Julian Brazier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Brazier on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the prevalence of the pre-signing of abortion (HSA1) certificates since the conclusion of the Care Quality Commission’s 2012 investigations into abortion clinics.

Jane Ellison

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) previously investigated the prevalence of the pre-signing of abortion (HSA1) certificates due to a specific request in 2012. The CQC has put in place information for its own staff to help identify if pre-signing or other instances of non-compliance are taking place to make sure that such cases would be picked up during inspections. This is in line with how the CQC would handle any information of concern identified during an inspection.

If a CQC inspection identifies pre-signing or other instances of non-compliance with the Health and Social Care Act and Regulations then appropriate regulatory action will be taken. This includes reporting any concerns in relation to termination of pregnancy practice to the Department. The Department has not received any notification of pre-signing of abortion certificates from the CQC since these inspections.