Puberty blockers for under-18s to be banned indefinitely
Puberty blockers for under-18s with gender dysphoria will be banned indefinitely in the UK after experts warned of an “unacceptable safety risk”.
The government said that following recommendations from independent medical professionals, existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of the drugs outside of clinical trials will stay in place.
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Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said there is a need to “act with caution” and “follow the expert advice” in caring for this “vulnerable group of young people”.
He said the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria “presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people”.
He also referenced the findings of the Cass Review, which “raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments”.
“We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice,” Mr Streeting said.
Mr Streeting added that the government is working with NHS England to set up new gender identity services for young people, following the closure of the much-scrutinised Tavistock centre, and would be setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, “to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine”.
Wes Streeting
He insisted the government’s decision was based on “evidence” and not “political pressure” , as he acknowledged that many young transgender people will be affected by the ban.
In a direct message to them, Mr Streeting spoke of his own struggles coming out as gay.
He said: “I know it’s not easy being a trans kid in our country today, the trans community is at the wrong end of all of the statistics for mental ill health, self-harm and suicide.
“I can’t pretend to know what that’s like, but I do know what it’s like to feel you have to bury a secret about yourself, to be afraid of who you are, to be bullied for it, and then to experience the liberating experience of coming out.
“I know it won’t feel like it based on the decisions I’m taking today, but I really do care about this and so does this government. I am determined to improve the quality of care and access to healthcare for all trans people.”
‘Unacceptable safety risk’
The CHM’s advice said that there is “currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children”.
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The commission recommended indefinite restrictions while work is done to ensure the safety of young people.
Puberty blockers pause the physical changes of puberty such as breast development or facial hair.
The NHS announced in March that children would no longer be prescribed them, after commissioning an independent review of gender identity services for children under 18 in 2020.
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The review followed a sharp rise in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) – a specialised service for young people who experience difficulties in the development of their gender identity.
The review was led by Dr Hilary Cass, who concluded in a final report in April this year that there was “remarkably weak evidence” to support gender treatments for children.
Her report promoted the then-Conservative government to introduce a ban on puberty blockers for under-18s using emergency legislation, preventing the prescription of the medication from European or private prescribers and restricting NHS provision to within clinical trials.
A challenge to that ruling, brought by campaigners who said they were concerned for the welfare of young trans people, failed in July when the high court ruled that the ban was lawful.
While health is a devolved matter, the indefinite ban announced on Wednesday applies across the UK, the DHSC said.
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There is “no doubt” the UK “will spend 3% of our GDP on defence” in the next parliament, the defence secretary has said.
John Healey’s comments come ahead of the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday.
This is an assessment of the state of the armed forces, the threats facing the UK, and the military transformation required to meet them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously set out a “clear ambition” to raise defence spending to 3% in the next parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.
Mr Healey has now told The Times newspaper there is a “certain decade of rising defence spending” to come, adding that this commitment “allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”
A government source insisted the defence secretary was “expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the government will be able to deliver on its ambition”, rather than making a new commitment.
The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with Sir Keir announcing plans to increase that to 2.5% by 2027 in February.
This followed mounting pressure from the White House for European nations to do more to take on responsibility for their own security and the defence of Ukraine.
The 2.3% to 2.5% increase is being paid for by controversial cuts to the international aid budget, but there are big questions over where the funding for a 3% rise would be found, given the tight state of government finances.
While a commitment will help underpin the planning assumptions made in the SDR, there is of course no guarantee a Labour government would still be in power during the next parliament to have to fulfil that pledge.
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From March: How will the UK scale up defence?
A statement from the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that the official government position has not changed in line with the defence secretary’s comments.
The statement reads: “This government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5bn this financial year.
“The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.”
Sir Keir commissioned the review shortly after taking office in July 2024. It is being led by Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and NATO secretary general.
The Ministry of Defence has already trailed a number of announcements as part of the review, including plans for a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command and a £1bn battlefield system known as the Digital Targeting Web, which we’re told will “better connect armed forces weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster”.
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PM Sir Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey on a nuclear submarine earlier this year. Pic: Crown Copyright 2025
On Saturday, the defence secretary announced a £1.5bn investment to tackle damp, mould and make other improvements to poor quality military housing in a bid to improve recruitment and retention.
Mr Healey pledged to “turn round what has been a national scandal for decades”, with 8,000 military family homes currently unfit for habitation.
He said: “The Strategic Defence Review, in the broad, will recognise that the fact that the world is changing, threats are increasing.
“In this new era of threat, we need a new era for defence and so the Strategic Defence Review will be the vision and direction for the way that we’ve got to strengthen our armed forces to make us more secure at home, stronger abroad, but also learn the lessons from Ukraine as well.
“So an armed forces that can be more capable of innovation more quickly, stronger to deter the threats that we face and always with people at the heart of our forces… which is why the housing commitments that we make through this strategic defence review are so important for the future.”
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