Agenda item

This item is to consider the Scrutiny Review Report  on Access to Contraception.

The report is a result of the review completed by the working group comprised of Members of the Health Select Commission through evidence gathering conducted between March and October 2025 and details the proposed recommendations subsequently agreed.

The Chair introduced the Access to Contraception Review Report for consideration by the Commission. Members were reminded that the report represented the outcome of a review undertaken by several current and previous Health Select Commission Members .

The Chair explained that as such, they did not intend to provide an extensive introduction invited any members who had participated in the review, along with the Governance Advisor who had support the review, to offer comments.

The Governance Advisor explained that the report had been produced collaboratively by Health Select Commission Members  who formed the Working Group.  They noted that Members, Officers and partners had been  highly engaged and dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to the review and recommendations. They also clarified the process for progressing the report through the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) and subsequently Cabinet, and summarised what the Commission was asked to consider in the report’s findings. They summarised that the recommendations and long-term broad ambitions set out in the report were designed to influence future service improvements and strategic direction regarding access to contraception within the Borough.

Councillor Duncan commented that the review had been a particularly interesting piece of work to participate in and formally recorded her thanks to Kerry Grinsill?Clinton, the Governance Advisor supporting the Health Select Commission, for the considerable effort they had invested in coordinating Members and supporting their work. They emphasised that producing a review report of such detail and quality must have been extremely challenging, but that the resulting report, both in content and presentation, was of an extremely high standard.

The Chair Concurred with Councillor Duncan’s sentiments.

Councillor Havard advised that they echoed that praise, and recalled that they had tabled the item for consideration some years prior so was pleased to see the report realised. Councillor Havard explained that they had learned a great deal during the review about the realities of contraception provision in Rotherham, ranging from services delivered through MESMAC to those available in local communities, and encouraged officers and partners to continue the important work.

Councillor Yasseen noted that although they had not been part of the review, she had closely examined the report and wished to endorse previous comments regarding its value. They reflected that issues such as contraception were often taken for granted, with an assumption that provision was readily accessible to all who needed it. However, the review had revealed significant postcode?based inequalities, particularly in the North and Central parts of the borough, where not all three main contraceptive options were consistently available. They also noted that the reports findings highlighted a crucial misconception, that residents often assumed that information provided by the Council or the NHS would be up?to?date, accurate and reliable whereas the review identified instances where incorrect or outdated information was shared or published, and suggested that more robust checks and balances were necessary. They felt the recommendations could have reflected this more strenuously.

Councillor Yasseen referred to the annual school lifestyle survey, a national survey involving large numbers of young people. They advised that recent results showed that amongst Year 10 pupils, young people under 16 who reported being sexually active, almost 40 percent were not using contraception. They stressed that this was a real and pressing issue for Rotherham, and that the data strongly suggested the need to link the problem of poor contraceptive access with broader concerns about sexual health, education and risk-taking behaviour.

The Governance Advisor confirmed that the Council’s Commissioning Service had provided a written briefing in support of the review and had participated in evidence gathering sessions through which Members had been advised that that such data had been taken into account when commissioning services. They added  that Members of the Working Group had also recognised the importance of understanding young people’s perspectives and behaviours and  had attempted to secure first?hand youth voice input for the review. Unfortunately, time constraints and other factors had prevented that on this occasion however, this had prompted further discussions with services about how to incorporate meaningful youth engagement in future reviews.

Resolved:-

That the Health Select Commission:

1.    Noted the content of the Access to Contraception Review Report.

2.    Supported option C, to support the recommendations and long-term broad ambitions as described at Paragraph 5 of the review report.

3.    Supported the report being presented to OSMB, and subsequently Cabinet in accordance with the agreed preferred option.