Wes Streeting is expected to tell parliament why he supports the ban on puberty blockers
Wes Streeting is expected to tell MPs why he supports a ban on prescribing puberty blockers to children for gender-related reasons, amid dissatisfaction within his own party.
After mounting criticism from some Labour MPs, the Health Secretary took to social media to defend his support for an emergency ban on the drugs imposed by his Conservative predecessor Victoria Atkins. The ban is being challenged in the High Court.
In a long thread on X On Sunday, he cited the Cass inquiry into gender identity services, which said there was currently insufficient evidence on the impact of puberty-blocking hormones, sometimes used to treat children with gender dysphoria, on young people.
Streeting is said to be planning to make the ban permanent, subject to consultation and the outcome of the judicial review. He is expected to issue a written ministerial statement to parliament on Thursday.
Peers including Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, said that while research by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass published earlier this year advised caution, it did not mean an outright ban should be introduced.
News of Streeting’s decision prompted reactions from several Labour MPs over the weekend, while they were joined on Monday by another backbencher, Kim Johnson, who described the ban as “deeply concerning”.
“Labour’s manifesto promised to remove ‘the indignities that transgender people deserve to be recognised and accepted’ – and that includes ending the ban on puberty blockers,” the Liverpool Riverside MP said on X. “I will always stand with transgender young people.”
However, Streeting was supported by Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who has said in the past that she felt excluded from the party because of her positions on gender reform.
“I am very pleased that the Foreign Secretary supports the recommendations of the Cass inquiry and has approached this difficult issue in a thoughtful way, making the protection of vulnerable children his top priority,” she told the Guardian.
“It’s sad to see the amount of insulting comments he’s received. That approach to political issues is not the best or smartest way to argue your case.”
Among other Labour MPs, Creasy had said the Cass review recommended “caution, not exclusion” regarding puberty blockers for children. She wrote about X: “For those who ask, (I) will always be an MP who listens to the demand for better research and evidence for help for people with gender dysphoria, and does not let them down.”
Zarah Sultana, another backbench member, also referred to Labour’s manifesto promise, proverb the pledge “will include ending the Tories’ ban on puberty blockers. Young people – cis & trans – must have access to the healthcare they need. I will always stand with the trans community.”
Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, said: “Only a small number of young people are prescribed puberty blockers. Those who are often describe them as life-saving. I know the suffering the ban on puberty blockers causes them. Whatever happens in court, I will continue to fight for the government to abolish them.”
Puberty suppression treatments are used in children who enter puberty very early. Since the mid-1990s, they have also been used to delay sexual maturation in children who want to spend time exploring their gender identity.
In her review, Cass said the evidence base for the long-term safety of the procedure was weak and that more research was needed. In April, Atkins said a ban on the use of such treatments for gender dysphoria in the NHS would also be enforced in the private sector, a decision that has been challenged in the High Court.
Streeting defended his decision to stick with Atkins’ position, saying that the evidence that puberty blockers are safe for such use “should have been established before they were ever prescribed” and a clinical trial was set up.
Streeting argued that using such drugs for gender dysphoria is clinically very different from prescribing them to much younger children to prevent very early puberty, saying: “We don’t yet know the risks of stopping pubertal hormones at this critical stage of life. That’s the basis on which I make decisions. I’m cautious in this area because the safety of children has to come first.
“Some of the public statements being made are highly irresponsible and could put vulnerable young people at risk. I know there is a lot of fear and concern. I am determined to improve the quality of and access to care for transgender people.”
Following his social media posts, LGBT+ Labour published a letter to Streeting, signed by the organisation’s national trans officer, Dylan Naylor, and Willow Parker, the trans officer for the party’s student wing.
They wrote: “In line with the review’s recommendations, steps should be taken to reduce waiting lists for trans young people, address long-term staffing issues, move to a decentralised, equitable system of access to care (including through the provision of regional hubs), provide comprehensive training to NHS staff on how best to support and work sensitively with trans and questioning young people, and better address the current toxicity of public discourse, which is actively harmful to young people.”
The authors called on the Health Secretary to “urgently set out the timeline, scope and nature” of a clinical trial, adding: “We hope that under this new Labour government, progress can be made to restart the public conversation about trans rights, with the humanity and compassion for each individual trans person at its centre.”