The cost of providing other initiatives, which cover broader issues such as relationships and promotion of self-esteem and curbing sexually transmitted infections has also risen steadily over the past five years.

In 2004/5 NHS Tayside spent £197,519 on these, rising to £146,443 in 2008/9.

Despite the increased expenditure, it was revealed last month that Dundee has overtaken Lambeth, Southwark and Nottingham to become Britain’s teenage pregnancy capital.

The health authority says teen pregnancy rates are 10 times higher among girls from the most deprived communities in the city.

Overall, the amount spent on educational and other initiatives to reduce teenage pregnancies in Dundee actually fell in the past year from £212,865 to £211,725. However, over the five-year period it has risen significantly.

An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said the statistics must be set against the complex backdrop of “inter-related risk factors” that influence teenage pregnancy, including poor educational attainment, low levels of aspiration and risk-taking behaviour including alcohol misuse.

She continued, “The biggest predictor of early parenthood is being the child of a teenage mother.”

While Dundee has seen a rise in spending on educational initiatives, in Angus the NHS has cut costs — from £37,738 in 2006/7 to £34,604 in 2007/8 and £30,104 in 2008/9.

However, money spent in Angus on other initiatives has more than doubled, from £27,941 in 2004/5 to £56,131 in 2008/9.

The total spent on trying to reduce teen pregnancies in Angus has risen over the five-year period from £64,561 to £86,235, peaking in 2006/7 at £91,594.

A spokesperson for the health authority said, “NHS Tayside works closely with each of the local authorities and with the voluntary sector in combating the underlying social and cultural contributory causes of teenage conception.

“We and our community planning partners continually review emerging evidence and good practice to make sure what we are doing is as effective as possible.

“One recent example of this came in response to young people’s feedback on the quality of sex and relationships education, as a result of which NHS Tayside, the Education Department and The Corner have jointly developed a series of evidence-based and innovative approaches that will be tried out in two schools in Dundee from the start of the new academic term.”

Costs also cover an initiative introduced last year called Speakeasy, which is specifically designed to support parents and to encourage them to talk to their children about relationships and safer sex.