Government measures in England and Wales

In England the Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in 1998 in a coordinated attempt to tackle both the causes and the consequences of teenage pregnancy with two targets:

• To halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010, and establish a firm downward trend in the under-16 rate; and

• To increase the proportion of teenage parents in education, training or employment to 60% by 2010, to reduce their risk of long-term social exclusion

In September 2006 the Government published Teenage Pregnancy: Accelerating the Strategy to 2010 and in July 2007 it published Teenage Parents Next Steps. Both provided statistical analysis of the situation in England and made recommendations about best practice in support for teenage parents – mums and dads – and for the prevention of teenage pregnancy. The latter document places a heavy emphasis on additional support for teenage parents.

Delivery of the strategy has largely been the devolved responsibility of local authorities, Regional Health Authorities and PCTs and it is clear that this has meant a wide divergence in rates of success across the country. In the last year the Government’s emphasis has shifted towards trying to promote best practice. The Government openly admits that ‘It is not easy for the Government and local public services to influence young people’s decisions about their sexual behaviour’.

Likewise, one of the objectives of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategic Framework for Promoting Sexual Health in Wales is to reduce teenage pregnancy. Work to implement the Strategy began in 2000.

Recent initiatives have included: a campaign to raise awareness of emergency contraception; new guidance on best practice for the provision of effective contraception and sexual health advice services for young people issued in July 2001; the setting up of the all Wales Sexual Health Network to disseminate best practice; and the development of local sexual health strategies and service specifications.

In addition, the Welsh Assembly’s Personal and social education framework for 7 to 19 year olds in Wales (2008) is clear about how it views sex education: ‘The context for exploring the many aspects of sexuality is that of responsible, appropriate and healthy personal relationships. Sex and relationships education is required to be placed within a clear framework of values and an awareness of the law on sexual behaviour.’ The difficulty is that with such an amorphous and value-free statement of intent there is little chance of challenging the problem of teenage pregnancy in many Valleys communities.