PUBLIC HEALTH AND ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVE SERVICES

That this House is extremely concerned about the proposed £200 million cuts to public health budgets this year; is alarmed that already stretched contraceptive care and services are likely to be at risk, leaving women without good access to a full range of contraceptive options that can allow them to plan for their families and avoid unintended and unwanted pregnancies; questions the rationale of these cuts when the Department of Health itself has said that £1 spent on contraception averts £11 in associated costs; and calls on the Government to work with local authorities to ensure that decisions are not taken that inadvertently lead to an increase in the number of unintended pregnancies and the considerable associated costs to individuals, families and society as a whole.