To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department has made any additional funding available for pregnancy choices or post-pregnancy counselling support since the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 commenced on 31 March 2020.

Since before the introduction of the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No.2) Regulations 2020, my Department and the Public Health Agency (PHA) have contributed grant funding in the region of £137k per annum to Informing Choices NI (ICNI, formerly the Family Planning Association NI) to support the provision of certain sexual and reproductive health advice services, including with regard to pregnancy choices and counselling, as well as contraception, STIs, and sexual health and relationships education for people with learning disabilities. This includes a telephone helpline, web-based advice, information leaflets to GPs, GUM clinics, maternity units and community/voluntary groups and a three-option counselling service and post pregnancy counselling service.

I awarded a non-recurrent uplift in grant funding to all of the Department’s core-funded bodies in 2020, in recognition of the financial challenges faced by the voluntary and community sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, through which ICNI received a further £15k, although this was not specifically for pregnancy choices or counselling.

The advice and counselling service currently provided as part of the central access point operated for NI by the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in England.

The provision of advice, guidance and counselling will form a key component of an approved and commissioned abortion service, subject to available funding and business case approval.