Pathways Study: Puberty Suppression

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

We are following clinical advice. We are ensuring that there is a triple lock on the consent for children and young people to be involved in this trial, involving the consent or assent of the young person themselves, parents or guardians, and the NHS care team—the national multidisciplinary team that I mentioned earlier. That is how this trial ensures that there is a high bar for being involved in it and that all aspects of a young person’s life are considered before they are approved.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I thank the Secretary of State for the manner of his responses.

Four years, three-and-a-half years, four years, six-and-a-half years, four years, three-and-a-half years, four-and-a-half years, five-and-a-half years, three years and nine months—those are the waits faced by young people in Dorset supported by Space Youth Project between their referral to the gender identity service and their very first appointment. None of them will qualify for this trial, and many will have gone into adulthood still waiting, despite commitments of more treatment and clinics. While I support the criteria for the trial as detailed in the statement, there is an inadequate capacity in the system, which is leading to even more distress for these children and their families. Will the Secretary of State update us on this issue? Most teenagers will be excluded from the trial, so they need to hear how they will be supported.

[James Murray]

There is a fundamental difference of approach between me and the hon. Lady. The reason for the trial is not to ensure that young people on the waiting list can get access to treatment; the trial is to find an evidence base on which to take future decisions about whether young people should be offered treatment and, if so, in what way. Talking about waiting lists and the trial combines two things that, in my view of the world, really do not have a relationship in this context.