§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the statement by the Chief Medical Officer that there is strong evidence for the effectiveness of sex and relationships education. [162493]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonEffective sex and relationships education (SRE) is essential if young people are to make responsible and well informed decisions about their lives. It should teach young people to understand1522W human sexuality and to respect themselves and others. It enables young people to mature, to build up confidence and self-esteem and understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity.
The position with regard to SRE in the Chief Medical Officer's Update is informed by high quality reviews of the international evidence. The most recent of these (Swann, C., Bowe, K., McCormick, G., and Kosmin, M. (2003) Evidence-Based briefing paper on teenage pregnancy and parenthood. Health Development Agency) considered the evidence from all high quality systematic and other reviews and meta-analyses published since 1996. They concluded that 'good' evidence (for example, drawn from high quality reviews) exists for the effectiveness of 'school-based sex education', particularly linked to contraceptive services (measured against knowledge, attitudes, delaying sexual activity and/or reducing pregnancy rates). In contrast, there was no good evidence for the effectiveness of abstinence based education (which focuses only on promoting sexual abstinence).
The Health Development Agency was asked by the Department to undertake a review of the research evidence underpinning the teenage pregnancy strategy. They reviewed systematic reviews, meta-analyses and literature reviews of what works to prevent teenage pregnancy, which have been published since 1996. To be included reviews needed to meet strict quality criteria. This document was endorsed by an expert reference group and was subject to external peer review.