The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

The Government is committed to protecting freedom of expression and religion, while ensuring that individuals can access abortion services without harassment or intimidation.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, are made by local authorities to address specific issues in a defined area. The application of PSPOs, including around abortion facilities, is therefore a matter for local authorities.

On 31 October 2024, section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 came into force, introducing safe access zones around abortion clinics in England and Wales. Within these zones, certain conduct, including behaviour intended to influence, obstruct or cause harassment or distress, is an offence.

More broadly, individuals are free to pray in public spaces, including public squares, subject to the general law. Any restrictions must be lawful, necessary and proportionate, and decisions on enforcement are for the police and courts.

All women in England and Wales should have access to safe, regulated abortions on the National Health Service under our current laws.

Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults accessing their services. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.

As part of standards set by the Care Quality Commission, abortion services must be able to prove that they have processes in place to ensure that all women and girls are seeking services voluntarily. The Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures also require staff to be able to identify those who require more support than can be provided in the routine abortion service setting, including where there is evidence of coercion.

Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 introduced Safe Access Zones outside abortion clinics in England and Wales meaning that it is illegal for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment or distress to someone using or working at these premises. The law applies within a 150 metre radius of the abortion service provider.

All privacy notices will be reviewed and updated, if required, to reflect any changes to the technical infrastructure that supports the collection and processing of abortion data.

In line with the Department’s required standard operating procedures (RSOPs) for the approval of independent sector abortion clinics, abortion providers should make women aware of how the contents of the statutory HSA4 form sent to the Chief Medical Officer will be used and shared by the Department. The RSOPs include a suggested privacy notice to share with anyone undergoing abortion care which provides a clear understanding of what data is shared with the Department, the legal basis for collecting their data, and how the Department will manage their data.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women acting in relation to their own pregnancies. However, it does not change the Abortion Act 1967, statutory reporting of abortions to the Chief Medical Officer, or the provision of lawful abortion services.

The solution is being designed following UK Government guidance for building and managing digital services, including but not limited to Government Digital Service standards, the National Cyber Security Centre Cyber Assessment Framework, and Departmental data protection policies. By following this approach, the Department is identifying, recording, escalating, and/or mitigating risks to ensure identifiable data is being stored, accessed, and managed in-line with standards outlined above.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women acting in relation to their own pregnancies. However, it does not change the Abortion Act 1967 or the provision of lawful abortion services. Therefore, there was not a need to review the procurement specification for the Abortion Notification Service.

There are no sub-processors on the relevant contract to deliver a new Abortion Notification Service. We are not currently expecting to approve any sub-processors under this contract.

The Department requires that the new service being built to collect and process abortion data includes a secure location to store frozen data extracts, namely datasets that have been locked to prevent further modifications, that can be accessed by the Abortion Statistics Team to prepare statistical publications. The detailed technical approach is still being worked through.

The structure of the datasets is still to be finalised but will be stored in a structured format that supports the Statistics Team. Further information on data collection practices are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2023/guide-to-abortion-statistics-england-and-wales-2023#data-collection-and-quality

Any access to identifiable data given will be based on a ‘least privilege’ access model, which means data access is limited to the minimum necessary for someone to carry out their prescribed duties.

The Department is currently working on an engagement plan to support abortion care providers transition to the new abortion data collection service. In line with the Department’s required standard operating procedures (RSOPs) for the approval of independent sector abortion clinics, abortion providers should make women aware of how the contents of the statutory HSA4 form sent to the Chief Medical Officer will be used and shared by the Department. The RSOPs include a suggested privacy notice to share with anyone undergoing abortion care which provides a clear understanding of what data is shared with the Department, the legal basis for collecting their data, and how the Department will manage their data.