§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to revisit their teenage family planning strategy in the light of research conducted by David Paton of the University of Nottingham Business School from which he concludes that there is no evidence linking greater access to family planning with a reduction in under-age conceptions or abortions [HL3809]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathInternational research and more recent statistics contradict the claims made in this paper. A comprehensive review of international research shows that the provision of specialist youth contraceptive services increases the use of contraception without increasing sexual activity.
Research also shows that the most effective strategy for decreasing teenage conception rates is a multifaceted approach of which access to youth specific contraceptive services is a key factor. Our Teenage Pregnancy Strategy encompasses this approach, including helping young people to resist peer pressure to have early sex, improving sex and relationship education and acces to effective services, and involving parents and the wider community.
Early signs of the strategy's impact are encouraging with figures for 2000 showing a 6.2 per cent reduction from 1998 in both under-18 and under-16 conception rates.