Cass Review

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 15th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I completely understand my hon. Friend’s desire for accountability. I just remind us all that some clinicians have acted in a morally exemplary way, trying to blow the whistle on practices they observe. He and I, and, I hope, others, want to ensure that clinicians who have not acted in accordance with their professional duties are held to account. As I say, ongoing conversations are taking place with the independent regulators, but I suspect that they have very much understood the way in which the House is viewing this and the seriousness with which we view clinicians who have not abided by their professional duties in this regard.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

Many of the Cass review recommendations are to be welcomed, but there has been some dangerous misinterpretation of some of the recommendations in public discourse and, crucially, in NHS England’s response to the recommendations for transitional services for 17 to 25-year-olds. So will the Minister join me in challenging the NHS specialised commissioning team on its immediate limiting of access to support for 17-year-olds, including with the cancellation of appointments for some who have waited years, and in calling on it to immediately reinstate access while it reviews next steps?

[Victoria Atkins]

I hope the hon. Lady will forgive me if I have misunderstood her question, but I think she is referring to the decision that NHS England will prevent under-18s from accessing adult gender services. A consultation has just closed and we are looking at the results of that, but I am very sensitive to the needs of young people within that 17-to-25 cohort for whom the “cliff edge”, as it has been described to me, of moving from children’s services to adult services may not be in their best interests. I promise that that is very much the focus of my work on this in the weeks ahead.