Barbers told to give boys something for the weekend

To generations of men for whom a trip to the barber meant nothing fancier than a short back and sides, it was a question that would be asked discreetly, perhaps with just a hint of a raised eyebrow.

To generations of men for whom a trip to the barber meant nothing fancier than a short back and sides, it was a question that would be asked discreetly, perhaps with just a hint of a raised eyebrow.

Now the phrase "something for the weekend, sir?" is to make a comeback. The Government has told health workers to provide teenage boys with free condoms in barbers' shops. The Department of Health hopes it can convince young men to practise safe sex and reduce teenage pregnancies by offering free contraceptives. Ministers want innovative schemes such as offering condoms at football matches or at barbers to be replicated throughout the country. Advice to local authorities says health workers should be free to try "different models of condom distribution" as long as staff are adequately trained. It adds: "It is important that boys and young men are prioritised in access to supplies of free or very low-cost condoms."

The Health minister Hazel Blears has said she wants a programme she saw in Gloucester, where boys are taught about sex in a rugby club, to become a model. The scheme managed to get coy teenagers, who would blanch at entering a sexual health clinic, to listen to advice on safe sex and contraception.