Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 10 March (HL14737), when they plan to implement each of the immediate priorities for improving adult gender services in that answer.

Further to the written answer given on 10 March 2026 to Question HL14737, NHS England’s immediate priorities for improving adult gender services and their planned timeframes are as follows:

• the creation of a new single, national waiting list for adult gender services, with plans for a phased transfer of patients from May 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, which was enacted in December 2025;
• 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, which will be enacted through the new service specification for adult gender services, which is planned to be operational for the 2027/28 financial year; and
• establishing 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, with plans for this to be in place by the autumn of 2026.