£20m strategy fails to cut down teenage pregnancies

Teenage pregnancy rates are not falling fast enough to meet Government targets, new figures show today. Despite a small decline in the numbers of teenage girls falling pregnant in 2002 compared to the previous year, the Government is set to miss a pledge to halve teenage conceptions by 2010.

In 1998 when the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched there were 7,945 conceptions in under-16s.

The Government has ploughed money into campaigns to bring down this number but new figures show 7,875 conceptions in under-16s in 2002.

Over £20m was invested to provide better education, guidance on contraception and adverts, but conception rates in girls between 15 and 18 even rose slightly between 2001 and 2002. It is the first time the rate has gone up since 1998.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: " The Government said they would cut teenage pregnancy but that turned out to be all talk. These figures demonstrate how little progress has been made."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said: "The teenage conception rates are deeply worrying.

"The Government have a huge amount of work to do - the safe sex message is just not getting through to today's teenagers.

"These young people should be given the information and support they need to discuss sex and relationships and to understand the dangers they face."

A spokesman for the DfES said: " This plateauing of under-18 conception rates reveals the need to redouble our efforts in areas that record persistently high teenage pregnancy rates."

This would would include extra sexual health training in schools, he added.