Teenage pregnancy down - including in areas where Tories thought it was 54%

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Teenage pregnancies have fallen by 13.3% since 1998, new ONS conception stats show. The new data also show that the rate of under-16s becoming pregnant fell by 5.7% between 2007 and 2008. England’s under-18 conception rate in the final quarter of 2008 was 5.4% lower than the same quarter in 2007 and is the lowest fourth quarter rate since 1993.

To coincide with the new statistics, the government yesterday launched its new Teenage Pregnancy Strategy: Beyond 2010.

Last week, the Conservatives published a document which said that teenage pregnancy was at 54% in some areas, having failed to spot that they'd placed the decimal in the wrong place; it was actually 5.4%. In those same areas, teenage pregnancy has now been shown to have fallen again – by 15% since 1998, an even larger reduction than the national average. It is now down to 5.1%.

Children's minister Dawn Pimarolo said yesterday:

"Teenage pregnancy is no longer a rising problem. It is important that we recognise the progress made by many areas in driving down teenage pregnancy rates."

And Public Health minister Gillian Merron said:

"It's very encouraging to see that the teenage conception rate fell in 2008. The Government invested an additional £26.8 million on promoting contraception last year and these figures show that our investment in this, and other measures, is paying off."

The new strategy to tackle teenage pregnancy is based on what works abroad, and aims to give renewed focus to supporting young people before they become sexually active, including:

* Individual advice for young people

* Online advice for young people

* Increasing help for teachers

* Improving services in schools

* More support for parents

* Better training for the workforce 

* Consulting with the experts 

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