The multi-million pound Government strategy to curb teenage pregnancy is failing according to figures which reveal 21 girls under 16 fall pregnant every day.
Critics have branded Britain the euro-capital of teenage pregnancy after figures in some of the worst areas show that one in every 66 under-age girls becomes pregnant while still at school.
According to press reports, statistics released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) show that out of every 21 under-age pregnancies, only nine girls go on to have their babies, while the other 12 opt to have an abortion.
Out of the 23,371 underage conceptions in England and Wales in the last three years, 13,555 were aborted.
The Christian Institute has not been able to obtain the figures released by the DCSF.
Family campaigners and academics have hit out at the Government strategy. They say that making contraception free and widely available and increasing sex education amongst children only adds to increasing pressure on teens to become sexually active.
Professor David Paton of Nottingham University Business School said: “The figures show no change in the conception rate to under 16s compared to 2003-2005. In fact, the abortion rate for that age group is quite a bit higher now than in previous years.
“Particularly interesting is the way in which certain areas highlighted by the Government for so-called ‘good practice’ in providing contraception and emergency birth control to underage children without parental knowledge seem to be among the worst performers.”
He added: “All in all the figures provide yet more evidence that the Government’s approach of trying to cut teenage pregnancy rates by provision of family planning and emergency birth control to underage girls without parental knowledge has simply not worked.”
Dr Adrian Rogers, of Family Focus, said: “This obsession with compulsory sex education simply doesn’t work.
“We need to return to a combination of realistic education and empower youngsters to know how dangerous and foolish underage sex is.”