§ Lord Braine of Wheatleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the source of the information published in the report of the Department of Health The Health and Social Services Programmes: The Government's Expenditure Plans 1998–99 (Cm 3912, page 22) that "England has one of the highest rates of conception among under-16 year-olds in the developed world". [HL1552]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington)An article published inPopulation Trends no 74: Teenage conceptions and fertility in England and Wales 1971–91 (Winter 1993) compares teenage fertility rates for western and northern European countries and the United States of America. This showed that in 1990 the teenage fertility rate for England and Wales was exceeded only by the USA. The figures remain similar in Council of Europe 1996 (Recent Demographic Developments in Europe). Copies of both publications are available in the Library.