The under-18 conception rate was 40.4 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17 in 2006. The rate has fallen steadily since 1998, when the figure was 46.6. In 2005, the previous year, it was 40.4.
Between 1998 and 2006, 89 per cent of local authorities saw a reduction in under-18 conceptions, compared with 83 per cent in 2005. A league table released alongside the figures showed that Torbay, Stockton-on-Tees, Enfield, Norfolk and Leeds continued to have "unacceptably" high teenage pregnancy rates.
Julie Bentley, chief executive officer of sexual health charity fpa, said: "This demonstrates that providing dedicated sexual health services for young people is the right approach to reduce teenage pregnancy rates."
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