Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show that teenage conception rates for under-18s fell by 1.4 per cent from 2003 to 2004, leading to an overall fall since 1998 of 11.1 per cent. The NHS Plan set an interim target of reducing under-18 conception rates by 15 per cent by the end of 2004, which has been missed. The decrease for under-16s since 1998 is 15.2 per cent.
Anne Weinstock, director of the supporting children and young people group at the Department for Education and Skills, told Local Government Chronicle conference delegates last week: "I asked my team last year to superimpose GCSE attainment onto teenage conceptions in areas where 40 per cent or less young people were getting five A to C GCSEs, and teenage pregnancies were a third higher in those areas."
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