Britain's teenage birth rates are the highest in Western Europe. Teenage mothers are more likely to suffer poorer socio-economic, educational and health outcomes. Teenage pregnancy is often a cause and a consequence of social exclusion and rates of teenage pregnancies are strongly correlated with levels of deprivation. The Social Exclusion Unit Report on Teenage Pregnancy, published in 1999, set out an action plan with the overall goal of halving the under-18 conception rate by 2010. The NHS Plan also sets an interim target of achieving a 15 percent reduction in this rate by 2004. The Reducing Health Inequalities section of the Priorities and Planning Framework includes a target to achieve agreed local teenage conception reduction targets while reducing the gap in rates between the worst fifth of wards and the average by at least a quarter in line with national targets. Local reduction targets have been agreed for each teenage pregnancy partnership, all of which are coterminous with top-tier local authority areas. PCTs are key members of these partnerships and make a major contribution to meeting the local targets. The cross-Government Teenage Pregnancy Strategy seeks to achieve targets through a wide-ranging programme of co-ordinated activity including improved advice and contraceptive services for young people.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Band 1 - poor | Value below 99.9% lower limit of expected distribution |
| Band 2 | Value between 99.9% and 97.5% lower limits of expected distribution |
| Band 3 | Value within the central 95% probability limits of expected distribution |
| Band 4 | Value between 99.9% and 97.5% higher limits of expected distribution |
| Band 5 - good | Value above higher 99.9% limit of expected distribution |