To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many girls under 16 years old became pregnant in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years. (264415)

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many women under 16 years became pregnant in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years. (264415)

Available figures are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth and/or stillbirth (a maternity) or a legal termination.

Numbers of conceptions to women aged under 16 in England, the North East Government Office Region (GOR) and the Tees Valley district, for the years 1998- 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the attached table. Figures for 2007 are provisional.

Information on conceptions is not routinely published for parliamentary constituencies. Hence figures cannot be provided for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency because of the risk of disclosing individual's information, due to small differences between the parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries. Figures are instead provided for Middlesbrough UA and Redcar and Cleveland UA for 1998-2007, in the attached table.