Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with (a) young trans young people and (b) their families to discuss the prescription of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender incongruence.

The emergency banning order limiting the sale or supply of puberty blockers against private or non-United Kingdom prescriptions allows a child under 18 years old, who was already on a course of treatment with Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues before 3 June 2024 from a UK based private or National Health Service provider, to continue to have them supplied. Those who were already on a course of treatment prescribed by an EEA or Switzerland registered prescriber can legally switch to a UK based prescriber to continue their treatment.

This government has committed to implementing the expert recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. That is why NHS England and the National Institue of Health and Care Research – the research arm of the department – are working together to commission a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The study team is now in place and are finalising their application for funding which will be assessed by an independent scientific review study ahead of the commencement of wider approvals, including ethics, and set up.

We recognise the value of engaging with representative groups and want to reset the relationship the department has with LGBT+ groups. My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will be meeting with LGBT+ stakeholders as soon as possible to hear directly about the health and care issues that are most important to them.