Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 July 2024 to Question 92 on Gender Dysphoria: Children, what his planned timetable is for (a) the study team to finalise their application for funding and (b) this application to be assessed by an independent scientific review study.

A study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as one of the treatment options for children and young people with gender incongruence is being developed through a joint programme between NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research arm of the Department. The research will be co-sponsored by King’s College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The study team has submitted its research application, and this is currently undergoing scientific review. In August, NHS England stated that the study protocol should be complete by December 2024 and, subject to academic approval, recruitment to the trial would commence in early 2025. Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, the NIHR will publish details of the award, including the planned trial duration and study completion date, on its website.