Table 1.

Descriptors for conditions associated with narrowing gaps in teenage pregnancy rates

Condition	Descriptor
Higher BME	Present: percentage of the area's population enumerated as black and minority ethnic groups 12.8 per cent or more (2001 census). Absent: less than 12.8 per cent.
Lower numbers in drug treatment	Present: less than 570 individuals per 100,000 population recorded as in drug treatment in 2005/06 (Department of Health). Absent: 570 individuals or more per 100,000 in treatment.
Higher under eighteens in population	Present: more than 24 per cent of the population aged under eighteen (2001 census). Absent: 24 per cent or less of the population aged under eighteen.
Good or exemplary commissioning	Present: areas meeting a basic standard plus there is a commissioning and action plan owned by all relevant agencies with regular reviews and communication; services are commissioned on the basis of a sexual health needs assessment, with resources directed at ‘hotspots’ and prevention; plans are linked and geared to improving population outcomes; there is budget pooling and joint contracting; there are lead project managers (questionnaire self-assessment). Absent: A basic standard only, with plans, planning processes, contracts and who manages what identified and addressing differential needs; who manages what is identified and local managers meet regularly; there is consultation across all stakeholders about improving services, especially among at risk groups; services meet national standards and targets.
Fair or poor leadership	Present: leadership in the area to tackle teenage pregnancies is generally fair, poor or a mixed picture. Absent: leadership is good or excellent (questionnaire self-assessment).
Interventions all or mostly in community settings	Present: there is a focus on intervening in community settings where young people live and spend leisure time. Absent: there is a focus on intervening in school/college settings or partly these settings and partly community settings (questionnaire self-assessment).
Major programmes	Present: a few major programmes best characterises the area's approach to reducing teenage conception rates. Absent: many smaller projects or a mixed approach best characterises the area's approach (questionnaire self-assessment).
Lower deprivation	Present: an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2007) average score for the area of less than 30.9. Absent: an IMD score of 30.9 or higher.
Higher GCSEs achievement	Present: more than 97 per cent of students in the area achieve at least one GCSE in 2005/06 (General Certificate of Secondary Education, the basic level of a subject taken in schools in England). Absent: 97 per cent or less achieve at least one GCSE.