Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 26 February (HCWS1369), what steps (1) the Department for Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England, are taking to ensure that all relevant clinics share data to facilitate the data linkage study.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has undertaken further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and taken time to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent, including refining the study design and data sharing requirement following discussion with adult gender clinics.
We now expect all commissioned adult gender services to collaborate with the study to enable its successful completion.
The Department continues to support NHS England in progressing the study.
No disciplinary action has been taken.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 26 February (HCWS1369), whether disciplinary action has been taken within the NHS in relation to those clinics which refused to share data.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has undertaken further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and taken time to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent, including refining the study design and data sharing requirement following discussion with adult gender clinics.
We now expect all commissioned adult gender services to collaborate with the study to enable its successful completion.
The Department continues to support NHS England in progressing the study.
No disciplinary action has been taken.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when NHS England plan to update the version of the Core Information Standard on its website to reflect changes made by the Professional Record Standards Body which make the recording of sex mandatory in electronic patient records.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Professional Record Standards Body’s (PRSB) updates to the sex and gender data item representation for clinical use in the Core Information Standard have not yet been updated in the NHS England Standards Directory repository. Although these changes leave the PRSB specification and the NHS England Standards Directory out of step, it is proposed that the work to update the Standards Directory will commence this week.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 26 February (HCWS1369), when they expect the data linkage study research approvals to be granted.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In common with other publicly funded research, the Data Linkage Study is subject to the formal approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA) before the study can begin. For the Data Linkage Study, this requires the consideration of an ethics committee and the Confidentiality Advisory Group.
As the study application remains in active progress with the HRA, and it remains important for the approvals process to be undertaken independently, it is unfortunately not possible to provide an expected date for the HRA approval process to be concluded.
The Department continues to support NHS England in progressing the study.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for publication of the review of adult gender services, and whether they will publish that review.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know adults questioning their gender face long waiting lists for a first appointment at NHS adult gender services.
Dr David Levy’s Review of NHS Adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics will identify areas for improvement in relation to service quality, good practice that could be shared with other clinics, and any support that should be made available to services to assist improvement.
NHS England aims to publish the Review of Adult Gender Services by the end of this year.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what communications (1) the Department for Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England, have had with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definitions of (1) gender identity, and (2) gender.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have had no communications with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definition of gender identity and gender.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) its agencies, and (3) NHS England, hold information about individual GPs who are prescribing hormone treatments and other drugs, such as spiralactone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, to transgender individuals who are (a) older than 18 years old, and (b) younger than 18 years old.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information. NHS England does hold this information on an exceptional basis when concerns are made about the prescribing practices of individual general practices, including when the concerns have been made as part of a professional standards investigation.
For patients who are under 18 years old, the NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under 18s in March 2024, following the findings of the Cass Review into gender services. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues were subsequently restricted as part of an emergency banning order which took effect June 2024.
In August 2024, NHS England wrote to all general practitioners (GPs) in England responsible for prescribing GnRH analogues, to clarify application of this new legislation in clinical practice-based scenarios. In December 2024, the Department announced that the order banning the use of puberty blockers for individuals younger than 18 years old would be made indefinite. A further update to NHS England’s guidance was provided to GPs that same month.
In May 2025, NHS England issued guidance that advised GPs not to support unregulated providers in prescribing hormone treatments for gender incongruence to children and young people under 18 years old.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been issued to GPs by (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) its agencies, and (3) NHS England, about the practice of prescribing hormone treatments and other drugs, such as spiralactone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, to transgender individuals who are (a) older than 18 years old, and (b) younger than 18 years old.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2018 NHS England issued guidance to general practitioners (GPs) about the role of primary care in responding to requests for a shared care approach to prescribing hormone treatments to adult patients when the request is from an online private provider.
For patients who are under 18 years old, the NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments in March 2024, following the findings of the Cass Review into gender services. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues were subsequently restricted as part of an emergency banning order which took effect June 2024.
In August 2024, NHS England wrote to all GPs in England responsible for prescribing GnRH analogues, to clarify application of this new legislation in clinical practice-based scenarios. In December 2024, the Department announced that the order banning the use of puberty blockers for individuals younger than 18 years old would be made indefinite. A further update to NHS England’s guidance was provided to GPs that same month.
In May 2025, NHS England issued guidance that advised GPs not to support unregulated providers in prescribing hormone treatments for gender incongruence to children and young people under 18 years old.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been a call for evidence or consultation to support the review of NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Review of Adult Gender Services is aiming to publish its report later in summer 2025. NHS England and the Government will need time to consider the findings, advice, and recommendations before issuing their response.
The Review has examined records, including patient case notes, and conducted site visits at each of the nine adult gender dysphoria clinics to develop a detailed understanding of the operation and delivery of services within each clinic. Further information about how evidence was gathered is detailed in the published key lines of enquiry, a copy of which is attached.
The Review conducted focus groups with patients of the services, and detailed surveys for patients of the service, their friends and family, and for clinicians delivering these services.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest timetable for the publication of the final report of the review of NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics in England; and whether they intend to inform parliamentarians when they receive that report.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Review of Adult Gender Services is aiming to publish its report later in summer 2025. NHS England and the Government will need time to consider the findings, advice, and recommendations before issuing their response.
The Review has examined records, including patient case notes, and conducted site visits at each of the nine adult gender dysphoria clinics to develop a detailed understanding of the operation and delivery of services within each clinic. Further information about how evidence was gathered is detailed in the published key lines of enquiry, a copy of which is attached.
The Review conducted focus groups with patients of the services, and detailed surveys for patients of the service, their friends and family, and for clinicians delivering these services.