Streeting has said the blockers present ‘an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people’
LGBT+ Labour has expressed ‘deep concern’ about the health secretary Wes Streeting’s indefinite ban of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
The party’s LGBTQ group has said that prohibiting the use of blockers, which have been in use since the 1980s, “will have a detrimental impact on the mental health of young trans people”.
In an open letter to the health and social care secretary, LGBT+ Labour said that puberty blockers “represent an important medication” for many children and young people as part of their gender transition.
The medication, known scientifically as Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, work to stop the rise in sex hormones – oestrogen and testosterone – at the onset of puberty.
In a statement, Wes Streeting said “children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led”.
Streeting noted that “The independent expert, Commission on Human Medicines, found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.”
He added: “Dr Cass’ review also raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments . We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”
LGBT+ Labour said it believes in evidence-based policy making and welcomes the commitment that NHS England will carry out a clinical trial on the effectiveness of puberty blockers next year.
However, it said it is concerned about the lack of information on these clinical trials.
They said that trans adolescents must now be provided with further resources elsewhere to support them.
Streeting said: “We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need.
“We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”
Georgia Meadows, who is the National Trans Officer for LGBT+ Labour, has written her own separate letter, stating on social media that she had been “completely and utterly ignored” by LGBT+ Labour and that their open letter was “shockingly poor”.
Meadows has called on Streeting to reverse his decision, and “commit to, at least, a temporary ban along with a swift and comprehensive clinical trial to affirm the internationally understood safety of the drugs”.
Puberty blockers for the treatment of gender incongruence and dysphoria in under 18s were initially banned on a temporary basis in May 2024 after the Cass Review found there was insufficient evidence to show they were safe.
The legislation has now been updated to make the order indefinite. It will next be reviewed in 2027.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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