HARROW has seen a massive increase in the number of teenage pregnancies in the last year.

There has been 24 per cent rise in the number of girls aged under 18 in the borough who have become pregnant, according to figures for 2006 released on Tuesday.

Just fewer than 34 girls aged 15 to 17 in every thousand got pregnant that year, compared with 27 in 1998.

In neighbouring Barnet, the figures were just under 35 and 24, a rise of 42.7 per cent.

Families minister Beverley Hughes said: "The life chances of teenage parents and their children are unacceptably poor.

"It's shocking that the infant mortality rate for babies of teenage mothers is 60 per cent higher than for older mothers.

"The impact on those individuals is justification for action in itself, but there are also wider impacts on the whole of society; teenage pregnancy costs the NHS an estimated £63 million a year."

Under new plans to cut rates of teenage pregnancy, Harrow Council would have to submit quarterly reports to make it clear whether it was meeting targets set by the Government.

The boom in teenage pregnancy in relatively affluent Harrow is in stark contrast to deprived inner-city areas, such as Tower Hamlets where the pregnancy rate among teenagers has dropped by 25.3 per cent.

Ms Hughes placed the emphasis on the role local authorities must play in reducing pregnancy rates.

She said: "Local delivery matters hugely and it's striking that areas like Hackney are leading the way whilst other more affluent areas are seeing their rates increase.

"That's why I am calling on everyone to focus even more sharply on helping young people to make sensible choices about their own lives."

In July, Ms Hughes and Caroline Flint, the public health minister, issued guidance for local and health authorities where rates of teenage motherhood are significantly higher among black girls.

Ms Hughes said that black British girls have proportionately more abortions, accounting for nine per cent of all terminations among girls under 18, even though they make up only three per cent of the population of girls aged 15 to 17.

Ms Hughes said: "There are those who disapprove of our methods.

"But the case for acting is unquestionable and the evidence shows that not only do our methods work, but they have not made young people start having sex any earlier.

"While public services can do a lot to help young people avoid teenage pregnancy, we must also recognise that parents' influence on young people's behaviour is critical."

Nationally, conception rates among under-18s are at their lowest for 20 years.

aali@london.newsquest.co.uk