Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish evidence on the impact of puberty blockers.

The Government is committed to supporting further research that delivers a robust, evidence-based understanding of the needs, and support and treatment options, for those with gender dysphoria, especially relating to children and young people. A joint partnership between NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is working to fund and deliver independent research that fulfils that aim.

The research programme already includes two initial studies: a commission for a living evidence review to maintain an up to date understanding of the findings from the latest United Kingdom and international research; and a priority setting partnership being led by the James Lind Alliance, which will enable a broad range of stakeholders to shape future research priorities. It includes a study looking at the experiences of the 9,000 adults who, as children, were cared for under a previous model of National Health Service care, and it also includes the PATHWAYS study. This is planned to have several elements, including a longitudinal observational study of children and young people attending NHS Gender Services, and a clinical trial into the potential benefits and harms of puberty-suppressing hormones as a potential treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence/dysphoria.

The NIHR follows the World Health Organisation's recommendations for maximising clinical trial transparency, and therefore we would also expect the study’s findings to be published in a peer reviewed academic journal within 12 months of its completion.