[2nd Allocated Day]

I need to make a little progress. The Bill gives new public health functions to local government. In some cases, the steps that local authorities must take will be prescribed in regulations, which include the provision of sexual health services and abortion services. That will be a duty of local authorities and not of clinical commissioning groups—some of the amendments in the group have caused confusion about that. We intend to specify in regulations that local authorities must ensure that part of what they commission is a choice of independent counselling. Amendments 1 and 2 would fragment the service by splitting responsibility for the commissioning of counselling and for the commissioning of the rest of the service. If they and amendment 1221 were to be made, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities would have different but overlapping duties in relation to independent counselling, and the definition of ““independent”” would be different for each. We would have a fragmented service, which none of us wants. Most women go to their GP, which is not the same as a clinical commissioning group, or they self-refer to an abortion provider, so amendment 1221 would not work. None the less, the amendments have highlighted some important issues. There are indeed no quality standards for abortion counselling, and women are not always offered the opportunity to have counselling. It is worth repeating that we want counselling to be provided by appropriately qualified people who offer non-judgmental, therapeutic support, and who act according to their professional judgment, in the best interests of their clients, without undue influence or regard to outside interests. I know there has been considerable interest in exactly what ““independent”” should mean and in whether it must automatically mean independence from the abortion service provider in every possible way. That is not a simple question, and it is certainly not as simple a question as the amendments imply. There are permutations of financial, organisational and clinical independence to be considered. For example, would the amendments mean that a self-employed counsellor who had a contract with a charitable abortion provider for two days a week was independent on the other three days, or not? Before we legislate, we want to think through all the implications—including financial and legal—of a definition. We also want to consult widely and publicly as part of our proposals to help us ensure that we really improve services for women at what we all know is an extremely difficult time in their lives. We need to consult the public; indeed, we need to consult the women about whom we are talking. We have heard passionate contributions this afternoon, and I want to harness and corral them to create the calm and balance that we all want to be established, so that we can consult and arrive at the best conclusions. I also stress that the regulations would be subject to affirmative resolution. Whether women want to take up the offer of independent counselling will be a matter for them, but we are clear that the offer should be made. The hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) mentioned the post-abortion period. That is a critical time on which there is little focus.