A temporary ban on giving puberty blockers to under-18s has been made permanent, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed. He told MPs that the ban, which was temporarily introduced in May, would become indefinite across the UK.
This follows a consultation and advice from the Commission on Human Medicines. The expert group said prescribing the drugs to children for gender dysphoria was an ‘unacceptable safety risk’. Streeting said, ‘It is a scandal that medicine was given to vulnerable children without the proof that it was safe or effective.’ But he added that the planned clinical trial by NHS England into the use of puberty blockers would go ahead.
He said the ban would then be reviewed in 2027, in the light of any new evidence that emerged. Helen Joyce, of the Sex Matters campaign group – which opposes the use of puberty blockers – said, ‘Wes Streeting has shown integrity and bravery in replacing a temporary ban with an indefinite order.’
