§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Social Exclusion Unit's report on teenage pregnancy. [15152]
§ Yvette CooperAll of the 30 action points set out in the Social Exclusion Unit's report on Teenage Pregnancy are being implemented and over a half have been completed.
Early indications are that the implementation of the strategy is yielding positive results towards the two main goals of halving the rate of under-18 conceptions by 2010 and increasing the participation of teenage parents in education, training and employment. The under-18 conception rate has been on a downward trend for the last eight quarters for which data are available, and fell by 4 per cent, during the first year of implementation. The proportion of teenage mothers aged 16 to 19-years in education or work increased from 16 per cent, in 1997 to 31 percent, in 2000.