MLA demands puberty blocker access for young people after Cass review questioned clinical evidence behind drugs

Last week the Cass review, a landmark report on child gender identity services, said that gender medicine is “built on shaky foundations” and that children had been let down by a lack of research on the use of puberty blockers.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll asked Mr Swann what reassurance he could give “to young trans people that they will be able to get access to puberty blockers” and “gender reaffirming services”.

Robin Swann said that only children put on the drugs before March 2020 would still be prescribed them following a decision by a clinical ethics committee.

DUP MLA Diane Dodds highlighted the “significant degree of concern” caused by the Cass review findings – and asked the minister to “explain how puberty blockers, introduced in the UK merely for research trials, could come to be prescribed in a routine clinical use – despite not being licenced for this, or there being any meaningful evidence about their safety”.

Mrs Dodds also asked how many children the drugs had been prescribed to in Northern Ireland. Mr Swann said the departments focus is providing the best health care for young people – and referenced the “toxic debate” about the issue. He said he did not have the figures available but would write to the member.

Alliance MLA Eoin Tennyson said the “priority in this area has to be ensuring that trans individuals get the appropriate care”. He asked Mr Swann to “commit to engaging further with the LGBT sector and children’s rights organisations before pursuing any further change in this area”.

Dr David Bell – a former consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock gender identity clinic in London has said that LGBT+ groups had promoted “the kind of agendas which I’ve been saying are doing such damage”.

He said: “the neutrality which is necessary for dealing with these matters is invaded by an ideological movement”.