Teenage pregnancy - Conceptions below age 18 (change in rate)

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Percentage change in the under-18 conception rate between 1998 and 2001.

Rationale
Britain’s teenage birth rates are the highest in Western Europe. Teenage mothers are more likely to suffer poorer socio-economic, educational and health outcomes. Teenage pregnancy is often a cause and a consequence of social exclusion and rates of teenage pregnancies are strongly correlated with levels of deprivation. The Social Exclusion Unit Report on Teenage Pregnancy, published in 1999, set out an action plan with the overall goal of halving the under-18 conception rate by 2010. The NHS Plan also sets an interim target of achieving a 15 percent reduction in this rate by 2004. The Reducing Health Inequalities section of the Priorities and Planning Framework includes a target to achieve agreed local teenage conception reduction targets while reducing the gap in rates between the worst fifth of wards and the average by at least a quarter in line with national targets. The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy seeks to achieve these targets through a wide ranging programme of co-ordinated activity including improved advice and contraceptive services for young people.

Thresholds

Legend
Significantly below average	1	band e - the probability of this level of deterioration happening by chance is less than 1%
Below average	2	band d - the probability of this level of deterioration happening by chance is less than 5% but more than 1%
Average	3	band c - the level of improvement or deterioration is not statistically significant
Above average	4	band b - the probability of this level of improvement happening by chance is less than 5% and greater than 1%
Significantly above average	5	band a - the probability of this level of improvement happening by chance is less than 1%

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