Written question asked by Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 22 November 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 6 December 2017. It was answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy (Conservative) on Thursday, 30 November 2017 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the Care Quality Commission, published in January, that the Merseyside Clinic operated by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service was in breach of a number of safety guidelines; and what steps they will take to ensure that women attending that clinic receive safe abortions.

Answer: Following the inspection, a joint action plan between the Care Quality Commission (CQC), BPAS Merseyside, and Halton Clinical Commissioning Group was formulated to ensure all issues raised during the inspection were fully addressed. The CQC is monitoring the action plan through ongoing engagement with BPAS Merseyside. Overall, the CQC has found that improvements continue to be made at BPAS Merseyside both from a clinical and a governance perspective.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL3505
Session: 2017-19
Related items: Equalities update
Monday, 23 October 2017
Written statements
House of Lords
Subjects: Abortion Clinics Northern Ireland Merseyside Safety Out of area treatment British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk