HC Deb 23 April 1993 vol 223 cc228-30W
Mrs. Ann Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what public funding is made available to the Brook advisory centres; for what purpose those funds are made available; and if she will make a statement;

(2) what has been the net change in percentage terms in the real level of the funding made available by her Department to the Brook advisory centres in each year since such funding commenced; if she will indicate the net percentage change in the number of conceptions to girls under the age of sixteen which occurred in each of those years; and if she will make a statement on the effectiveness in terms of impact on teenage pregnancy rates of Government funding for the Brook advisory centres;

(3) what restrictions are placed on the extent to which the grant to the Brook advisory centres may be used for costs of legal actions.

Mr. Sackville

The information available is given in the tables. The core grant funding that the Department gives to Brook is a contribution towards the organisation's headquarters administrative costs. It may not be used for any other purpose. All 10 Brook branches receive income from local health authorities on whose behalf they provide clinic and counselling services to young people. Only 5 per cent. of Brook's clients are under 16. They have a key role to play in providing the responsible information and advice that young people need in relation to their sexual health generally, and in helping to achieve the "Health of the Nation" target of reducing the rate of conceptions amongst the under 16s by at least 50 per cent. by the year 2000.

Funding by the Department of Health to Brook Advisory Centres under Section 64 of the Health Service and Public Health Act 1968
Financial year Department of Health funding1 £ At 1992–93 prices £ Percentage change (+ or -) compared to previous year
1977–78 5,250 16,249 —
1978–79 15,750 43,963 + 170.6
1979–80 21,000 50,236 + 14.3
1980–81 21,000 42,456 -15.5
1981–82 30,000 55,308 + 30.3
1982–83 22,500 38,722 -30.0
1983–84 34,500 56,749 +46.5
1984–85 35,000 54,792 -3.4
1985–86 35,000 51,954 -5.2
1986–87 35,000 50,333 -3.1
1987–88 45,000 61,344 + 21.9
1988–89 45,000 57,177 -6.8
1989–90 45,000 53,653 -6.2
1990–91 65,000 71,753 + 33.7
1991–92 65,000 67,275 -6.2
1992–93 68,500 68,500 + 1.8
1 Since 1987 the Department has also given a total of £105,050 to Brook for specific projects, for example on AIDS, and in connection with "Health of the Nation".

Information about conception rates is available only on a calendar year and England and Wales basis and is therefore not directly comparable with the above table.

Conception rates for England and Wales Per 1,000 women aged 13 to 15
Calendar year Percentage change in conception rate compared to previous year
1977 -3.8
1978 -1.3
1979 0.0
1980 -5.3
1981 1.4
1982 8.3
1983 6.4
Calendar year Percentage change in conception rate compared to previous year
1984 3.6
1985 0.0
1986 1.2
1987 5.7
1988 2.2
1989 0.0
1990 6.4

Source: Birth statistics—OPCS.

Series FM1 Conceptions 1993.