Jenni Minto: Puberty blocker ban to remain in place as long as Westminster says so

Public health minister Jenni Minto has confirmed that a pause on the prescribing of puberty blockers to young people will remain in place for as long as a similar ban introduced by the UK Government continues.

NHS England stopped prescribing puberty blockers as a treatment for youth gender dysphoria in March, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian taking similar action following the publication of the Cass report in April.

Carried out by Dr Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the report – which related to services in England only – found “no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress” in under 18s.

In May the Tory government used emergency powers to put a temporary ban on puberty blockers in place and that was extended by the Labour government last month.

During a ministerial update on gender identity healthcare for young people, Minto was today asked by Scottish Tory leadership challenger Meghan Gallacher whether the Scottish ban would remain in place while a UK-wide study on the use of puberty blockers in youngsters is carried out.

Minto confirmed that a team made up of representatives of the Scottish Government, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the University of Glasgow would be taking part in the National Institute for Health and Care Research UK study, adding that as the UK Government ban was put in place using a reserved power “we will follow that”.

“As you will know that is a reserved power to the UK Government, and we are currently in line with that, and we wait to see what the decisions made by the UK Government [are],” she said.

Minto also confirmed that the Scottish Government would be implementing the findings of the Cass Report in full, saying a follow-on report led by chief medical officer Gregor Smith and published in July has looked at how to bring that forward.

As part of that there will be an end to self-referral to gender services and treatment for gender dysphoria will be provided in paediatric clinical settings rather than adult sexual health clinics, such as the Sandyford in Glasgow and Chalmers in Edinburgh.

Asked by Conservative MSP Rachel Hamilton whether that meant the Sandyford clinic, which has come under intense scrutiny over its treatment of children, would close, Minto said no.

“Sandyford clinic is not going to be closed as it offers a wide range of sexual health services,” she said.

“However, the report of the [Smith-led] multidisciplinary team has recommended that, in future, specialist gender identity health services for young people are not provided in an adult sexual health setting, but paediatric clinical settings.”

She added: “Work will take place to address the immediate fragility of gender identity healthcare for young people and develop a sustainable, longer-term model in line with the recommendation that these services are delivered in a paediatric setting.”

Speaking after the ministerial statement, Gallacher said the government has left “open the possibility of [puberty blockers] being prescribed in Scotland again”.

“If the SNP Government are accepting the Cass Review’s recommendations in full, they need to get on with the job and provide clarity to vulnerable young people and families who are still waiting for answers,” she said.