidance related to children, young people and vulnerable adults. All independent sector abortion providers are inspected by the Care Quality Commission and safeguarding systems and processes are included in its termination of pregnancy inspection framework. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse in adult women and know how to respond. This includes identifying women who may require more support, such as those who are subject to sexual violence or poor social support or where there is evidence of coercion.

The Department commissioned the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to develop new safeguarding guidance for those aged under 18 years old accessing telemedicine abortion services, which was published on 30 August. The guidance will ensure there is consistency across all abortion services and providers in the implementation of robust safeguarding pathways. All abortions performed in England must be notified to the Chief Medical Officer within 14 days. Cases that exceed the legal limit of 10 weeks gestation and above are identified once HSA4 abortion notification forms are submitted by practitioners to the Chief Medical Officer. The Department will contact the practitioner to confirm these details and the abortion notification system is updated, if necessary.