Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing patient records to be used to research the impact of the use of puberty blockers on people throughout their lives.

We are committed to supporting the NHS in making research central to new gender services for children and young people.

This includes a retrospective data linkage study to identify associations in former GIDS patients’ experiences and outcomes, through analysis of available digital information within health records and other nationally held databases. This will not, however, establish causation.

The rigorous, randomised controlled PATHWAYS clinical trial which will offer puberty suppression within comprehensive NHS assessment and support will provide robust evidence needed to guide future NHS gender care decisions. Participants will also be asked to consent to long-term follow-up into adult life.