Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the length of waiting lists for adult gender identity services; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times on those lists to align with the statutory 18-week limit.

As with all NHS services during the COVID-19 pandemic, gender dysphoria clinics experienced a disruption to their services. However, the clinics did not close and offered remote appointments and electronic repeat prescriptions where appropriate.

To address the continuing increase in the number of people seeking care from gender dysphoria clinics, NHS England ran a number of contract award processes, in 2019, with the aim of increasing clinical capacity and reducing waiting times. As a result, three new adult gender dysphoria services will begin to see patients in 2020/21 as pilots for evaluation.

The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was selected to run a new gender dysphoria service as a pilot in London and the first patients were seen in July 2020. The Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded a contract to deliver a similar pilot service in Cheshire and Merseyside, and a contract award is imminent for a provider to deliver a similar pilot service in Greater Manchester.