A slight uptick in births was recorded last year in England and Wales, although the figure remained at an extremely low level, according to the Office for National Statistics, far below replacement level.

The news comes as Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has urged Britons to have more children and at a younger age, warning of the “worrying repercussions” of a decline in birthrates.

Some 594,677 live births were registered last year, up 0.6 per cent from 2023, but still the third-lowest total since 1977.

Some 33.9 per cent of children born in 2024 were born to mothers who were born outside the UK, the highest proportion since records began in 2001, when the figure was 17 per cent.

There was a “notable increase” in live births to fathers aged 60 and older. The number rose by 14 per cent, from 942 in 2023 to 1,076 in 2024.