Working hard all year round for South Bristol
Dawn Primarolo, Labour’s MP for Bristol South and the Public Health Minister, has announced £26.8 million funding to provide access to contraception, particularly amongst young people. While the upwards trend has slowed in recent years, the United Kingdom still has a high level of teenage pregnancies.
Commenting, Dawn said:
“This funding will enable local health authorities to set up pilots for innovative ways to provide access to contraception and sexual health advice. It is a sensible and cost effective course of action – we know that, for every pound spent on contraception services, £11 of public money is saved in preventing unplanned pregnancies.”
“This is particularly relevant to Bristol South, which has a much higher level of teenage mums than the national average. Of course, the vast majority of these parents do a fantastic job
in difficult circumstances, but we need to provide information to make sure that young people are able to make informed choices about their future. I have recently written to both the Primary
Care Trust and Local Education Authority to ask about their strategy for supporting young people and will continue to make enquiries.”
[8 February 2008]