A group of Welsh Labour MPs have issued a call for the Welsh Assembly Government to make sex education a compulsory part of the curriculum in all schools.

Wales has a higher teenage pregnancy rate than England, with 44.8 conceptions per 1,000 girls in 2006, compared to 40.4 in England.

The letter to the Western Mail was signed by Chris Bryant (Rhonda), Julie Morgan (Cardiff North), Madeleine Moon (Bridgend), Jessica Morden (Newport East) and Martyn Jones (Clwyd South), as well as the Terrence Higgins Trust, FPA, the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group and the National Youth Parliament.

Commenting on the letter, Catriona Williams, chief executive of Children in Wales, said: "Clearly, we need to have a whole range of services for young people, which they are willing to use.

"As well as sex education they need practical services that are accessible to them, so that if they want to speak confidentially to someone they can. Some European countries offer services which are linked to the school, but not actually in the school, which offers that confidentiality.

"We need a lot more discussion with young people to see what services they would use.

"We need to be careful not to over simplify the reasons for the higher pregnancy rate. Clearly, a good sex education is one of a range of preventative measures but there are also major other aspects, such as how young people view their future, which have to be addressed."