Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of whether the NHS workforce plan should be updated by NHS England to reflect the staffing needs of the eight new children and young people's gender services regional centres.

No specific formal assessment has been made. Gender medicine is a highly specialised field of medicine, and NHS England are actively working to recruit more staff for the new regional children and young people gender identity services. NHS England has also been working closely with other professional bodies to develop tailored training for these professionals. NHS England will commission the required professional training curriculum and competencies framework, not just for staff working in the new gender services, but also for clinicians working in secondary, primary, and community care. It is expected that this will also help to increase the support for children and young people, ensuring they receive a more holistic model of care.