Officials play down pregnancy decrease

The figures, released by the Office of National Statistics, show the average rate for York has fallen for nine successive quarters, meaning it now has one of the lowest teenage conception rates of any unitary authority in the country.

As revealed in the Yorkshire Post yesterday, there has been a national 5.9 per cent decline in pregnancy rates among under-18s.

But York Council’s executive member for children and young people, Councillor Carol Runciman, admitted some parts of the county were still having great difficulty in mirroring the decrease – and warned the numbers will prove hard to bring down.

“Because York is a fairly compact area it is easier to get information to young people than it is in other parts of North Yorkshire,” she said. “This is a real success for York but there are still major challenges in the county.

“There will always be pockets of deprivation and people slipping through the net.

“But there has to be constant work to make sure that with each generation that comes through the same work is done.”

Paul Murphy, the assistant director of adults, children and education services at York Council, added: “These figures are testament to the hard work and dedication of all those across the city working with young people.

“I am confident that our continuing work will maintain this momentum.”

The highest teenage pregnancy rates in North Yorkshire are believed to be in Scarborough. While latest figures show the rates fell by 21.2 per cent between 1998 and 2008, they are still just above the national average.

Rates in North Yorkshire as a whole have fallen by 19.4 per cent over the same period.