§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will take steps to involve parents in his proposed campaign to motivate teenagers to seek contraceptive advice; how he proposes to respect the rights of parents over their children's health and welfare in that campaign; and if he will guarantee that as part of the campaign he will seek to ensure that parents will always be consulted on the difficulties of their under-age children;
(2) if he will ensure that in any publicity material, sex education kits, contraceptive packs and advertising produced in furtherance of the campaign to motivate teenagers to seek contraceptive advice, the full facts of the harmful consequences of teenage sexual intercourse are fully explained, including the law on the age of consent;
(3) if he will ensure that in his proposed campaign to motivate teenagers to seek contraceptive advice, a major part of the campaign is devoted to the discouragement of promiscuity and premature sexual intercourse;
(4) how much of his proposed campaign to motivate teenagers to seek contraceptive advice will be devoted to sex education in the context of marriage and family life and how much to the mechanics of contraception.
§ Dr. VaughanThe campaign will not be an isolated one but will be an extension of the Health Education Council's continuing work on the prevention of unwanted268W pregnancies. The Department has asked the council to concentrate its efforts on teenagers later this year because of our deep concern about the increasing numbers of unwanted teenage pregnancies. DHSS Ministers will be closely involved in decisions on the content of the advertising to be used and will be particularly concerned to ensure that it does not encourage promiscuity or premature sexual activity. There will probably be advertising in national newspapers and magazines read by teenagers.
Teaching aids or similar material will not be involved. Thus the campaign will not cover all the important matters to which my hon. Friend refers. It will not be directed at children under 16, but I have already made my views clear—in the Department's revised guidance on family planning services—that unless there are exceptional circumstances parents should be informed when advice is given to this group.