Pathways Study: Puberty Suppression

Rebecca Smith Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

Dr Cass has raised that point a number of times, particularly when she has spoken in public and been interviewed on her concerns about young people accessing equivalent drugs through an unregulated source—through online sources that are not carefully controlled and where there is no monitoring of the effects on young people. That is part of her motivation for recommending the approach that she proposes. As I said earlier, I and the Government want the decisions about what role, if any, such treatments play in the future to be based on the clinical evidence, with the highest possible safeguards in place for children involved in the trials.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

I want to press the Secretary of State a little further on looked-after children in particular. At the beginning of his statement, he said that his bottom line is to protect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Given that parental or guardian permission has to be granted for the trial to take place, I am wondering who will give that permission for a child in care. Will it be himself, the Secretary of State? Will it be the foster parent? Will it be a social worker from a local council? We already know that looked-after children are overrepresented within the cohort of children with gender dysphoria. Ultimately, if we are going to protect them and make sure that their safety and wellbeing are at the forefront, we need some clear direction on what that is going to look like.

[James Murray]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, which highlights the importance we all place on making sure that vulnerable children are protected in the way that the trial proceeds. Perhaps I can offer her some detail which might reassure her by explaining who is on the national multidisciplinary team. As I mentioned earlier, the national multidisciplinary team will have to give permission for young people to be involved in the trial, as will the NHS care team. That national multidisciplinary team has an independent chair and its membership comprises senior clinicians from a range of clinical backgrounds: paediatric endocrinology, general paediatrics, child and adolescent mental health, clinical nursing, safeguarding, adolescent medicine, allied health and service leadership. Those are the specialisms represented in the national multidisciplinary team, which means that those aspects of the child’s wellbeing are all being considered in that process.