Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to all members of the House of Lords on 8 August, who will be conducting the observational research study; who will be included within this study; how long will the study run for; and when they expect results from the study to be published.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones being used as one of the treatment options for children and young people with gender incongruence is being developed through a joint programme between NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care (NIHR), the research arm of the Department. The research will be co-sponsored by King’s College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. It is planned that recruitment into the study will be through specialist National Health Service gender services, ensuring that individuals accessing hormone suppression through the study do so following a holistic multidisciplinary assessment within the services above. The study team has submitted their research application, which is currently undergoing scientific review.

Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, including ethics approval, the NIHR will publish details of the award, including the planned trial duration and study completion date, on its website. The study forms part of a wider joint programme of research and evaluation underpinning the delivery of new services for children and young people with gender incongruence. Further research will be needed to continue to build the evidence base, and our understanding of best practice in this important clinical area, including for psychosocial interventions. Work will continue with a broad range of stakeholders, to inform further study priorities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the impact of extended waiting times to access NHS-commissioned mental health and paediatric services on the ability for young people to access support at the specialist gender services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In August, NHS England published a service specification for the National Referral Support Service for Specialist Services for Children and Young People with Gender Incongruence. Now referrals can only be made by a National Health Service-commissioned, secondary care-level paediatric service, or a Children and Young Person mental health service. This will ensure that healthcare professionals with the relevant expertise conduct the assessment and help determine any co-existing mental health or other health needs of these children and their onward care, ultimately ensuring a holistic approach to care for these children and young people.

The impacts of the new arrangements for referral into the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services were considered in detail by NHS England through a process of public consultation, which included publication of an impact assessment. The impact assessment concluded that the new access arrangements are unlikely to increase the waiting time into the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services for the majority of individuals, as the referral date from primary care to the secondary care service will be honoured for determining an individual’s place on the waiting list for the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service, and waiting times for local mental health services and paediatric services are likely to be lower for the majority of individuals than the current waiting time for the first appointment with the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service. NHS England expects waiting times into the NHS Children and Young People's Service to fall as clinical capacity is increased through the establishment of new regional providers, in line with the recommendations of the Cass Review. The consultation materials and the impact assessment are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/referral-pathway-for-specialist-service-for-children-and-young-people-with-gender-incongruence/

Found: BARONESS BONHAM-CARTER OF YARNBURY LORD ADDINGTON BARONESS BENJAMIN LORD CASHMAN 33_ After

Found: Media Bill 14 BARONESS BONHAM-CARTER OF YARNBURY LORD ADDINGTON BARONESS BENJAMIN LORD CASHMAN

Found: BARONESS BONHAM-CARTER OF YARNBURY LORD ADDINGTON BARONESS BENJAMIN LORD CASHMAN _ After Clause

Found: BARONESS BONHAM-CARTER OF YARNBURY LORD ADDINGTON BARONESS BENJAMIN LORD CASHMAN _ After Clause

Found: BARONESS BONHAM-CARTER OF YARNBURY LORD ADDINGTON BARONESS BENJAMIN LORD CASHMAN _ After Clause

Found: Patrons include: Lord Black of Brentwood Simon Callow CBE Lord Cashman CBE Julian Clary Martin