Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the written statement of 23 February 2026 on Clinical trials, HCWS1347, what steps his Department plans to take to help support young people experiencing gender incongruence in the period until the PATHWAYS trial resumes.

For children and young people currently under the care of NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Services, a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians conducts assessments using a holistic framework, following recommendations from the Cass Review. Each child or young person receives an individual care plan, with a strong focus on psychosocial support tailored to their needs.

More widely, in 2024 NHS England published a new service specification for the National Referral Support Service for Specialist Services for Children and Young People with Gender Incongruence. Now a referral for the specialist Children and Young People’s Gender Service can be only made by a National Health Service-commissioned, secondary care-level paediatric service or a children and young people mental health service. This helps 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.

Alongside this, a mental health support offer was launched where all children and young people on the waiting list as of 31 August 2024 were offered a mental health assessment by their local Children and Young People's Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) team. Additionally, NHS Arden and GEM, which manages the national waiting list, signposts to information and support for children and young people and their families. This includes resources from CYPMH and the NHS, as well as trusted third-sector organisations such as YoungMinds and Samaritans.