Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to (a) gender identity and (b) trans healthcare services.
NHS England has established NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services in London, the North-West, and the South-West in 2024. A fourth service is planned to open in the East England region in January 2026. Work remains ongoing to establish commissioned services that provide a pathway for children and young people with gender incongruence in the other regions, by March 2027, on a phased basis.
NHS England has increased the number of adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics in England from seven to 12, with the rollout of five new adult gender pilot clinics since July 2020. The rollout of these clinics is helping to tackle long waiting times.
NHS England is currently carrying out a review of adult gender services, with the aim of producing an updated service specification. The review, which is chaired by Dr David Levy, will examine the model of care and operating procedures of each service, and will carefully consider experiences, feedback, and outcomes from clinicians and patients.