Consultation on the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy: Analysis of Responses

1. Introduction

In 2013 the Health and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament held an inquiry into teenage pregnancy in Scotland.^[1] One of its recommendations was for a stand-alone Strategy for Scotland which would address the issue of teenage pregnancy often being seen as too narrowly a health issue. The Strategy should also aim to address wider social and economic determinants which mean some young people are much more likely than others to become parents and to experience disadvantage as a result of becoming a parent early in life.

A draft Strategy was subsequently developed using a collaborative approach and informed by recommendations of the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy Steering Group, an expert advisory body to the Scottish Government. The Steering Group supported the development of the draft Strategy; guided its content; and provided leadership and guidance to develop a multi-disciplinary Strategy with full partnership agreement.

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the draft Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy on 7 July 2015 with written responses invited by 29 September 2015.^[2] The Strategy proposed a number of specific actions in relation to the following themes:

• Delaying pregnancy
• Pregnancy
• Parenthood
• Leadership and accountability
• Engaging with young people
• Equalities

The consultation also asked respondents to identify topics which were missing from the draft, examples of good practice which could facilitate implementation and be useful to others, and evidence to underpin the Strategy and its implementation.

Accompanying documents were a policy mapping, outcomes framework and supporting evidence, and feedback from engagement with young people. The responses to the consultation will inform the refinement of the draft and will help to identify how successful implementation can be achieved.

The draft Strategy was developed both with and for young people. Young Scot carried out a “co-design” process to gather the views of young people and young parents through an on-line survey and focus groups. The Scottish Government also engaged with local parenting groups, including young fathers in Her Majesty’s Young Offenders Institution Polmont, in order to obtain wider views.

The outcomes framework with four nested logic models was developed to help to articulate short, medium and longer term outcomes of the Strategy which was underpinned by review level evidence to inform the outcomes framework.^[3]

The Strategy is the first in Scotland to focus on pregnancy and parenthood amongst young people. It aims to increase the choices and opportunities available to young people which will support their wellbeing and prosperity across the life course. This will involve working across Scottish Government policy areas which enable and empower young people so that they feel a sense of control over their lives, allowing them to build self-efficacy and providing equality of opportunity for the future.

Consultation responses

The Scottish Government received 66 written responses to the consultation. Table 1 shows the distribution of responses by category and a full list of respondents is in Annex A. The category applied to each respondent was agreed with the Scottish Government. Where respondents did not fit obviously into one category, a decision was made on the closest match and a consistent policy followed.

Table 1: Distribution of responses by category of respondent

*Percentages may not add to totals exactly due to rounding.

Eight-five percent of responses were submitted by organisations; 15% were from individual respondents. The largest category of respondent was Third Sector organisations comprising 27% of all respondents.

Content from the responses was entered onto a bespoke electronic database to enable comparison of views and analysis.

Analysis of responses

The analysis of responses is presented in the chapters which largely follow the order of the questions in the consultation paper.^[4] The consultation contained 20 questions all in an open format. The analysis is based on the views of those who responded to the consultation and are not necessarily representative of the wider population.

Throughout the report quotes taken directly from responses have been used to illustrate specific points. These were selected on the basis that they enhance the analysis by emphasising specific points succinctly. Quotes from a range of sectors were chosen where the respondents have given permission for their response to be made public.

Respondent categories have been abbreviated in the report as follows:

Academic Acad
Joint/Multi-agency Joint
Local Authority Education/Children/YP Services LA
NHS Body NHS
Third Sector Third
Other Oth
Professional Representative Bodies Prof Rep
Individuals Ind