Former Councillor Criticises Hartlepool Council Over Sexual Health Facebook Post...
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Teesside Council Under Fire Over Facebook Post Offering Free Condoms to Children as Young as 13...
22nd August 2026
A former Hartlepool councillor has questioned the way Hartlepool Borough Council has communicated a sexual health advice post to young people after a new seemngly deleted social media post by Hartlepool Borough Council reportedly promoted access to free condoms for residents aged 13 and over.
The Facebook post, a screenshot of which has been seen by the Teesside & Durham Post, told residents that those aged 13+ could access free condoms, dams and lubricant through the confidential 'Doink' sexual health service.
It added that products could be delivered discreetly through the post and that young people aged between 13 and 15 would receive a confidential check-in before being able to access the service.
The Teesside & Durham Post understands the social media post has been subsequently been removed from the Council's Facebook page, although the underlying sexual health scheme itself remains publicly promoted through both Hartlepool Borough Council's website and the SH.UK website.
The issue however has prompted criticism from a number of locals & even from a former local councillor, who argues that while providing young people with appropriate sexual health services is important, the Council should question whether a general Facebook post is the right way to communicate such a sensitive message — particularly where children as young as 13 are specifically highlighted.
Former councillor Gordon Cranney, who previously represented Hartlepool's Seaton Ward took to social media this weekend saying that the episode was "another example of poor communication from Hartlepool Borough Council".
He stressed that his concern was not about preventing young people from accessing sexual health advice, contraception or confidential safeguarding services when they need them, but about the way the message was presented and the audience at which it appeared to be directed.
He questioned how many 13-year-olds realistically follow Hartlepool Borough Council's Facebook page looking for sexual health information and suggested the Council could instead have placed greater emphasis on parents and guardians having age-appropriate conversations with young people about relationships, consent, responsibility and the consequences of becoming sexually active at a young age.
His argument is that the first message young teenagers receive should make clear there is no expectation or pressure for them to become sexually active, while ensuring that anyone who does require confidential advice or protection knows where appropriate professional help can be found.
The official SH.UK service similarly states that Hartlepool residents aged 13 and above can access free condoms online. Crucially, it says anyone under 16 must first have a confidential conversation with a trained worker who will ask questions intended to establish whether the service is appropriate and whether the young person is safe.
Service or communication strategy?
The former councillor believes parents should have been more visibly included in that conversation rather than potentially feeling that they were being bypassed.
He said the Council could have framed its public communication around helping parents and young people understand the sexual health services available locally while simultaneously stressing healthy relationships, consent, delaying sexual activity and the absence of any pressure on teenagers to become sexually active.
The apparent disappearance of the Facebook post also seems to follow a number of significant negative responses to the council post prompting its removal.
As the former councillor put it, this is not an argument for taking help away.
It is an argument about "the right message, to the right people, in the right way."
And when the subject involves children as young as 13, Hartlepool Borough Council may now face questions over whether its social media team got that balance right.
