Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made by the expert panel of clinical specialists on its review of the harms caused to young people by the provision of unregulated cross-sex hormones by private providers; and what his expected timetable is for publication of the panel's report.

The Government is continuing its work with the National Health Service to reform gender services, to ensure young people receive timely, holistic care and support, while reviewing the use of cross-sex hormones in line with recommendation eight of the Cass Review.

The Cass Review said that NHS England should review its policy on cross-sex hormones. The review noted that the option to provide cross-sex hormones is available for patients aged 16 years old and over, but that “extreme caution” was recommended along with a “strong clinical rationale for providing hormones before the age of 18”. In line with Dr Cass’s recommendations, every case for treatment is now discussed by a national multi-disciplinary team, and NHS England is reviewing its clinical commissioning policy on cross-sex hormones. A public consultation on the evidence is anticipated to take place this summer, and an updated policy is expected to be in place by April 2026.

With regard to private prescribing, a working group has been established by NHS England to provide advice to Government officials and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer. The remit of the working group is to provide practical advice on the operational consequences of introducing any restrictions on private prescribing and advice on how to manage any risks to patients. The working group is made up of consultant endocrinologists, pharmacy and primary care leads, and national commissioners.

It is not the working group's role to decide whether restrictions on private prescribing should, or should not, be introduced. Neither is the group providing advice on the future use of cross-sex hormones by NHS clinicians. The Department will use the outputs of the working group to inform ongoing policy development.