Oral Answers to Questions

James Sunderland Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, I know his constituency well; it is my birthplace. He might also know that just a couple of months ago I visited his constituency and met members of the local community at the Deeplish community centre to talk about exactly what he has rightly raised today: the importance of tackling inequalities in Rochdale and beyond. We will set out our plans in our upcoming health disparities White Paper.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

T9. The Cass review interim report found that to date there is a profound lack of evidence on the best approach to treat gender dysphoria in children. Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that in spite of this the NHS insists on making a child’s expressed gender identity the start-point for treatment, and my surprise that the NHS has chosen so far not to track patient outcomes, particularly for under-18s?

[Sajid Javid]

I share my hon. Friend’s concerns, which is why the NHS commissioned this review from one of our top paediatricians. It is already clear to me from her interim findings and the other evidence I have seen that NHS services in this area are too narrow; they are overly affirmative and in fact are bordering on ideological. That is why in this emerging area, of course we need to be absolutely sensitive, but we also need to make sure that holistic care is provided, that there is not a one-way street and that all medical interventions are based on the best clinical evidence.