Live births in Barnet increased 0.5%, from 4,563 in 2023 to 4,586 last year reports Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter

A close up of a baby's feet crossed over each other — Office for National Statistics figures show live births in England rose 0.7% – the first increase since 2021 – (Credit – Radar)

Slightly more live births were recorded in Barnet last year, new figures show – as the number rose across England for the first time since 2021.

It comes days after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called on Britons to consider having more children and having them sooner, warning of the “worrying repercussions” posed by a decline in fertility rates.

Office for National Statistics figures show live births in England rose 0.7% – the first increase since 2021. There were 567,708 live births registered last year, up from 563,561 in 2023.

Similar to the national trend, live births in Barnet increased 0.5%, from 4,563 in 2023 to 4,586 last year.

While births slightly increased in England, they continued to decline in Wales. Last year, the country recorded 26,832 live births – down 2% from 2023.

Overall, the two nations recorded a 0.6% increase. Despite the increase, births remain at historically low levels, with 2024 ranking as the third lowest total since 1977.

Greg Ceely, ONS head of population health monitoring, said: “In 2024, the annual number of births in England and Wales reverses the recent trend of declining births, recording the first increase seen since 2021.

“Despite this overall rise, the number of births to mothers under 30 fell, as people continue to put off having children until later in life.

“The largest decrease is seen amongst those under 20 years old, which fell by almost 5%, while the number of mothers aged 35-39 grew the most.

“A couple of other long-term trends are continuing, such as seeing around half of live births within marriage or civil partnership, and an increase in births to non-UK-born mothers.”

In Barnet, 3,279 (71.5%) births were registered within marriage or civil partnership.

The ONS figures come after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called for Britons to have more children sooner, warning of the “worrying repercussions” of declining fertility rates.

She told The Daily Telegraph: “A generation of young people have been thinking twice about starting a family, worried not only about rising mortgage and rent repayments, wary not only of the price of fuel and food but also put off by a childcare system simultaneously lacking in places and ruinously expensive.”

Across England and Wales, some 39.5% of live births had either one or both parents born outside the UK, up from 37.3% in 2023 and 32.5% a decade earlier in 2014.

In Barnet, 3,177 (69.3%) births had either one or both parents born outside the UK.

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