THE number of girls getting pregnant and leaving school at 16 has soared since a rise in benefits to teen mums, it emerged yesterday.
A shock study has estimated an extra 45,000 babies were born to poor teenage mums in the year after Government rules were changed.

My Comment  (Well, Well who would have expected that then – certainly not the VERY WELL PAID AND SUPPOSEDLY EDUCATED MINISTERS AND MP’s WE ELECTED. (WELL YOU ELECTED – I CERTAINLEY DIDN’T) – Its was pretty obvious to us simpleton’s …………….. along with dozens of other hair brained schemes like rewarding villains with all expenses paid holidays to name just one.

Many youngsters stopped using birth control after the money went up, claims a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Between 1999 and 2003 ministers boosted the amount worst-off families could claim from £39 a week to £56.76 – an increase of 45% – due to the introduction of Working Families Tax Credit and an increase in Income Support.

The boost was equivalent to an extra 10% on the average claimant’s total household income.

It meant the benefits available to a young mum would be almost double what a couple who stayed in education at sixth form would get. The figures come weeks after Karen Matthews, 33, was convicted of kidnapping and imprisoning her daughter Shannon, nine, in Dewsbury, West Yorks.

Matthews had never worked in her life and was able to claim up to £286 a week as she had given birth to seven children by five different fathers.

Although many families benefited from the extra cash, the study found a minority of claimants apparently got pregnant to become entitled to it.

The report, Does Welfare Reform Affect Fertility?, (YOU JUST COULDN’T MAKE IT UP COULD YOU – SHOULDN’T YOU HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE CHANGING THE ALLOWANCE _ YOU CAN’T REMOVE IT NOW ((HUMAN RIGHTS)) ) stated: “We have shown that more generous Government support coincided with an increase in births among the group most affected by the reforms. We also see evidence of a decline in use of contraception. Our results indicate a sizable response in child-bearing among the group affected.”

Extracts from Daily Star 25/12/08 by tom.savage@dailystar.co.uk