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Contraceptives: Health Education

Volume 503: debated on Wednesday 6 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what cost to the public purse his Department's campaign on contraception, launched on 30 November 2009 was developed; what funding his Department plans to provide to support the campaign in the financial years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and by what mechanisms his Department plans to evaluate the effectiveness of that campaign. (309208)

Estimated advertising expenditure to date on the ‘Contraception. Worth Talking About’ campaign is £1,218,000. Estimated advertising costs for further activity planned for February 2010 are approximately £1,513,000. Budgets for 2010-11 and 2011-12 are currently under review and therefore no amounts have yet been allocated to campaign work.

A framework for evaluating the campaign is being developed to measure its effectiveness both to meet long-term objectives (reducing teenage pregnancy rates) and shorter-term changes in attitude and behaviour (which should in turn impact on the longer-term objectives). The evaluation is expected to be based on econometric modelling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of demand for NHS contraceptive services of his Department's campaign on contraception, launched on 30 November 2009; what assessment he has made of the capacity of each primary care trust to fit long-acting reversible contraceptives; and if he will make a statement. (309209)

The Department of Health has allocated significant additional funds to primary care trusts (PCTs) to help them to improve access to the full range of contraception in their local areas, as well as providing further additional funds to strategic health authorities to help them to work with PCTs to tackle high rates of teenage conceptions. The Department has assisted PCTs to plan for any changes in demand arising from the ‘Contraception. Worth Talking About’ campaign.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health through which media his Department’s contraception campaign will be delivered; which (a) contraception methods will be publicised and (b) groups will be targeted through each medium; what methodology was used to determine which medium to use in each case; and if he will make a statement. (309210)

The “Contraception. Worth Talking About” campaign will be delivered via television, radio, print and digital advertisements, with other print, radio and digital public relation activity. The Department uses a communications planning agency to advise on the media to use to reach our target audiences.

The primary audience for the campaign is women aged 16-25, with secondary audiences being parents and health care professionals. These audiences are targeted in all the media used for the campaign. The primary message of the campaign is to promote an awareness of contraceptive choices and to encourage people, especially young people and their parents, to have a more open discussions about contraception and to talk to a doctor or nurse to determine the best contraceptive for their individual circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports his Department (a) commissioned and (b) produced for the purposes the development of his Department’s campaign on contraception, launched on 30 November 2009; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such report; if he will place in the Library a copy of the research which shows there is a lack of knowledge and misinformation, which hinders safer sexual behaviour, referred to in his Department’s press release of 30 November 2009; and what the (i) title and (ii) target group is in respect of each phase of his Department’s campaign. (309216)

The “Contraception. Worth Talking About” campaign was informed by a review of sexual health marketing and communications which produced a report—“Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health Marketing”. The Department also commissioned qualitative research on women’s knowledge and perception of contraception. A copy has been placed in the Library.

The Department’s press release of 30 November referred to data gathered from a polling exercise undertaken between 16 and 20 October, and a copy of the results of this work has been placed in the Library.

“Contraception. Worth talking About” is aimed primarily at women aged 16 to 25. The first burst of activity took place between 30 November and 21 December 2009, and a second burst will take place in February/March 2010. “Chlamydia. Worth Talking About” is aimed at young people aged 16 to 24, and will launch in January 2010.