Half of pregnancies among girls under 18 are now ending in abortions although the number of pregnancies is falling, an analysis by The Times has shown.

Ministers are expected to respond to this milestone by forcing schools to improve sex education, with children as young as 5 taught about relationships and older pupils receiving specific advice about sex and contraception.

Government figures yesterday showed that the number of abortions continued to rise in England and Wales last year, with a leap in the number of very young girls having terminations.

The increase last year among girls under 16, the age of sexual consent, was 10 per cent, from 3,990 to 4,376. For girls aged under 14, the number of terminations increased from 135 to 163, a jump of 21 per cent.

The rate of abortions for girls under 18 was nearly 20 for every 1,000 last year, while analysis of recent trends suggests that conceptions among under 18s will have reached 40 pregnancies for every 1,000 women.

YORK and North Yorkshire will get their share of £5 million to help vulnerable youngsters stay in care beyond 18. Minister for Young People Kevin Brennan has announced that City of York and North Yorkshire County councils are two of ten local authorities to get a share of almost £5 million.

The rising cost of dementia care could make the NHS financially unsustainable, scientists warned today. In a letter to the health secretary, Alan Johnson, dementia experts said more funding was needed for research into the disease to devise better treatments and reduce care costs.

One in five of the country’s 76,000 social workers has signed off work for 20 consecutive days or more in the past five years because of conditions such as stress or anxiety.

A former policeman was arrested in connection with an abuse investigation at a former children’s home on Jersey. The 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of “serious crimes” at the

Thousands of people will lose their jobs over the next two years as the deepening economic downturn forces more companies to cut staff, City experts said yesterday.

After figures revealed the steepest jump in the number of people out of work for two years, economists said the scale and pace of job losses would accelerate sharply in the coming months.

The mounting toll of jobs as economic conditions worsen was highlighted by official figures showing that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits had leapt by 24,400 since February. The number of people receiving state support rose by 9,000 last month, on the heels of a 11,200 jump in April that constituted the biggest increase for two years. This pushed the total to 819,300, up from a low of 794,900 in January.

An alternative measure of unemployment, based on a monthly survey of a section of the population and preferred by ministers who regard it as a closer reflection of labour trends, also jumped.

A new report out today says there is a “significant lack of understanding” within Government of the Church of England’s huge contribution to social welfare provision.

Depression will affect up to 25% of the population at some point in their lives. It also has been shown to have a strong genetic component. For example, if one of your close family members has depression, your chance of also being a sufferer is three to four times the general population risk.

A multiple sclerosis sufferer won permission yesterday to bring a High Court challenge to clarify the law on assisted suicide.

A dossier of abuse of the human rights of children and young people in Britain will be presented to United Nations inspectors today in a joint submission from the four children’s commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

They will report widespread infringements of the UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) that have denied hope and opportunity to many of Britain’s 14 million children and adolescents. The most serious defects include:

· A punitive juvenile justice system;
· Public attitudes that demonise teenagers;
· Lack of protection against physical punishment in the home;
· One of the highest levels of child poverty in Europe.

The commissioners will submit their complaints to a UN review of children’s rights in Britain, which is due to examine whether any improvements have been made over the past five years.