Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards implementing the recommendations of the Levy Review into adult gender services; and when they plan to publish a full implementation report.
The review into the operation and delivery of NHS Adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics (GDCs), led by Dr Levy, was published on 18 December 2025 and forms the basis for improving adult gender services.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, laid a Written Ministerial Statement following the review’s publication. This set out that in response to the findings of this review, the Department and NHS England are taking forward a set of immediate priorities that includes:
- creating a new single, national waiting list for adult gender services to be implemented in April 2026;
- raising the referral threshold to 18 years old to align with the age of discharge from the NHS Children and Young People’s Service;
- bringing an end to self-referrals into the service and, in parallel, providing advice and guidance for those finding it difficult to secure a referral; and
- establishing challenging but achievable productivity goals for every service which can then guide and inform the commissioning of additional services, underpinned by a clear understanding of the regional demand through the national waiting list.
In addition to this, NHS England has established a National Portfolio Board, in line with Dr Levy’s recommendation, to build and develop a full implementation plan for the Adult Gender Services review.
We are making progress beyond this review, as NHS England has increased the number of adult GDCs in England from seven to 12 since 2020, and has established a national Quality Improvement Network for Adult Gender Services. In order to support the well-being of patients awaiting their first appointment with a GDC, we are rolling out a ‘waiting well’ pilot for patients on the waiting list for the GDC in the South West.